Driving from Nederland to work in Boulder today, I picked up another rider. He was very friendly and seemed to be a pretty good guy. He was outgoing and talkative. Not overly talkative, but very comfortable talking about himself with simple questions like “what are you going to do in Boulder today”. He did not ask me any questions about myself.
He is 33, born in Nebraska, and on his way to a Boulder elementary school where he is taking classes to prepare for the GED, which he is pretty confident he will pass on July 15. He was kicked out of high school at age 16 and has been making his way with odd jobs. He wants to go to college in Oregon. His girlfriend plans on moving there with him. He’s been living with her for the last while, and she recently decided to move out of her place and camp near Nederland to save money for the move to Oregon.
He is part Native American and qualifies for a pretty good scholarship to go to college. He said that if he moved to the reservation in South Dakota that he could get $1,000 a year from the casino. I didn’t realize that one of the way Indian casino’s operate and justify their existence is by paying out money to the indians of the tribe that the casino is run by. I am definitely not an expert on Indian casino politics, but at least there is some direct benefit (although it doesn’t seem like very much).
I wish him the best.
