Chapter 6: White Eagle Walks Among Us!

John had known for almost 40 years that his totem was the American Bald Eagle. Another name for the majestic bird is the White Eagle. When John participated in healing, he became very high. That is why, after performing healing, he identified himself as White Eagle when he was asked, where under normal circumstances he would have very likely had said “No.”

John watched as a young man was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk in front of them. The young man waved at them as he rode by. He looked down as he neared the street corner. He hit the truck bringing in lumber to supply the lumberyard in preparation for all the new buildings about to happen. It would be learned later that Steven Nation had just earned enough money to buy a new chain for his bicycle that day. His chain guide was not perfectly lined up and the chain had come off, eliminating his ability to apply the brakes.

John was out of his seat and out of the RV running towards the 9-year-old boy faster than someone could count to three. Dozens of the residents that were there welcoming the newcomers told John that this was the mayor’s son. Jenny was on John’s shoulder as he knelt next to the boy. The body had been mangled and Seth Wilson, the local owner/reporter of the small area newspaper was on the spot, camera in hand, taking pictures of the scene. The man had a minute by minute photographic history including a picture of the truck. His photos included John and Jenny laying the boy flat on the ground, straightening his legs and arms.

The two people were fixing the two broken legs, then the left arm. Then they went to the head, causing a jerk of the body. They went down the body, working towards the feet. Once they got there, John asked Jenny, “Can you stay there, I’m going to complete bringing him back, so ground him.” John went to the boy’s head with his hands hovering over it, the body moved and jerked, then seemed to relax.

The boy’s father had just arrived when Steven opened his eyes. He looked to the sky and said, “White Eagle!”

“John responded with, “Yes!”

The father grabbed John, “What you are doing to my son?”

Seth stepped in to stop his cousin the Mayor from making a mistake, “JOHN.”

Both the Mayor and John Taylor answered, “Yes?”

“John, this man just brought your son back from the dead. Be nice to him cousin!” Seth Wilson requested.

“Who are you?” John Nation demanded.

Johnny picked up the little boy. Jenny gave the boy a bottle of water that Teresa brought.

John Nation looked at Seth and got a nod. He then looked to his son, “It will be the future that will recognize the White Eagle who will walk amongst us, first.”

“Yep, this is him, daddy.”He pointed to John Taylor and said, When I opened up my eyes, I saw him, and this is his Son who was Geronimo returned, who fought for the Nation long ago.”

“Drink little eagle so you can fly again,” Jenny advised.

John held out his right hand, “I’m John Taylor.”

Shaking hands, the newcomer said, “I’m John Nations, Chief of the Okanogan’s and Mayor of Omak. The people call me Black Horse.”

The parking lot was filling up. The two Johns watched as more RVs were coming to a stop.

“Long ago, when I first learned to walk, I went outside and ten feet away were two cougars looking for a meal. A young stallion my father and uncle could not keep in the fence came to where I was and stood guard challenging the cougars. That is how my father and uncle found us, the two cougars threatening the horse and the horse not backing down, pounding the ground with its front hooves.

That black horse became my horse. The summer I graduated from high school. I was to go to WSU and play football on a full-ride scholarship. We think I came upon two rattle-snakes mating. They both struck Blacky and I got thrown and broke my collar bone Blacky killed the two snakes and then went for help.

He traveled about a mile back home and then another mile back to where I was. He bowed, nudged me like he did every day of his life and then he laid down and died.” The mayor took a deep breath, “After that, I lost my scholarship. My uncle, the medicine man, went into a trance. He said I was needed here. Before the snows fell my father had a stroke. I became his assistant and did everything he would normally do until he died three years later. Five years ago, my uncle told the tribe I would unite all the people into one. I ran for mayor, and it was almost unanimous.

A month ago, we asked my uncle to touch the spirit and bring the rains. He told us of his vision. The Okanogan tribe would see a great white buffalo born, there would be water gushing from the ground, the earth would eliminate much negativity and a man known as White Eagle would be recognized by our future. He would lead the children of God to become one with our people.

Within five days of seeing this White Eagle, he will eliminate the poachers from our lands. We were also told that you would unite us with God and that we would meet an expression of Mother Earth.” John Nation looked in wonder as John, Jenny, and the others started laughing.

