Forever Was A Day

                                                 Chapter 9  
 The second I sat down at the table, the laughter and joking abruptly ended.  Daniel went from being Robert’s older brother to Captain Daniel Henry McArthur, Jr.  He told – no he ordered – everyone where to sit.  I was seated directly across from him.  After Daniel blessed the meal, he made sure he was served first, then began to eat without the courtesy of waiting for the others.  No one made any objection.
    “So, Robert tells me you’re a college girl,” Daniel said, sarcastically.
    “Yes,” I responded, softly.
     “Yes, sir,” he shot back.
    Clara Suzette said,  “Robert and I believe being respectful is what’s key.”
    “Respect and formal are what this girl needs to be taught early or you’ll live to regret it,” Daniel said. "And furthermore…”            “Daniel is there anything else you would like?” Robert interrupted, “More coffee? Juice?”
     “No,” Daniel said, pleased by the special attention he was receiving.  “I’ve got to save some room for Thanksgiving dinner.  Isn’t that what this day is about?  Turkey, stuffing, and sweet potato pie?”
    "It’s about giving thanks,” I said, respectfully.
    Daniel stared into my gaze. He leaned forward, a mocking smirk on his pale face, his blue eyes glaring. “Thanks to who, girl?  The Apaches?”
    I didn’t respond right away. I needed a moment to find polite words. “I believe they would appreciate being called Native Americans.  And, I believe the Puritans who survived that cold winter at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts in 1620, would say, yes, they were very thankful.”
    A bigger smirk broke at Daniel's lips. “Is that right?”
    "Yes…sir.  In the fall of 1621, the Native Americans and the Puritans held a Thanksgiving celebration for three days.  I say the Puritans were very thankful to the Native Americans for keeping them alive.”
    Daniel picked up his cup of coffee and held it to his lips.  He didn’t take one sip. He sat there peering at me over the cup, his eyes growing a darker blue, and said, in a mocking tone, “You don’t say?”
    “Yes…sir.  And during World War II, the Navajo Indians were important servicemen in the United States Marine Corp.   The United States might have lost that war if it hadn’t been for the Native Americans.  The Navajo soldiers used their native language to create a communication system to send messages in U.S. military codes that the Japanese couldn’t break.”
    “R-e-a-l-l-y?” Daniel said, again in a mocking tone.  “So the Apaches is the reason the grand United States military won the war?”
    “The sole reason?  No…sir.  But did they play an important role?  Yes…sir.  Of course, I’m sure you already knew this being that you’re a military man. There are plenty of books about the different American cultures in the school library."
    "Different American cultures? That’s what you’re learning in college?”
    “If you want to learn about other cultures, you have to register for the course and pay. I'm taking African American studies. But we wouldn't have to go to so much trouble if our schools told the whole truth."
   "The whole truth?"  Are you saying the American history I was taught is a lie?"
   "If you put it in a textbook, title the book American History, teach it to children so that they can learn how this country came to be, but leave out the contributions of all other people, all other cultures, except those who look white, what is written might be true, but it is not the whole American history."