Rolling Tobacco into Cigarettes 🚬

 June 25, 2026 | Thursday Evening |  6:10 PM 

                             My Parents 

My parents were really good together. They were really good for for one another, too. Mom always had a Marlboro Light cigarette 🚬 in her hand. Dad Mackie was always rolling his TOP tobacco into cigarettes. He always had that yellow can by his side. 

My Dad Mackie was a loving & caring person. When his brother, my Uncle Dutch, was diagnosed with cancer I was maybe in 1st grade. He was always up on The Rez with his brother taking care of him. I would go with him sometimes. Me & Mom. Before Uncle Dutch got really sick, I remember him talking about The Vietnam War. I won't repeat what he said, but, it was extremely graphic. "It was War. We had to survive. If we didn't ki££ them, then, they'd ki££ us." I remember him saying. 

I was sitting on the floor at my Dad Mackie's feet watching TV. They were talking about war & life. Mom was smoking a cigarette at the end of the couch. Uncle Dutch was sitting in his cushioned chair. He had a small 1 bedroom home on The Rez. There was a second home next to his. And, that's where my brother Doug met his wife. 

My Dad Mackie took care of Uncle Dutch until the day God called him home. He was extremely loving, caring & kind. He was patient. And, he was the type of person to see things through. When he made a commitment to something he showed up. He always honored his word & that made him extremely trustworthy. 

My beautiful mother, Marlene, she has this heart of gold. She has this playful spirit and personality that I  see in my eldest sister, M.B. & in many of my nieces and nephews. Mom, really loves all of her children & grandchildren & siblings. She loves everyone in the family with her whole heart. 🥰 

Mom really loves our Church ⛪️ & everything about our culture, too. She was a woman of faith, culture & our traditional way of life. 

As you can see, I struggle with how to write about her. I don't want to use past tense, but this part of the questionnaire is specifically asking about my past. Mom was called HOME on October 5th, 2024. So, she is gone. But, I believe that she's still alive in spirit. So, I write about my memories of her. And, I write about who she is as a person when she was alive. 🥰😇😇😊

Mom & Dad Mackie, I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH. ALWAYS & FOREVER. MMMWWAAHHH. Kisses. 💋 


XoXo 🌹 



Love, 


Me 




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