“That’s all doable.” John Taylor smiled.

“This morning at 4:00 AM, I was told a white buffalo was born. I was on the way to see it when I got a call that our dry river had water in it and the dry lake is filling up. An artesian well was feeding it. A lot of water, cool, clean, sweet-tasting water. Then you show up and tell me I’m going to meet God and Mother Earth?” John Nation looked at John Taylor in disbelief.

“Your uncle’s vision was correct.” John shared, “All of it!”

“Where are you going to end up?” the Mayor asked still shaking his head.

The old Ledgerwood place,” John shared, “I think.” He handed the Mayor a card with his phone number on it.

“Why there?” John Nation gathered up his son in his arms.

“They were third or fourth cousins of mine.” John smiled, “My great grandmother was a Rachel Murray Ledgerwood from central Oregon.”

“Central, like around the Stayton area?” John Nation asked, “Just east of Salem?”

“Yeah!” John answered.

“My great grandmother was her sister.” John Nation shared, “We’re ... third cousins?”

“Looks like it! Can I buy you a beer?” John asked.

“No, my uncle died this morning.” John Nation shared, “I have some things to prepare.”

“Sorry for your loss.” John shared.

“He saw it coming, he was okay with it.” John Nation started to leave, and he picked up his son.

“What do you want for dinner little chief?” even though he already knew the answer.

“Pizza?” Steven asked.

Everyone laughed. John turned to Johnny, “That is your fourth cousin.”

“The mayor?” Johnny asked.

“No, Steven. You are the mayor’s third cousin once removed.” John was thirsty, “Shall we get ourselves a beer?” With everyone’s agreement, they walked across the street to the tent. A woman was trailing behind. Many people knew her, and she greeted almost everyone as she followed behind. When John put in the order of two beers, and two bottles of water.

The woman standing behind said, “Make that three beers Harry. I’m paying!”

“Okay, Margaret!” Margaret put a $10 bill on the table.

“Hi, Margaret!” John called out.

“John. I was dreaming of you last night.” Margaret laughed.

“Was it a nice dream?” John took a sip of beer.

“I dreamed you ran off with me and made me incredibly wealthy.” Margaret gushed.

John looked at Jenny and mouthed ‘I love you’ then turned to Margaret, “Are you sure it wasn’t a nightmare?”

“Oh no, I’ve already killed three husbands, so it could never be a nightmare. I’d train you free of charge, just leave me all of your money.” Margaret smiled.

“Margaret, I want to introduce my wife, Jenny and my son, Johnny and his wife, Teresa.” John was hoping for Margaret to come back to earth.

“Oh!” Margaret said like she had passed gas or something. The Taylors found a table and sat down. Margaret sat with them.

Captain Frank came up to the table after buying a cold bottle of water, “RVs are still being parked. We are also working on trucks, campers, and other cars, but they should go faster.” Frank took a long sip. With Frank was a boy of about 15.

“Hi, Tony. Any sign of your mom and dad?” Margaret asked.

Tony looked sad and shook his head no.

“Tony’s mom and dad were the bankers. His dad was the area manager and his mom managed one of the small branches up the street. They would have arrived in Los Angeles about four hours before the San Andreas fault released.” Margaret informed, “I’ve tried all of the numbers and get no answers. No answering machines, nothing. Any luck with you Tony?”

“No, I’m pretty sure they’re gone,” Tony said sadly.

“Why is your face so bruised?” Margaret asked.

“People don’t like mom and dad much,” Tony replied.

“You were watching when Jenny and I were working on Steven.” John shared.

“Yeah, pretty neat!” Tony said.

“You need somewhere to live?” Jenny asked.

“Mom and Dad didn’t do nicely for people. They called the mayor Indian John. They used to have special dinners when they took someone’s home. When they made someone homeless, they would laugh. The kids at school hated me because of mom and dad. I want to know what good parents look like.” Tony was crying, “They hated GOD. I hope they are gone. Mayor John said the Earth was going to destroy many of the negative people.”

“Have you eaten?” Jenny got a shake of his head, “When was the last time you ate?”

“I don’t remember, maybe yesterday. This was not planned, mom and dad, leaving. They were going to leave me some money, but they forgot.” Tony was crying again, “Can you imagine having seven kids and forgetting to feed them?”

