SNL, despite its recent relative jump in popularity still is about as compelling as the current OJ Simpson trial. *Yawn*

Happy to hear that the written word still can move people, literally

Tony Hillerman did so much more than write mystery stories about Navajo policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jimmy Chee. He also gave us the picture of a storm gathering over the mountains with its many colors and designs. The hope of the desert tribes that perhaps a rain would follow, be it a male or female rain. He told of ancient cures, not of the body but of the soul, and those few Navajo who still perform the ceremonies.

It wasn’t like just reading about it, it was being there. We were given a peek into the mysterious world of the Hopis and their customs that even today are only spread by word of mouth. Mr. Hillerman’s world empowered me to move from Kansas to the Four Corners region, where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico come together in hopes I could work a few years longer in the dry climate of the desert.

The world will be a much sadder place without retired Lt. Leaphorn and young Sgt Chee, trying to combine the customs of his tribe with the world of the 21st century. Thank you, Mr. Hillerman, for making my world so much larger and brighter.