the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven
...avorite Tumor, Jimmy Many Horses has many malignant tumors spread throughout his body. One would definitely argue this is not something to be taken lightly, much less laughed about, but Jimmy did. Jimmy begins the story by joking to his wife that he should be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame because he has at least one tumor that is the size of a baseball. He even goes on to mention that his favorite tumor even has stitch marks. Jimmy says, “No, really. I told her to call me Babe Ruth. Or Roger Maris. Maybe even Hank Aaron ‘cause there must have been about 755 damn tumors inside me. Then, I told her I was going to Cooperstown and sit right down in the lobby of the Hall of Fame. Make myself a new exhibit, you know? Pin my X-rays to my chest and point to the tumors. What a dedicated baseball fan! What a sacrifice for the national pastime!” This is only a taste of the type of humor Jimmy has. At first his humor is so cold and hurtful, that his wife, Norma Many Horses leaves him. To her, this is understandably something that can’t be laughed about. She returns when he is on his “dying table” and realizes that even though he may not be healed, laughter is the only thing that heals his spirit. She returns in search of the laughter and love she lost while she was gone. This entire book is dedicated to the sense of community they feel. A perfect example of this is the relationship between Thomas Builds-the-Fire and Victor. In this is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, Victor gets news of his father’s death. Victor cannot afford to go pick his father’s remains up, nor his belongings. When Victor and Thomas were just young boys, they got in an ugly fight. Actually, Victor just beat Thomas up for no reason. But even though this had all occurred and practically terminated their friendship, Thomas was still there for Victor and gave him the money he needed to get to Arizona and back. I strongly believe that even though this...