“Do you want to eat and then get your brothers and sisters or go get them first, then eat?” Jenny asked.

“I would like to go get my brothers and sisters. They are hungry, too.” Tony asked.

“If you want, you can live with Jenny and me.” John got another nod from Jenny, “Jenny is my wife. Johnny is my son and Teresa is his wife. Jenny and Teresa are going to have babies. You and your brothers and sisters will be part of our family.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful.” Tony’s phone rang, “Yes, I found food. Sally, it’s going to be okay. Get your shoes on, get Lucy’s shoes on, I’m coming now.” Tony hung up, “That’s my sister, I’ll go get them.” He got up then stopped, “I want you to run the bank. I know where the keys are, I want to see what nice people do for others.”

“Tony, we will go with you. We need a walk.” Teresa pulled up Johnny as she said this.

The other tables were filling up. John and Jenny saw happy smiling faces and waved to people they recognized.

“What do you think Margaret and Frank? We could take over the bank and put everybody to work. It might help this community absorb ten thousand people.” John was thinking out loud.

“Oh, we have more than that. I guess you don’t know. Today is September 7th, and they’ve been showing up since the 1st. We estimate 10,000 have already arrived. Then this morning, we had another hundred school busses with kids and maybe a hundred teachers show up. There are at least 5,000 kids and then you guys. We may have 25,000 to 30,000 people to figure out where to house.”

“Margaret, you are going to get rich.” Captain Frank teased.

“I don’t care if I make a dime, we need to keep these people from freezing or starving to death this winter. After hearing that young man, his parents need to be spanked.” Margaret growled, “They have all of those kids in a three-bedroom apartment. It seems criminal to me and then to leave them in charge of a 15-year-old without food or money.”

“How big is the Ledgerwood home?” Jenny asked.

Margaret thought, “There are four houses on the property. The old house has been remodeled several times. I think there maybe eight or nine bedrooms. Two of the original children stayed on the property and there are homes for them. Then there is a bunkhouse for workers that must hold forty. The newer houses have four to six bedrooms each.”

Tony had been selling the Taylors all the way back. He was carrying a little boy, maybe 3, on his shoulders. Johnny had a 4-year-old girl on his shoulders. There were twin 6-year-olds girls Teri and Fanny, a 10-year-old boy named Ben and the oldest daughter, Sally, was 14. The 4-year-old girl appeared to be severely autistic. When they arrived, Jenny and Teresa went into action. Tony and Sally were right there helping.

The little 4-year-old girl went over to John and just stood there. John motioned to pick her up and she nodded, looking off into space. John lifted and sat her on his lap. He asked her higher soul if a healing could take place. He got a “Yes!” He started running energy. The little girl flopped around and then she closed her eyes and her whole body relaxed. Her features started changing. She looked more like her big sister Sally. John got the sense he was done.

He looked up and saw the two very concerned faces of Tony and Sally watching. Her eyes opened and just looked at him, “Are you, my new daddy?”

“If you want me to be, I will. I will love you and take care of you. Okay?” John asked.

“Okay!” Lucy said, “That would be nice!”

John noticed Sally being comforted by Jenny and Tony. Tony and Jenny both gave John a big smile. Tony mouthed “thank you.” So, John held onto Lucy and helped her eat a hot dog.

“Potty?” Lucy announced. Sally moved into action and Tony grabbed Willy. The two older kids were very clearly used to taking care of the little ones. The bathroom in the RV had been made the official pit stop. When they came back, Tony had Lucy’s hand and they were running and laughing, just like children should. They watched and waited as Tony ate his third hamburger.

John smiled at his new son as he remembered coming home from Vietnam and the first time he was at a restaurant, he too devoured three big hamburgers. These hamburgers tasted good. If all the red meat in Omak tasted that good, he just might include a bit more in his diet.

Peter and Patty showed up, got to eat and were invited along for the trip to the Ledgerwood homestead.

As they began down the driveway, Patty yelled: “Stop!” John stopped the RV at the foot of the driveway.

“Yes, Patty?” John was looking in the mirror at her.

“Who owns that cute little house across the street?” Patty asked.

Margaret nodded her head, “We do, or rather, I do. You want it, Patty?” John asked.

“Yes, I do. I have been seeing that for a while now in my dreams.” Patty said.

