Read Online Little Brother of War by Gary Robinson - Free Book Online

name than stickball.”
    â€œSo the best team among the Oklahoma Choctaws has invited us to their rez for the competition,” Charley continued. “It’ll be held Labor Day weekend as part of their annual festival. We’ll play five games. The best three out of the five takes the title.”
    He pulled a letter out of his back pocket and handed it to me. “Here’s a copy of the invitation letter with the dates and location,” Charley said. “Talk to your parents and let me know. We need you for those games.”
    He finished his lemonade and stood to leave. Mom came in to say good-bye.
    â€œI don’t know where it came from,” Charley said to Mom before heading out the door, “but stickball is in Randy’s bloodline. One of his ancestors must’ve been a great player.”
    After he left, I gave Mom the invitation letter to read. She had already said she didn’t know if she wanted me to play stickball anymore. She felt it was too easy to get seriously hurt. I knew I had to work on Dad. I hoped he’d be more agreeable to it. Things had really changed in the last few months!
    That evening at dinner I showed the letter to Dad. I sat quietly as he read it out loud. Then I told Mom and Dad about stickball’s other name, Little Brother of War.
    â€œIn my dream of Jack, he kept calling me ‘little brother,’” I said. “He told me to find another path instead of war. Don’t you see? This is that path!”
    It took another hour of pleading, whining, and convincing, but I finally wore them down. They said I could go to Oklahoma! I was waybeyond excited! This would be my first trip without my parents!
    I spent the month of August getting ready for the trip and the upcoming game. Mom helped me gather the camping gear I’d need. We’d be staying at the campground near their old tribal headquarters in the town of Tushkahoma, Oklahoma. Wait. I recognized those words. They were both Choctaw words!
    On the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend, the team headed out. We had three full-sized vans filled with players and our gear. Only twenty of our players could go because some of them had to work or take care of family.
    The 550-mile trip took about twelve hours with stops for gas and food. We arrived at the campground the same night. The schedule called for us to play five games in three days. The first game would be Friday night and the final game would be Sunday night. That would give us time to drive back home on Monday, which was the Labor Day holiday.
    Friday afternoon was the opening of their annual Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival. Our team was introduced to the crowd that had gathered. Everyone was very nice and welcoming. It was our first chance to see the other team. They didn’t look so tough. They even had a kid on their team who looked to be about my age.
    It wasn’t until late that afternoon that our “secret weapon” arrived from back home. A car carrying a Choctaw medicine man, drummer, and singer pulled into the campground. They’d come from Mississippi to support our team.
    Charley had explained a little about traditional Choctaw stickball teams. He said they were always helped by this type of “supernatural” support. They would chant, drum, and sing from the sidelines. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a little of this kind of help for this competition.
    At seven o’clock we all went to the stickball field. It was a great field for stickball because it wasn’t also used for football. Nothing butstickball was played there. It was a large field of smooth, mowed grass with goalposts at either end.
    When the first game began, our sideline supporters started doing their thing. The singer sang Choctaw songs of encouragement. The medicine man spoke ancient Choctaw words to bring us power. The drummer beat his drum faster or slower depending on the speed of the game.
    The Oklahoma Choctaws