Finding a partner is a challenge

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When I was a young student at Church Rock Elementary, an activity our teachers forced us to do was learn different dances.

I say "forced" because most of us were shy kids from the old Church Rock Indian Village. Picking a partner to dance with was always the first and toughest hurdle.

This mostly happened in the winter months when we were kept indoors at recess time and lunch. So for physical activity, instead of sports in the gym we learned to waltz and dance country style.

As young kids we had to be pushed to pick a partner. Most times, the teacher would pick our partners for us.

No matter what age, 1st grade to 6th at Church Rock Elementary, there were always kids that took to the dancing easily and those who stubbornly resisted.

For we Church Rock kids the end of elementary meant we had to ride the bus to Gallup to start 7th grade. While dancing was not held as often as in elementary school, we occasionally had to face off with partners we liked or didn't like.

At Gallup High School, dancing became a little more serious. Not only was it enjoyable once you stopped playing the role of offended male or female, at this age you had to recognize that, like it or not, we had to live and work together.

Of course, some Casanovas jumped right in and some couples always danced together. For a small group of us, mostly Native Americans, both boys and girls, we chose to be stoic and stayed on our sides of the gym until the coaches forced us to pair up.

I was often paired with Angela or Doris and we tried to keep a steady, balanced waltz like the couples around us. The class lasted only 45 minutes and before you knew it the bell rang for the next class.

The days of being pushed and prodded in the back by a teacher towards a girl equally as unwilling as I was to get close came to mind as I attended the announcements by Lynda Lovejoy and Ben Shelly when they named their running mates on Aug. 9.

At Lovejoy's announcement, held at the Days Inn in St. Michaels, a conference room was filled with supporters and curious onlookers. It was standing room only when she announced her pick of Earl Tulley.

The crowd interrupted her speech with applause a few times, as well as Tulley's.

For Shelly's announcement, we had a heck of a time finding the time and location. First we couldn't find anyone who knew. Then it was the Quality Inn. Then the time kept changing. Then the location changed.

Finally the announcement was held late in the day at a private residence near Basha's here in Window Rock. A small group gathered, mostly friends and family, and four of us from the Navajo Times. We were the only news organization present, unlike Lovejoy's event that was attended by KTNN radio.

Shelly explained that they wanted to do it traditionally without a lot of fanfare. So while we waited, Shelly and Rex Lee Jim had some traditional doings in a hogan before emerging to stand on a small stage to make their statements.

Regardless of your opinion of Lovejoy's and Shelly's choices, we who have observed and reported on the Navajo Nation government in Window Rock for years know that these partnerships rarely last.

It is almost a tradition for a chairman and vice chairman or president and vice president to eventually disagree and part ways.

Will the 2010 running mates work well together? Will they be a team? Will we see harmony in the high office no matter who is elected?

Whoever wins, will we see them running against each other four years from now?

It is a tricky business to pick a political running mate. Kind of like forcing shy kids to dance.

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