Where are your border towns?

"Your from Minneapolis? Yep..Have you heard of peavy park? Yep, and Cockroach park,,,Right on man!" This is the usual exchange that takes place every time I sit by Tom at lunch. He is a 31 year old man who lived in Minneapolis, he played basketball until he was a junior and the he blew out his ankle. On any given day he can point out anyone else in the room and tell how he schooled them on the court when he was younger. I have learned that to get the most out of relationships with the guys in Whiteclay, I need to spend a few lunches letting them tell the things that they are willing to tell me ( a 24 year white boy who apparently is "wet behind the ears" at least thats what they tell me). Sometimes it can feel like a nursing home, what I mean is that for the most part people who eat lunch in whiteclay are usually intoxicated. So even though Tom and I have talked multiple times, he hardly can remember my name. So now I know that Tom loves to talk about basketball and Minneapolis, so now when I sit by Tom at lunch I can bring up the things that I know he loves to talk about. Sometimes talking to intoxicated people can be scary but sometimes when peoples reservations are removed it can be beautiful. I sat by a man at lunch today who I never talked to before, he immediately started telling me how he served in the air force and he used to jump out of planes at 10,000 feet. He couldn't have been more proud. He went on to tell me about his daughter who was a star basketball player, and his face beamed when he talked about her being invited to play in Australia as part of the down under games. Everyone at the table joined in his excitement over his daughter, which eventually turned into a contest to see who could say "Good day mate" with the best Australian accent. Then he went on to tell me about his mom and how she died nine years earlier. Fighting back tears he explained all she had done for him. He said once his mom asked him what he would do when she was gone which he replied, I'm a fighter mom, five years in the air force, I can fight through anything." It was clear he was still fighting and today was a tough day. I feel blessed to be able to share these moments with people. Every day feels like the first day of school. I may sit next to someone who wants to beat me up, or I may sit next to someone who is dying to bear his soul. Whatever happens with the rest of my time here, I thank God for the moments I have been able to share with all my friends in Whiteclay NE.