When I became a Consultant Endocrinologist to the two Indian tribes in the northeastern part of Nebraska, I was confronted with the problem of lodgings while I was there on a monthly basis. I tried to stay at hotels at the nearby town 35 miles away. Being an anthropologist, I realized it would be best if I stayed in the village of the people I had come thousands of miles to serve. To kill two birds with one stone, I also realized that we could invite students in medical, nursing and other auxiliary professions to stay in the house while they could be with us one month at a time.
Thus was born the idea of the BLUE HOUSE .
Within days, news arrived that an elderly lady who had lived in the house for 15 years was moving out to an assisted living facility and was willing to give me the house if I could pay all the remaining liens on the house which amounted to only about 6000 years old.
When I met the lady, i saw that she was so happy to get rid of the house which has become an encumbrance to her. I remember saying to her: I am Jewish and I can see that this is a good bargain that you are selling this house at this price, but I must insist that i pay you a few thousands of dollars more. She was so happy and I am sure she left lots of blessings.
The house was blessed in the Indian traditional fashion by an elder of the tribe Elmer Blackbird, I remember that scene so vividly with my Indian colleagues present, including my coworkers for the many years to come, Michele and the lady who would adopt me as her brother, Wehnona.
My adopted brother Carlos (actually his name is Charlie but I latinized his name) got to renovate and rip off and make the house livable and the house blossomed into a two storey building with three bedrooms upstairs and a large bedroom, a large living room and a large kitchen downstairs.
It became a HOME
Lots of books and lots of memorabilia of the Indian tribes I had visited and the gifts I had been given by many Indians.
Many many students passed through there, staying their one month rotation. Some doctors stayed for a year or two, as there were no living accommodations near by. Anthropology students, doctoral students in Linguistics all blessed the house with their presence.
It was also a refugee for my adopted family in that they could use the house which stood empty for months with brief visits from me.
Notably, I had many visitors. A Japanese visitor. A Spanish visitor. A Finnish visitor. A Malaysian visitor. A Turkish visitor. A Namibian visitor. over the years, many languages could be heard within the walls of the little house which was painted Blue on the outside and multicolours in the inside by a talented Omaha relative.
The Omaha Cigar Club when we smoked good Cuban cigars were born here. Good friends from Miami visited..
The place held lots of memories but it was time to move on .
thank you Blue House.. thank you all my relatives..
