Taking Lakota Home

In the large panorama of life, the death of a single animal is a small event, but if that animal is a pet which has become a companion, confidant, and friend; that passing can have unexpected and unpredictable consequences. If the owner is himself nearing eternity, the effect can become significant. If the tragedy happens in the magnificent fall, itself the Season of Remembrance, the effect can be profound. It is suddenly very important that Lakota be properly buried at the distant, ancient old home place where she was born. While Lakota rests in the local funeral home, in the tiny country town of Buddyro, under the care of Leonard, the undertaker, Uncle John revisits both people and places as he tries to decide on Lakota's final resting place. In the diversions from his stated mission, he encounters a maelstrom of memories, consequences of decisions long past, attempts to set some things right, and adventures both amusing and tragic. His teenage nephew, Wade, who is reluctantly swept along, narrates the story as Uncle John confronts the guilt of a life ruined long ago, makes a last desperate attempt at happiness, deals with the local sheriff, reveals his part in the greatest unsolved mystery of Buddyro, encounters amazing changes in both the African-American and Latino presence in Halcyon County, and reluctantly acknowledges the end of the Old South he has known.