He came upon a small pond, and spotted what he was searching for. On the other side lay a prone body. He watched closely to make sure the man was still breathing; he was. It was time to build a fire.

      He withdrew his pump drill, and carefully placed the foot of the weighted spindle in a piece of dry driftwood. The top slid into a greased socket chiseled into a palm-sized stone. A bow and slack string were securely fastened to the spindle. Deganewidah twisted the string and pressed down on the bow. The spindle began to wind furiously. The dry driftwood soon ignited and he threw on some dry grass. His efforts were rewarded with a tiny flame that he transferred to a small fire pit.

      He sat close to the warm flames, eyes ever watchful of the man across the pond. He ceremoniously crossed his legs and removed his parfleshe, from which he withdrew his wooden bowl and spoon, and set them down on the earth. He placed several small, red stones near the fire to absorb heat.

      Next he withdrew several color-coded pouches of sacred medicine, some were to burn to raise prayers to the ear of the divine, and others were to heal. He separated these as such. A turtle rattle was produced, and he slowly began a solemn chant.

      A dark pillar of medicine-smoke rose into the sky, where the Spirits of the Ancestors walked. He felt them look upon him. He stood and filled his bowl with water from the pond, and added sacred medicine. Carefully protecting his fingers with his sleeves, he placed the heated rocks in the bowl and moved them about.

      As if on cue, the man across the pond stirred and weakly moaned. Deganewidah removed the stones from the bowl, and slowly walked around the pond, gingerly holding the mixture out in front of him. He knelt down next to Atotarho. A flailing arm clamped onto him, binding the two men together. Deganewidah pulled Atotarho to his knees, and pressed the bowl to his lips. The man drank the bowl dry, and then sat back on his haunches, head down, eyes closed.

      "The m-m-medicine will help the pain in your head," Deganewidah said.

      Atotarho dug his fingers into his temple and rubbed furiously. "Who are you?"

      "Deganewidah."

      Atotarho squinted up at him. His eyes were rimmed in bright red, his eyeballs a lighter shade of pink. "Long Braids, what do you want from me?"

      "I have medicine for the pain in your neck."

      "I drank it. You can go now."

      "What you drank was only a blanket. The real pain lies beneath your skin--in your bones."

      Atotarho stood, bones popping unnaturally. Deganewidah was pleased to see the mild pain medicine begin to work. "It’s your hair," he said.

      Atotarho looked at him incredulously.

      "Your hair is sick; it’s heavy with filth, too heavy for your neck to carry."

      "You followed me here to tell me to cut my hair?"

      "And to tell you that the confederacy needs you. You alone have the power to make the people as one."

      "I have the power to annihilate them."

      "They know that, and will not b-b-betray the council fire that burns in your village, and it will never leave the Onundagaono. Even The Great Hill People, whose numbers are many, will strengthen us. We will stretch to the Great Waters and b-b-beyond, one land, one n-nation."

      Deganewidah expected more protest, but it didn’t come.

      "And the council fire will never leave the Onundagaono."

      "You will be Faithkeeper-Sachem, and all of those who follow you will bear your name."

      Atotarho felt his resolve slipping. His pain was minimal, and he could think a bit clearer. The idea of gaining power through an alliance was appetizing, more appetizing than standing in front of Long Braids on shaky legs.

      "Go back to the village. We’ll counsel tonight."

      Long Braids remained silent. It was good. Atotarho reached for his waist belt, and felt the lump of his knife. Long Braids nodded and turned to leave. Atotarho caressed the knife and withdrew it.

      "Before the council, you and I will meet in my lodge."

      "I’ll be waiting," Long Braids said, and left the grove.

      Atotarho felt the edge of the blade. It was sharpened to perfection. He grabbed a lock of stinking tangles, and sheared it off down to the roots. He tested its weight, and quickly sliced off another lock, then another, and another.

      His scalp bare, he shook his head. It was lighter. This Long Braids may not be a total fool after all. He chuckled loudly.

      "Long Braids!" he shouted into the cool morning air. "You combed the snakes out of my hair!"

I can’t explain why Spring time and learning go together inside my head, but they do. Since it’s decidedly Spring in our part of the world, let me tell you about Microsoft’s training website where they have very good free training materials. They also put on incredibly helpful in-person seminars for a price. 

Let me introduce you to their training website for Office. Here’s the link to the Microsoft Office training materials. 

Today, you may be looking for tips on using Word. Tomorrow, right after you take a starter course on Publisher, you may be strolling through the Spring Tulips. See how versatile they are on this website?

I was nosing around Microsoft looking up how to protect my Word documents. I found this link for a short training course that shows how to lock my documents from changes by others, how to scrub them clean from containing personal information and hidden text or even how to keep people from printing or distributing my document. 

Tell me as a writer that didn’t get your attention just a little.

1. Overworked Rick rushes to the curb to hail a cab. Another fellow reaches the cab at the same time. How do you make this funny?

     a)  Rick knocks the fellow into a puddle, then climbs inside.
     b)  "Move it or die, pal!"
     c)  The ghost of Johnny Carson climbs up on the taxi's hood and orders all traffic to stop.
     d)  Rick imitates the rude thoughts the fellow must be thinking.

2.  Bride Carolyn takes her father's arm as she waits to walked down the aisle to a man she doesn't love. How do you make this funny?

     a)  Carolyn trips over her gown, sprains an important muscle and is rushed to the hospital, the entire wedding party following.
     b)  "God help me, I'd rather marry the florist. And he's gay."
     c)  Carolyn's bouquet begins to talk to her, forcing her to run out of the church. 
     d)  Carolyn reaches the altar, but mimics the groom until he stops the ceremony.

3.  Divorcing couple Wayne and Nicole are locked in a closet. How do you make this funny?

     a)  They rattle the doorknobs, try to climb the walls and step over each other to get to the ceiling.
     b)  "So, Satan, how do you propose we get out of here?"
     c)  The opposite wall slides open, revealing a loud, flashing disco.
     d)  Assuming the other's characteristics, they re-live the last days of their marriage.

4.  Skater Katrina wakes in the hospital and learns she has a broken leg. How do you make this funny?

     a)  Katrina rolls out of bed, uses her arms to scoot down the hall and orders the nurse to hand over her car keys.
     b)  "I want a second opinion."
     c)  Katrina's family pops out of the bathroom, yells "Surprise! We actually broke your leg so we could redecorate your kitchen!"
     d)  Katrina becomes her favorite TV doctor, barking orders and overusing the word "Stat!"

5.  New school bus driver Amy gets lost in downtown traffic. How do you make this funny?  

     a)  Amy stops the bus, leaps over vehicles and runs for her life.
     b)  "Hold on, kiddies, and think of Disneyland."
     c)  A nearby crane lifts the bus out of traffic and carries it back to school.
     d)  Amy pretends she's Mr. Rogers, singing songs and playing games until she finds a familiar street.