What do you when feel that you need a break from your job as a blackjack dealer? Do you take a mini vacation and then get back to things? Do you ask to be re-trained as something else? Do you go back to school? For Ron Cooper, it was something totally different – he decided that he wanted to walk the Trail of Tears – the 835 mile distance that the Cherokees were forced to walk during the 1838 forced relocations. While Cooper loved his job in the casino, and he met the love of his life, who is a fellow dealer, at work, he believes that walking the trail is one of the most significant achievements of his life, and doesn’t regret it for a moment.
Two cowboys come upon an Indian lying on his stomach with his ear to the ground.
One of the cowboys stops and says to the other, “You see that Indian?”
“Yeah,” says the other cowboy.
“Look,” says the first one, “he’s listening to the ground. He can hear things for miles in any direction.”
Just then the Indian looks up. “Covered wagon,” he says, “about two miles away. Have two horses, one brown, one white. Man, woman, child, household effects in wagon.”
“Incredible!” says the cowboy to his friend. “This Indian knows how far away they are, how many horses, what color they are, who is in the wagon, and what is in the wagon. Amazing!”
The Indian looks up and says, “Ran over me about a half hour ago.”
