Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2020 11:59:43 -0700
From: Backwoods Boy . <backwoodsnatureboy@gmail.com>
Subject: Indian Summer - Part 1

Brothers

"Where are you going, Buddy?" Mom shouted as I went out the back door.

"Up the creek," I hollered back.

"Don't get into any trouble," was her response, as expected.

"Of course not," I replied dutifully, as always.

The year was 1967, and I'd recently passed my fifteenth birthday. I'd
spent the first fourteen years of my life in an urban setting. Since real
and imagined city evils were at the top of Mom's "trouble" category, I
hadn't been allowed to go more than a block from home except for school.
All that changed for the better when we moved to the country a month
after my fourteenth birthday. I had complete freedom to explore the creek
and the woods simply because Mom didn't understand how many ways one
could get into trouble out there.

"And don't come home with any tall tales about Indians making you their
blood-brother!"

I grinned to myself and pretended I hadn't heard her. Yeah, my excitement
and imagination had run wild at first about what I thought I saw in the
woods and what I wished would happen. Sometimes I still thought I saw
figures slipping away into the forest, but I'd stopped telling her about
it.

Dressed in loose cutoff Levis and sneakers, I ran to the creek and began
my journey upstream, jumping from rock to rock and occasionally wading
through a pool. The warm sun on my bare back gave way to the cool shade
of the woods.

I glanced up at a deer and her twin fawns standing quietly in the woods.
She'd seen me before and wasn't concerned. I'd seen many animals along
the creek during the previous summer, including a mountain lion that Mom
didn't know about. So far, I hadn't seen a human animal.

I smiled as I ran my hand over my Mohawk haircut. Dad had easily been
convinced to give me the haircut. Mom wasn't so happy about it. I loved
it. I'd never seen a blond, blue-eyed Indian, but that didn't discourage
me from wanting to be one.

The canyon narrowed as I continued upstream. At the deeper pools, I
paused to watch the trout I'd tried unsuccessfully to spear with a sharp
stick. Wading in, I splashed the cool refreshing water on my face.

About a half-mile upstream, the canyon opened up into a small clearing
where the creek flowed through a mountain meadow. In my Indian fantasy,
this was my sacred place where I could be one with nature.

Entering the clearing, I kicked off my sneakers and stood on a rock
overlooking my favorite swimming hole, listening to the gurgling sound of
the water and the wind in the trees. A raven overhead called to its mate.

Unbuttoning my shorts, I released my raging boner. As a late bloomer, my
pubic hair had only recently developed. I was proud of the treasure trail
growing up towards my navel. The pole that jutted upward had been fully
functional for about a year, and I made good use of it in the only way I
knew how.

I spit on my hand and stood with the sun warming my back as I gently
stroked myself. Edging wasn't in my vocabulary yet, since frequency was
more important than duration. I knew I could do it as often as I wanted
to. It didn't take long before the sounds of the creek and the wind in
the trees slowly faded away as the intense sensation between my legs
spread throughout my body. Silently, I shot a load into the pool. As
always, the trout quickly cleaned up the evidence.

I was thinking about another session when I looked around. Finding that I
wasn't alone, I quickly rinsed the jizz off my hands and buttoned up my
shorts. Lying in the grass about twenty feet away, watching me with a
mischievous grin, was a friend from school. Benny was seventeen, and his
dark skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes revealed his American Indian
heritage. Shirtless, barefoot, and wearing a pair of camouflage cargo
shorts, his rock-hard body matched his status as a state champion
wrestler. He had a Mohawk haircut which looked exactly like my blond one.
To be honest, I'd shamelessly copied his hair style.

Lying beside Benny, dressed in loose frayed cargo shorts, was his younger
brother, Tocho. At fourteen, Tocho had been in the eighth grade the year
before, so as a high school freshman, I knew him mostly from talking with
him at Benny's wrestling matches. Named after his spirit guide, the
mountain lion, Tocho was a smaller image of Benny except that his hair
was coarse and shaggy and covered his ears.

