If anyone wonders how I became who I am, here is an interview with my parents from the early 1970s.

MR. AND MRS.FRED LONG

I met Mrs. Long at Holdenville high school where she works as an aide. She is Choctaw and her husband is Creek. When I told her I was eager to meet some Creeks of the area she said her husband would be glad to talk with us. He is a employee of the Holdenville Post Office and has lived in the area all his life. We arranged an appointment for the following Tuesday evening.

The Longs are a pleasant couple with two handsome children, Tim and Lisa, whose ages are about five and eight.

“I'm making a deliberate effort to rear my children differently. I don't like the traditional Indian way of "‘seen but not heard' for rearing kids. I want them to be out-going and articulate. They may not have the best manners in the world, but I want them to be expressive and creative,” Mr Long says.

He recalls that in his childhood home, only the Creek language was spoken. He had a rough time that first year in school. He went to school at Yeager, and the bus driver who still lives in the area recalls that he had a hard time getting little Fred and his sister on the bus every day.

“We took Blue Bread to school. Took us quite a while to notice that other kids had sandwiches in their lunches. ''

“Did the other kids tease you about being different?'' we asked.

“Naw,” he grinned. ''I'd probably have hit 'em if they had!''