Gnugnúška passes into eternity

[fdangelo]

It is with sorrow, but with hope in the Resurrection, that I announce the passing of my dearest friend, known to Forum members as Gnugnúška, aged 88, from this world into eternity yesterday, March 4, 2024.

Oscar joined the Forum in its infancy in 2009. 1,657 posts later with his last view on Feb.24 of this year, he was passionate about preserving the language of the People.

I will directly quote from his mother’s journal written over 70 years ago:
“When Oscar was in the second grade he got into a heated argument with his Dad at the dinner table about the treatment of Indians. Paul said something that hurt him. He stopped talking, hung his head. He didn't eat. Tears splashed down into the plate.”

And then, in typical Oscar fashion, he went outside and burned down the outhouse! What a boy! And later…What a man!

He, modest as always, would not want me to list his accomplishments, but he was a world traveler, a linguist for the Air Force, an engineer and a man known for his honesty and integrity. It would be difficult to find someone equal to him.

I met him through the Forum 11 years ago with the SOWs that were popular then. Our friendship grew and we determined to write a book together that would both promote the language and do justice to a very painful and tragic period for the People. Years in the making, he poured over every sentence, researched every detail to give the book authenticity. Yes, we were two very “white” people, who sought to tell the truth and the power of reconciliation that could only benefit the People and indeed, everyone in this great nation of ours and beyond.
How proud he was when the book was published! How excited we both became when we posted the book on News and Announcements here! How he insisted we lower the price so that our profit was minimum…about a dollar for each book purchased.

We watched the views on our post grow rapidly in January. “We are either becoming famous or infamous!” I said. It seems the latter is most truthful as after our posts received, currently, 24,336 views, only 2 books were purchased. Did any of these views prompt anyone to really look at the book before it was judged? Or was the book just judged by the ethnicity of its authors?
I will leave the conclusion up to you.

Let me end by saying the world became a little poorer at his passing yesterday, but that Heaven rejoiced at his return home. Rest in Peace, my beloved friend.

And let him add what he always lived by:
日日是好日。Day in and day out, every day is a good day.

[Jac and Nakoma 1]

It is so sad reading this. Thank you Florence for your emails. You were a good friend to them . Miss Jing, his much loved and admired wife will be in our thoughts. She is such a kind, thoughtful lady and has much strength of mind, body and spirit so I hope she will soon remember happy times till they meet again.
Our friend loved birds and animals and I bet his late, much beloved dog Barker is jumping all over him and Hillary the squirrel is eating nuts from his hand as she used to do. Lately he had been ringing a bell to announce dinner time to the birds. And as for Nakóma (my cat) he called her "that dear adorable creature" and said how much he'd love to hug her. He wrote such a lot of funny, amusing emails to me over the last 3 years and we discovered how some of our ancestors most likely knew each other. It's a small world. We are all connected. Recently he had been asking a lot about the olden Lakota days and traditions. We talked much about the stars. He said once on a small island in the Yellow Sea he said to a friend a star was moving! His friend called him a few things and said it was a fishing boat. Another time in the Ozarks he thought stars were moving but they were just fireflies. I told him how the stars in the Milky Way are the campfires of those making their journey to the Spirit world. He said that was very comforting. We also had a great love of sweet stuff and teased about that (especially apple pie) . I know he would not want us to be sad because he was such a positive, funny, lover of life so I have written this -
I say Tókša for it's not goodbye
And we'll meet some day for that apple pie
But if it's nibbled here and there
Just look who's sitting by your chair.
That cat you love and think so sweet,
Is gobbling up your tasty treat.
Tókša friend

[Daniel]

Dear Florence, dear Jac,

What more can I add to your two messages? Everything has already been said about Oscar and I don't know what more I can say than you? People like Oscar leave this world far too early, whatever their age.

I never had the chance to meet Oscar, but I'm saddened by his passing. But, as the poet would say, thoughts are free. I, who am nothing like a poet, would simply say that thoughts laugh at space and time.

So let us pray, for those of us who believe in the power of prayer, and let us be in communion of heart and mind with Oscar, for he is certainly also in communion with us who are still making our pilgrimage on this earth.

Sincerely, Daniel.

[GnaskaGleska1]

Dear Florence

There would be so much to say about Oscar, and about Oscar and you. You both contributed so greatly to animate the forum. Although we had few contacts, I'm grateful for the involvement and amount of work you dedicated to the forum to help us learn better. The SoW was a brilliant idea that I enjoyed a lot. With Daniel, we tried to revive it. It worked for a while, but the attendance dwindled after a while, and as you mention it, those kinds of efforts nowadays are looked down upon and not really welcome.
So it is with sadness that we wish Oscar to make a safe journey, wherever it may lead him, but always with the hope that the world beyond is a better place to be.
Dear Oscar, you will be missed by your forum friends.

Caroline