Benny was my hero and role model because he was a genuine American Indian
as well as being on the wrestling team. I'd asked him a lot of questions
about his culture. Although he seemed amused by my interest and
enthusiasm, he was very considerate about satisfying my curiosity. He and
Tocho had taken me to a ceremonial dance once, and it had been the
highlight of my life.

"Hey, Tonto, feeding the fish, I see," Benny observed with a twinkle in
his eyes. "Giving back to nature is a good thing."

The nickname was a private one Benny gave me after I got the Mohawk
haircut. I liked it, coming from him, even though it implied I was a
Hollywood Indian.

He motioned for me to join them. "Come over here and be sociable. We
gotta get to know each other better."

The two of them moved apart, giving me room to drop down between them on
their blanket. My face was red with embarrassment.

"There's no need to be ashamed, Buddy. We all jerk off from time to time.
It's perfectly natural, and out here in the woods is the best place to
enjoy yourself that way." He rubbed my Mohawk playfully. "By the way, I
like that you got a haircut like mine."

"I was afraid you'd laugh, but it was important to me."

"I didn't laugh. I understood completely. It's a symbol of your interest
in our culture and your desire to have the same closeness to nature we
do." He gave me a teasing smile. "Or maybe it's because you like me."

My mouth got ahead of my brain. "Actually, it's all of that. But I do
like you a lot."

Now I was blushing again. I glanced over at Tocho, who was watching in
silent amusement. Tocho tended to be the quiet kind, not bashful, but as
if his mind were somewhere else on more important things.

Benny lightly stroked my chest. "I like you too, Buddy. You're a sincere
and sensitive guy. And that dark all-over tan almost makes you look like
the Indian you wanna be. But we gotta do something about your blond hair
and blue eyes."

A shiver ran up my spine from the touch, and my boner started to come
back to life. It seemed that when Benny was around, I always had a boner,
and I didn't quite understand why.

I grinned at him. "I wish it were that easy."

The three deer I'd seen earlier wandered into the clearing, browsing on
leaves and grass. The doe looked at us and then went back to eating.

"I see those deer often," I observed.

"Do they ever run away?" Benny asked.

"Nope. They don't seem to be bothered by me."

"That's because you're connected with nature. I saw that in you long ago.
You belong here with them, and they know it."

"I guess the mountain lion I saw must have known that, too. He looked at
me for several long seconds before disappearing into the woods."

Benny looked at Tocho, and a silent communication passed between them.

"The fact that you saw a mountain lion is meaningful. The Ghost Cat
doesn't reveal himself to everyone. And it's more significant that he
didn't disappear immediately. Were you scared?"

"Nope. He seemed to be trying to tell me something."

"That's interesting. Remember that. It may be important later."

The doe and her fawns wandered back into the woods to browse elsewhere.
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, watching a pair of dragonflies
flashing in the sunlight.

Benny ran his hand over my Mohawk again. "From what you told me and what
I've seen, you're more of an Indian than you realize." He stood up. "I
gotta go, but before I do, I'm gonna give you a new nickname. The name
means 'lost white brother'. You're now part of our family, Pahana."

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. "You don't know how much that
means to me."

Benny smiled. "I know more about what it means to you than you do right
now, but we'll talk about that another time. Right now, I gotta go, but
Tocho is gonna hang around and go swimming."

I wiped the tears away and looked at Tocho. "Is it okay if I join you?"

Tocho smiled at me. "I'd like that, Pahana. Maybe I can show you some
things that would interest you."

************

Removing our shorts and tossing them to one side, Tocho and I waded into
the cold water. With a grin, Tocho splashed freezing cold water on me. I
dove under the water and tackled him, pulling him under with me. We
wrestled around playfully, our hands tentatively exploring each other's
bodies as we enjoyed our adolescent fun. The water was far too cold to
tolerate for more than a minute or two, but in spite of that, we both had
boners when we came out.

We stood there grinning at each other, both wanting to continue the game.
Tocho began to stroke his pole, so I did too. I'd never seen another guy
do what I did all the time, and it excited me in new ways. We looked into
each other's eyes and grinned, and the challenge was on.