“It’s your’s Patty. You want to look at it now or wait until we are on the way out?”

“Can we look now?” Patty asked tentatively.

“That’s what we are going to do.” John turned the big rig off, “Margaret, why are there thousands of buffalo everywhere?”

Margaret answered as she dug for the keys to both houses. “I’m glad you and Chief John are related to each other. Did you know those burgers were made with buffalo meat? Everything you ate today was donated to the People’s Trust. All the money we paid will go towards feeding the homeless this winter. John, we need that bank opened again. “Found them. Patty come get your keys.” Margaret handed Jenny four sets and Patty one set. Everyone exited the RV. They got to the center of the road and John stopped, “The people own the buffalo.” Margaret shared.

“Margaret, why aren’t there any vehicles driving around town?” John asked.

“We don’t know when any fuel will be delivered again. It always came out of Seattle.” No one is driving unless they must. We haven’t found a new source yet.” Margaret said with a lot of concern.

“Is somebody putting in sidewalks?” John asked. He was looking at the area on the north side of the road. It had been graded with sand and was level with the road.

“We applied for a twenty-million-dollar grant from the state in 2007, just before the housing collapse. We got notice of the approval of it in 2008 just before the thing on Wall Street. We were going to add two million to the project. So, we spent our two million on being able to make the concrete ourselves. We were set to go, we even purchased eight used concrete trucks. Then, we get a notice that the state was no longer able to fulfill the grant.” Margaret shared with everybody. During her story, Peter and Patty had moved to the house in their excitement.

“What are you thinking John?’ Jenny asked.

Tony was right there holding Willy.

“The first time I heard that I knew we would be doing sidewalks. If we had sidewalks, it would be a safer place for our children to ride their bicycles. Secondly, it will help kick start this economy. We will need four to five hundred workers for labor. They’ll buy groceries and work clothes, beer at the tavern, and vitamins at the pharmacy. Because the government isn’t there to pay tax to, all that money will stay here in town. That money will help get this economy going.”

Tony was smiling, and Willy was laughing, “I think we should do it, Dad.” Tony said with certainty then frowned, “Do we have the money?”

“Son, did you notice the floor in the back bedroom was raised about two inches? The reason is there is about forty million under the bed in gold, it weighs a ton, and that is what I paid for it.”

Margaret gasped!

“It’s going to be a lot of fun being in this family, Dad.” Tony laughed as John took Willy and put him on his shoulders. Johnny had perched Lucy the same way.

Margaret approached John and Tony, “Tony, can you get us into the bank? That gold should be someplace safe.”

“Yes, why?” Tony was still smiling.

“Tony, Margaret thinks there is a safer place than being next to Dad.” Johnny laughed, “On the way here our dad took out two attack helicopters. They tried to kill all of us. Now they’re junk!”

Margaret looked at Johnny in absolute shock.

They made their way to the front door of Peter and Patty’s new home. John asked as he looked at the front yard, “Margaret, who mowed the lawn?”

“John Nation started the People’s Trust about ten years ago. When he became mayor, people come into the office looking for food. He has them work. When they finish the work, he gets them food for their family for a day. If they come back the next day, they work, and they eat.

When John ran for his second term last year, everybody voted for him. This could be a dead town, he kept it alive. Now you, John Taylor, are the frosting on the cake.” Margaret smiled, “The People’s Trust mowed the lawns in the preparation for all of you coming to town, John.”

They toured the four-bedroom house. It was old, but it had been maintained. It sat on ten acres, and it had a well that was now at a much higher level. The water table in the whole area had risen a hundred feet. The kitchen had been remodeled in the last ten years, bathroom too. There was gas heat throughout the house, and where the old wood stove had been, there was a modern high-efficiency wood stove as well. The furniture was all there. All they needed bedding. When he saw the barn, Peter wondered if he could put in a garden or raise some of those buffalo.

“Margaret, where did the owners of this property go?” Peter asked.

“They got old. First, George died and a few years later we moved his wife Margaret into the Mountain View Nursing Home. They are both buried near the Ledgerwoods in the Okanogan City Cemetery.” Margaret shared.

“I want to go and leave flowers on their grave,” Patty said.

“I’ll go with you, Patty” Jenny shared.

