Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere!

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What a bummer! I go to Crazy Horse and don’t hear a single Neil Young song!!! Rip off!!!! (That’s for JJ and Doc Andersen, the two biggest Neil Young fans I know of.) Since it was “look at things carved in the side of mountains” day I went a little further down the road from Mount Rushmore to the Crazy Horse monument. There is a work in progress in the side of a mountain that, hopefully one day in our great-grandchildren’s generation, will be a sculpture of Lakota tribe legend Crazy Horse. The sculpture has been under construction since 1948 and isn’t even close to completion. (Jackson Browne was born in 1948. His birthday is next week, and he’ll be 73.) For the snail’s pace that makes it seem like it’s a government snafu, in actuality this is completely funded by private contributions, with no government (city, state, county, or federal) helping. The face is done, and you can make out the pointing arm, as is evident in the photo. However, that’s about it. That hardly put a damper on the visit, though. The memorial includes an expansive museum that salutes all of the indigenous tribes of the U.S., not just the Lakota, and not just Crazy Horse. One of the things I was delighted to see was a collection of skookum dolls on display. I remember those things!!!! They were American Indian dolls, designed respectfully to depict various manners of dress in the different tribes. They were discontinued in the 1960s (which is why I remember them and the 40-somethings won’t have a clue what I’m talking about). It was great to see one again!! The museum, like the sculpture in the mountain side, is a work in progress. It was quite nice to see an 1880s pouch from the Iroquois (which are from my part of the country instead of a western indigenous tribe). I don’t think it’ll be a masterpiece in my lifetime, or even in my niece’s lifetime, but the potential for the museum and the memorial is great. Here’s hoping they can finish it sooner rather than later (or not at all). And get some Neil Young music in there while they’re at it!!! (Here’s Neil Young and Crazy Horse)