Tocho came first, firing multiple jets of sperm at me. Before he was done
I returned the favor. We stood there laughing at our antics before
jumping back into the pool to wash off.

Lying down side by side on the blanket to dry, we watched a pair of
ravens playing in the air currents. Tocho reached out and took my hand.
"That was fun!"

I squeezed his hand. "Yeah, it was. I've never done anything like that
before."

He smiled knowingly. "You'll probably be saying that again before long."

I lay there for a while wondering what he meant. Maybe he'd tell me more
later.

Tocho changed the subject. "I've seen you in the woods from time to time.
I don't think you've seen me though."

I looked at him thoughtfully. "I think maybe I have seen you. Sometimes I
have glimpses of someone slipping away into the forest. Usually when I'm
down by the creek, but sometimes when I'm lying on my towel here."

Tocho looked a little embarrassed, and then grinned. "Your eyes and ears
are better than I thought. Maybe we can make you into a real Indian yet."

Tocho changed the subject again. "I've also seen you trying to spear fish
in the creek. Spears won't work for small fish in streams. I have another
method. Let me show you how I catch trout in the creek."

Putting on our shorts, we walked upstream a short distance to a large
pool. Tocho pulled a shiny white object out of his pocket.

"This is a bone fishing lure that my grandfather gave me. There's a hook
on the end. It doesn't have a barb, which makes fishing more difficult,
but also more interesting. It's used without any bait. In the old days,
the fishing line would have been made out of some fiber growing in the
area. That isn't available, so I use modern fishing line. Let me show you
how it's done. Sit here on the bank and watch, because we don't wanna let
the fish know we're here."

Tocho carefully approached the pool by way of a large rock. Lying on the
rock, he lowered his lure into the pool. With small movements of the
lure, he waited.

Tocho had infinite patience. It was ten minutes before he got a nibble.
When the ten-inch trout had the hook in its mouth, he flipped it onto the
bank with one smooth movement. With his pocket knife, he cut a forked
willow branch to use as a stringer.

Tocho handed me the lure. "Okay, now you try it."

I duplicated Tocho's approach to the pool as closely as possible. Then I
lowered the hook into the water and watched. I could see fish swimming
around in the pool. Occasionally one would show some interest, but not
enough to find out if it was looking at food.

Tocho had some advice. "Lower the lure closer to the bottom of the pool."

In a couple of minutes, I got a bite, but I reacted too quickly and the
fish got away.

"Let's move to the next pool," Tocho advised. "When a fish bites, watch
carefully to make sure it really has taken the hook."

About fifty feet further up the creek, Tocho identified another pool to
try and the rock to try it from. I carefully positioned myself. Lowering
the hook to the general level where I could see the fish, I watched as
several looked and moved on. Then a larger fish nibbled. I waited. It
nibbled again, and then took the hook. With the same smooth movement I'd
observed, I flipped the fish onto the bank, too close to the water. Tocho
quickly grabbed it before it could escape.

Tocho grinned happily. "This is a beauty. It's more than twelve inches
long. For this creek, that's a big one. Now let's move on and see if we
can get two more. That'll be enough for dinner."

Tocho got lucky and quickly landed one at the next pool, nearly as big as
mine. Then he let me try again. It took me a half hour and three missed
opportunities before I captured another one. This time, I flipped it
farther up onto the bank.

"Should we go to your house or mine to cook them?" Tocho asked.

A sly grin spread over my face. Mom was about to get a dose of reality.

"Mine, and I'll tell you why. I've been telling Mom about seeing Indians
in the woods and becoming their blood-brother. Yeah, I made some of it
up, but now I know I didn't make it all up. And I now have a real Indian
brother. So let's go to my house and see what Mom has to say about the
fish my imaginary brother and I caught using a primitive Indian tool. Dad
will be very interested in the lure, too."

Tocho laughed. "Okay, I like your idea. Do you want me to call you Buddy
or Pahana?"

