04. Towaocing Points, Part II: The Prophecies of Dr. Jefferson
Last year, Dr. Jefferson wanted NASTaP to hold its annual conference on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in the Four Corners area. It was an inconvenient location for me, a Denverite, because I would have to cross five mountain ranges and drive nine hours to get there. Life was so chaotic with bad events occurring almost daily and I just wanted to hide at home and doom scroll on my phone. But Dr. Jefferson had other ideas. He had hinted at these when four of us visited his home in April 2022. I asked him what he saw in our future. He answered that we would go through a bad time, even worse than the pandemic. He was so negative that I finally asked him if there was no hope at all. “Not for me,” he answered, “but for NASTaP and the people, there will come a better time.” Exactly three years later. I get a call from Dr. J, as we liked to call him, that he was coming to Denver to get my help planning the conference. Dr. J, his care giver and driver Cam, and I sat do...