wrinkles once and for all, she said. Dennis was taken by surprise in
their meeting when she seemed to make an abrupt about-face and
was receptive to the efforts of Guzman and Associates. Within
months, they had formed a veritable partnership, Dennis explaining
to her what was needed and why, and Lila realistically explaining
what was possible and miraculously, with charisma, grace and
intelligence, selling it to her dyed-in-the-wool constituents. It was a
miracle that this woman who seemed so ignorant to the needs of the
suffering could stop being a politician and start acting as a conduit of
hope. Dennis was amazed by her transformation.
They were married two years later with a media circus that
Barnum and Bailey could not have masterminded. Across the state it
was seen as a symbol of hope that Native Americans and whites could
cooperate and live together. Lila Cole had earned a tremendous
amount of respect for her humanitarian efforts, not to mention a
great deal of support from all the minorities of the state. And she
managed it without alienating the rich whites because she had made
it look as if they were responsible for it all, as if it were all really their
idea. When a small Native American publication asked Dennis if this
wasn’t in fact chicanery, not politics, Dennis replied, “A ruse by any
other name…”
But still the problems between the whites and the Indians
continued, specifically those a little closer to home. Now and then,
Dennis would find his beloved daughter Theresa, now six, sporting
wicked bruises that she said she received from white girls who had
attacked her in school. A tough girl, Theresa wouldn’t cry, and would
never discuss the incidents. On each occasion, Lila said that she had
visited the school and made sure that the offending students were
punished. After one particularly bad injury, where Theresa had
actually required a few stitches, Dennis stormed the school
administrative offices and demanded to know how such a thing could
possibly continue to recur? He insisted that if such a thing happened
again, he would have the school closed down. After much ranting and
raving, it was related to Dennis that no reports of any beatings
involving Theresa on school grounds had been filed.
When he confronted Lila, she explained that generally she was
being attacked outside of the school. Theresa confirmed this. It was
nothing to worry about, Lila said, because she was going to arrange
for a chaperone to watch over her in school and make sure nothing
ever happens again. Dennis calmed down and kissed his daughter on
BIG AMERICAN BREAKFAST
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