I considered that briefly. "Go with Pahana. And then watch Mom's face
when I explain it. And do you wanna cook the fish yourself?"

"If your mom will let me. There's nothing special about the way I do it,
but I'm used to doing it at home."

************

Tocho and I took the path through the woods. It was early enough that Mom
would not have started dinner yet.

I was working on a plan. "Let's go talk with Mom first, and then clean
the fish. And let me carry the fish."

I walked into the kitchen with Tocho following. "Hey, Mom, look at what
my friend and I caught. Can he cook them for dinner for us?"

Mom looked at the fish, then at me, then at Tocho.

Introductions were in order. "This is my friend Tocho. I know him from
school. Tocho, this is my mother."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Tocho said politely.

"I'm glad to meet you too, Tocho," Mom replied.

A dozen different struggles were going on in Mom's mind. She bought some
time by sending us out to clean the fish. When we came back, she had it
sorted out.

"Buddy, will you please get shirts for both of you?"

I complied, and Tocho and I put the shirts on.

"Tocho, what will you need to cook the fish?"

"A frying pan, flour, cornmeal, a couple eggs, salt and pepper, and oil.
And maybe some dried basil."

"Fine, I'll get that together for you. And the fish will go well with the
salad I made."

I watched closely while Tocho cooked the trout. I wanted to know how to
do it, too. Mom watched from a distance. It was clear that Tocho was
familiar with working in the kitchen.

At dinner, Dad had some questions.

"Where did you catch the trout?"

"Up the creek about a half mile," I replied.

"What did you catch them with?"

Tocho pulled his lure out of his pocket and handed it to Dad.

Dad looked at the lure with amazement. "This is an American Indian bone
lure!"

Tocho took over. "My grandfather gave it to me."

"And who caught the fish?"

"We each caught two. I taught Pahana how to use it. Oh, sorry, I mean
Buddy. That other is a name my brother gave him."

"What does Pahana mean?"

"Lost white brother. My brother gave Buddy that name because we both feel
like he's our brother."

I watched Mom, waiting for her to have a stroke.

"I'm asking too many questions. The fish are absolutely delicious. Thanks
for cooking them for us and for showing Buddy how to use that magnificent
lure. I hope he appreciates the opportunity you gave him."

"I know he does. He's very interested in American Indian culture, and
Benny and I enjoy teaching him about things."

Mom struggled to maintain her composure. The "tall tales" were becoming
reality before her very eyes. She redirected the conversation to a
reality she understood.

"There's apple pie for dessert."

We enjoyed the pie in silence. I think Dad was reflecting on what a good
friend I'd found, and Mom was trying to adjust to the fact that there
were Indians out there in the woods.

"It's getting late," Dad observed. "Would you like to spend the night
with Buddy? Would that be okay with you, Dear?" he asked Mom as an
afterthought. I suspected he would catch hell later for not asking her
first.

"Tocho, will it be okay with your mother?" Mom asked. "You can call her
if you want to."

"She won't mind at all. And my brother knows where I am."

"I'll clean up the dishes, Mom," I offered, giving her the final shock of
the evening.

While I rinsed the dishes and put them into the dishwasher, my parents
became better acquainted with Tocho.

************

Tocho and I went downstairs. I showed him my bedroom and fixed him up
with towels in the bathroom. Then we played ping pong in the family room
until it was time to take showers and go to bed.

Neither of us had worn underwear during the day. I normally wore it at
night, but Tocho crawled into bed naked, as if that were normal for him.
I wanted to be like my new brother. I turned out the lights and crawled
into bed naked beside him.

"The whole evening couldn't have worked out better if we'd rehearsed it.
Pretending to accidentally call me Pahana was brilliant."

Tocho grinned. "Your imaginary friends have become real."

"And I have an Indian brother who has parental approval. Even for an
overnight stay. The fish was really good, by the way. You have a lot of
different talents."

Tocho grinned mischievously at me. "More than you can imagine."

I dozed off, wondering what other talents he might have to share.


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