tree hugger (part 2)

at work a few days ago i had a table of four folks,
two of whom were native american.
one of them was an older gentleman,
and through the course of conversation
i learned that he was a dakota indian
and his tribe existed right where we were standing
until about 1840.
he was dressed in a bright salmon shirt,
his long gray hair intertwining
with his many necklaces
made of beads and animal claws.

they were an altogether lovely
group of people
and i enjoyed hearing bits of their
conversation every time i walked by.

when i came over to clear a few plates
he asked if i was studying anything in school
and i said i was not in school anymore
but had attended college,
had studied theatre and biblical languages.
and then i added the usual,
"but i might go back because i really
would like to study ecology."
one of the gals at the table said,
"see. you were right."
i stood there in a confused state
and then she said,
"he told us you were an environmentalist,"
and nodded toward the old man.
"are you a tree hugger?" he asked, smiling.
i started to laugh and told him that yes i was
and i had climbed a tree just days ago.
he said he can tell things about people
and he could tell i cared about the environment
and that i had a special affection for trees.

we then had an interesting discussion about the earth,
exchanging viewpoints from our respective belief systems.
"man was not given dominion over the earth to exploit it
but to care for it..."
it was very enjoyable except for the part where
my boss got mad at me for talking to them for too long.
ah well.

-nicole