“Let’s go see your house. Did you ever think you would have seven kids, sister?” Patty asked as they moved towards the door.

“Sis, it scares the daylights out of me, but I’ve got John.” Jenny and Patty laughed, “They seem to be really good kids.”

“Margaret, do people lock their doors around here?” Henry Frank asked.

“Only if they leave town for more than a few days.” Margaret thought, “The only crime we have is the mercenaries up on the reservation poaching our buffalo.”

“I promised John Nation we would take care of that little problem,” John said.

“Sounds like the sooner the better,” Beth added.

“Let’s see the other two houses that will be Johnny’s and Teresa’s, and Henry’s and Beth’s.” John was looking up as he talked to Jenny, “Some of us need a nap.” Willy was holding onto John’s head and had his head laid on top of John’s asleep.

“Margaret,” Jenny whispered and pointed at Willy.

“There is a big lazy-boy in the family room of the big house,” Margaret whispered back. She pointed out which keys Jenny had for the big house. Margaret motioned she was going to take the other keys and open the other two houses.

Jenny led John, with a sleeping Willy, to the front door. They quietly made their way through to the family room. There was a monster chair with a blanket folded up on the seat. Jenny helped John remove Willy from his head and John sat back with his feet up. Jenny laid Willy back onto John’s left side and the little boy patted John’s tummy and eased back to sleep.

Jenny heard a noise and there was Lucy, “Do you want to take a nap with Daddy and Willy?” Lucy nodded. Jenny helped her up onto John’s right side. She reached over and touched Willy’s hand. Jenny eased the blanket over the three. Then she bent down and kissed John, “You comfy?”

“Yeah, love you!” John smiled.

“I’ll slow the group down. Give you an hour or more?” Jenny wanted to know.

John nodded and closed his eyes.

A little later John felt someone looking at him. He eased his eyes open, and Tony and Sally were standing over him and smiling. Both said, “thank you!” John smiled back at them and eased back to sleep. The next thing he knew, was Willy climbing up and kissing him on the cheek.

“Potty?” Willy asked.

Even though it had been over thirty years, John instantly remembered potty and three-year-olds, “Yes, I will help.” They disengaged from Lucy and in the process, she also woke up. They could hear voices in the kitchen as they found the bathroom. Both Willy and Lucy had shorts on and needed help sitting on the toilet. Willy was done first and jumped down and ran out of the room. Lucy was next, and John helped steady her as she went. That is how Jenny found him.

A daddy helping his daughter. She finished up and John flushed and put the toilet seat down, so Lucy could wash her hands while standing on the toilet seat. John made a game out of it as he sang “Old McDonald had a farm. E-I E-I-Oooh.” Lucy and Jenny were laughing so hard that Willy came back to see what in the world was going on. Willy got his turn washing his hands. Finally, John closed the door and said, “My turn to go!” Both kids wanted to help, and John looked at Jenny for help.

“Come on kids. We are discussing who gets which bedroom. You two get to help decide.” Jenny announced. She then looked at John, “You get to sleep with me.”

“Oh good!” John smiled. When John came out, he was told there was going to be a spaghetti feed at the People’s Trust Tent.

“Buy you dinner Margaret?” John asked.

“That would be nice.” Margaret smiled.

Everyone climbed into the bus. On the way, Tony asked a question, “Dad, is this a gold bar?”

“Yes, that is one of two hundred bars that are on this bus. Each one is worth about a million bucks over in Spokane. I paid less than two hundred grand for each one in Seattle before the earth changes.”

“John, is it okay to share?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, everyone here is considered a family” John smiled.

“You have two hundred million dollars on this bus?” Margaret was a little bit concerned.

“Yes, two hundred million on this bus, Margaret, but we have purchased very close to six hundred million in gold, silver, and coins. It now has a value in Spokane of over four billion dollars” Peter shared.

“What are you going to do with it all?” Margaret demanded.

“Start the economy,” John added as they pulled up to a very busy People’s Trust Tent. “If we can get everyone to drop a zero off the current prices, then we will have something like forty billion in value.”

As everyone was vacating the bus, Tony came up to John, “When do you want to go to the bank, Dad?”

“Are you hungry?” John asked.

“Yeah, starving,” Tony answered.

“Then we will go to the bank after we eat!” John laughed.

