I’ve always had divided thoughts about Paul Newman’s character Cool Hand Luke. At what point does continuing to get up from knockdown blows go from being the resilient reaction of a guy refusing to quit to the pure stupidity of a guy who just cannot learn what the heck is going on around him?
Yesterday I encountered an example of a group of folks who took a punch, stayed on the ground, and developed a game plan to achieve victory many years down the road. I refer, of course, to the Potawatomi Indians.
Last year, the Potawatomi opened the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan, and it has been a lucrative venture for them.
I am personally in favor of Indian Casinos. To me it seems like a very fair payback for that Manifest Destiny idea we white guys put out there a couple of hundred years ago. The other thing I like is it simply provides the tribes with the opportunity to make money. The government doesn’t “repay” the tribe for past sins and transgressions…it simply says, “Y’all can do whatever y'all want…and if folks is dumb enuff to drive all the way over thar and then stand in line to give you's thar money…so be it.”
The thing that touches my heart is how well the Potawatomi learned the lesson of the white man. I refer to their gaming brochure shown below. It’s a simple little pamphlet that explains how the casino games are played.
The cover says, “The game has changed. But the rules are still the same.”
When one flips the pamphlet over, however, he encounters a different statement on the back, “Rules Subject to Change.”
Now where would they have learned that move?
“Guys thanks for your help unloading our ship. Ya know, I probably should have asked…have your people all been immunized?”
1 comment:
"Four Winds" sounds like the boat company in Cadillac- "Four Winns".
You should see the new multi-million dollar shanty they built at the Turtle Creek Casino in Traverse City. It is unbelievable what a couple of quarters a gambling little ole' lady on a fixed income can buy these days.
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