A Whistle to Find My Brother

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The walking stick was given to me by an elder.

This stick is important to me because it was given to me as a child, and I have had it for decades.

My younger brother passed away about twenty years ago when he was nineteen years old, and this walking stick used to have a whistle, but that whistle now resides in my brother’s casket.

I placed it there so I would have a way to find him in the spirit world. I have never been that religious, but death has a way of making those who are non-religious believe in an afterlife.

The stick sits regularly next to the shrine of all my lost loved ones in my house.

Photo caption if needed.

Rico Pinola • Age 40 • Rohnert Park resident

Rico Pinola attends Sonoma State University, where he majors in English, Anthropology, and Electrical Engineering, with minors in Native American Studies and Film Studies. He is the father of five children and a member of the Manchester Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians.