Honor Their Teachings

   August 17, 2026 | Monday Night | 10:07 PM 

       What's The Craziest Thing I Ever Done 

                             in My Life

One of the craziest things that I ever done was bought a Greyhound ticket to Tucson, Arizona & ordered a concert ticket for the NB Ridaz Reunion Tour in 2018. I learned about their music back in 1996 when I was in school in Salem, Oregon & I fell in love with their music. It was their first time being together in 15 plus years & I wanted to see them LIVE! I saw them once back in 2000 when I first got to college in Santa, New Mexico.

I was spending a lot of time with one of my Aunties back then, Aunty Lola. She told me, "Niece, right now, you have the money to travel. You're in good health. Take the chance & opportunities when you can. Travel. See the world. Have fun." And, so I listened to my Elder. 

She also told me, we live our entire lives at home. As we should. But, there's still so much to see & explore once you leave The Rez & allow yourself the opportunity to see what else is out there. I truly appreciated hearing those words from her. I cherish those teachings because our beautiful elders collectively have so much profound wisdom & life teachings that can last many lifetimes.

I had never been able to explore Arizona when I visited that beautiful place in the past. I was a passenger on a momentarily new friends car when we traveled to the Navajo Nation where she got a new tribal I.D. card. We stopped by Window Rock & the Lori Ann Piestewa Peak. We stayed in a nice hotel over the weekend in Tempe, Arizona as she was part of a conference & I remember sitting at an outdoor café enjoying my cheeseburger with crinkle cut fries & listening to Bone Thugz & Harmony at an outdoor concert that was close by. Then, Snoop Dogg was also at that outdoor concert, too. Their concert speakers were extremely loud that it sounded like I was in the first few rows of their concert. I loved every minute of it. I love hip-hop & rap music. Bone Thugz & Harmony are one of my all-time favorite music groups. 

Back in 2018, I missed Thanksgiving with my family, but I spent it in Tucson, Arizona. When I got to the Greyhound Station in Tucson, Arizona, there was only one other guy in the small bus depot with me. It was the size of a spacious fast food restaurant with seats all around, a couple of TV's hanging up on some hooks & a couple vending machines. 

The gentleman who was there talked to me. He was just released from prison that morning. He told me he did 18 years & was happy to be going home. He was Hispanic. Older, around mid-50's. He asked to borrow my phone because he didn't have one. He wanted to let his family know when he was going to arrive at the bus station. I let him borrow my phone. He was polite. Gracious. Kind. 

"You should really be home with your family on Thanksgiving, Gerri." He told me. "What are you doing so far from home?" He asked. I let him know about my love for music & travel. I let him know about meeting up with one of my best friends from high school who I haven't seen in 20 years. And, how excited I was just to be seeing new places. "Yeah. We'll, I agree with you, but, you should still be home with your family on the holidays. It's important." He told me. A few minutes later his bus arrived & more people came through the small Greyhound Bus Station & then left. It was around 10:30 or so in the morning. My hotel reservation check-in wasn't until 4:30 PM. I had at least five more hours to wait. So, I called the hotel & asked if I could check-in early. The receptionist informed me that it would cost a small fee which I didn't mind & I ordered an UBER/LYFT driver to take me to my hotel. 

Tucson was beautiful. I first saw these massive cactus 🌵 trees that were over 10 feet tall. I had never seen a cactus bigger than what Safeway Floral Department sells & they can fit on the palm of your hands! So, I was like a little girl discovering something new for the first time! Wide eyed & smiling. 😃  🥰 🌵