A Lesson from a Homebody: Michele Reeves

A Lesson From a Homebody

By Michele Reeves

For those of us who live in or near Gallup, we see this town for what it is—small. We take for granted that there are expansive grocery stores, nail salons, service stations, and restaurants all within a short drive. The “perks” of Gallup is what others from the central part of the Navajo Reservation make a day’s trip to visit. Because it’s a long roundtrip journey, the trip must be worth the time and fuel, especially if the grandparents are coming along.

Marie Tsosie is one of those people who makes her trips into Gallup as purposeful as possible. She has been an elementary teacher at the local boarding school for nearly three decades. She lives next door to her elder parents at the base of the western slope of the Chuska Mountains. When she isn’t at school, she is caring for a small flock of sheep, grading assignments next to the wood-burning stove, and having dinner with her parents. As far as she is concerned, there is no need for the internet, fast food, or Frappuccino. However, there always comes a time when a scheduled trip into Gallup is necessary, and she is quick to point out that it will never be during the first week of the month. Marie was raised “off the land” and without electricity and water. She and her siblings spent their childhood playing in the mountain springs, picking berries, and camping outdoors. She has always loved the sounds and smells of nature, and she loved coming home from school to the bleating sheep. Her brothers and her sister teased Marie for her reluctance to venture far from home, even to get a college education. Marie knew she wanted to be a teacher but feared any large city and its large university. While her brothers left for the military and her sister married and moved away, Marie’s options were limited. Fortunately, Diné College was a 30-minute drive from home. That meant, however, she would need to transfer to a fouryear college soon; so off she went to UNM and the “big city” of

A Lesson From a Homebody

Albuquerque.

She loved her classes; hated the noise pollution. Her dorm room faced out toward Lomas Boulevard and its non-stop traffic. She said that “pulling an all-nighter” took on a different meaning for her; she simply could not fall asleep in such a noisy place. While her dorm mates went out to eat, watched movies, and hung out at coffee houses, Marie retreated to her room and day-dreamt about the mountains, the sheep and lambs, and her parents. She could hardly wait for Friday afternoon, so she could go home to rest. Her parents, however, saw this as an opportunity to get away from the farm by driving into “town,” while Marie took care of the sheep and home. She could not understand the lure of Gallup.

Marie explains that she is a homebody, content with the simple way of life. Even her parents wonder why she is not more like her brothers and sister. They often wished they could live closer to Gallup, so the trips wouldn’t take the entire day. It could be that since Marie’s parents were both retired and, according to Marie, needed some hobbies, going to Gallup easily became one. That was years ago; now they are dependent on Marie to drive them into Gallup. It is cute, she says of her parents, to watch them prepare to go to “town.” She knows exactly which stores they want to shop at, where they will eat lunch, and, if time permits, that they will visit old friends or the flea market. It does surprise them at how much Gallup grows from one visit to the next.

Grow? Gallupians would beg to differ, especially since we still drive to Albuquerque or Flagstaff to eat at Olive Garden or Red Lobster, shop at Barnes and Noble Bookstore, watch a movie while sitting in a Lazy Boy recliner at the theater, or to stock up on supplies from Costco. Those of us who take Gallup for granted are leaving our homes every-now-and-then to do exactly what Marie and her parents do at least once a month.

Marie is right–there is no place like home.

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