“Okay, Dad!” Tony answered.

John was sipping on a beer after finishing off a large plate of pasta that had big chunks of ground buffalo throughout the sauce. John looked up and saw a familiar-looking group. Thank God, their home had been far below the surface of the waters that covered Auburn, Washington. John stood and made his way to where the familiar people were asking if there was any way to find someone from the Seattle area.

When John got close, he said, “I might be able to help you.”

There were two screams. One from John’s sister, Sheri, and one from his favorite niece. In a second, John had his arms full of females. His brother-in-law shook his hand, “Please forgive us?” Samuel asked.

John shook his head, “Nothing to forgive. I was having trouble myself believing that it would happen.”

“John, we don’t think Chuck made it.” Sheri shared about their older brother that lived down near Longview on the Columbia River.

“Don’t give up hope, sis. Up to about a minute ago, I didn’t think you guys made it” John shared. “Hungry?” When he got nods all around, “This stuff is really good. The sauce has buffalo meat in it. Tony, got a minute?” John had seen Tony going after a second helping, “Tony, this is my sister, her husband, and my favorite niece. Family, this is my new son, he brings with him six brothers and sisters and I am most pleased. Tony, go grab your seconds, they have to eat too.”

“Glad to meet you, we will talk later,” Tony said as he moved to the seconds’ line.

“Where is Erik?” John asked.

“He and his girlfriend, Tami, are taking care of the dogs.” Sheri smiled.

“You have money?” John asked.

“We bought gold,” Sheri stated.

“How much?” John asked.

“We’ve been buying it for a while now. I believe we have fifty gold eagles.” Sheri shared.

“You’re set then. After you eat, we are going to visit our new bank. Then to our new home. When you get your food, come sit with us.” John smiled, “We will find you a place to stay during the next day or three. See Johnny and his wife Teresa over there?”

Sheri laughed as she waved to Johnny.

John looked at his phone and saw that it was 7:00 PM. He heard the last call and he looked at Tony. He was still eating his second plate of spaghetti and had a big smile on his face. He caught John’s eye and leaned back and patted his tummy.

Margaret was saying the Omak / Okanogan area was going to be allocated 50,000 salmon this season. Perhaps a million fish were amassing at Grand Coulee, and it was expected that over 100,000 fish will be coming up the Okanogan River within the next two or three weeks. The tribe had not been able to catch any amount of salmon in thirty years. They were excited because now they could teach young men how to smoke salmon. That number of fish would be able to provide hundreds of thousands of meals for everyone in the area.

“Margaret, can I learn to smoke salmon?” Tony asked.

“Ask your new dad!” Margaret smiled.

“We will talk to people. My guess is you will be very welcomed.” John looked at Jenny and got a smile. “It will be a lot of hard work, but your participation will bring much respect within this community.”

“I want that dad!” Tony said sternly, “What about school?”

Samuel and Sheri and their family had found places to sit at the table. John was holding onto Willy and Jenny had Lucy. The other kids were up helping the staff clean up the tables. After introductions and welcomes, the eating continued, and the talk went back to the coming fish.

“The high school will probably be closed during the fish run.” Margaret answered, “Don’t know about the junior high.”

“I would imagine the priority goes to getting meals for the community.” John shared.

“Fish run?” Samuel and Erik both asked.

“We are expecting over a hundred thousand catchable salmon to show up in our river soon.” John shared.

“Is there a limit?” Samuel asked.

“Yes, well maybe one or two per day, per person. It is expected that these fish will be ten to fifty pounds,” Margaret declared.

“How many days are they expected to run?” Erik asked.

“Ten to fourteen days.” A man at the next table answered, “You’re White Eagle?”

“Yes, I am,” John replied.

“Your family can bring their fish to our racks and smoke them. No charge!”

“Thank you.” John nodded.

“I understand we may be working on sidewalks soon?” the man asked.

“I will be proposing to the county council tomorrow night to fund a twenty-million-dollar budget towards the sidewalks. The idea is to get our good people back to work.” John looked to the man, “What is your name?”

“I’m Billy Nation. You met my brother; you saved my nephew, and you sit with an honored member of our family. I also see young Tony; the spirit says he will become a leader in this community. Let him learn the Indian ways about fishing.”