In the story,
The only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't flash Red anymore, is about these two guys, Adrian, and Victor. For the most part in the story, it tells of them sitting on a porch, watching all the different kids go by. While there, they see this group of kids, walk by, and among the group, there is a boy named Julius. Victor and Adrian start talking about how good of a basketball player he is, and this makes Victor remember how good he used to be. Then the story goes ahead one year, and we see this kid, who is drunk, and we find out that it's Julius. Victor and Adria, start talking about how good he could have been if he wouldn't have started drinking. In the story, there is a basketball game tonight, and instead of Julius doing good, he doesn't make any shots. Then the story ends, with another basketball superstar, and it ends by her walking down that same street.
I think that the thing that that this story is trying to get at, is that this reservation has some really good potential, but because of poor decisions, they cannot accomplish something that is great. But instead of leaving the story off, to assume that this new girl Lucy, who is also a star basketball player, to go down the same path as many others did, I want to extent the story, and this time it will have a different ending.
Lucy was walking down the street, to her next basketball game. She was playing for the sixth grade team, even though she was in the third grade. At the game, she makes 30 points, and shows up all of the boys. Everyone has such high hopes with this little superstar, hoping that she will be the one that will end up making it all the way, going to the WNBA.
Five years have passed now, and Adrian and Victor, are still sitting on the porch, watching the only intersection with a stop light, when they see a girl walking. She is skinny, and is walking with a limp. The girl gets closer, and they can tell that it is Lucy. "Man that girl can sure play some basketball", said Adrian. "Ya she played really hard last night, but I sure hope that Ankle will heel up in time for the next game, says Victor with a sigh". "Do you think that she will still make it to the big time", asked Adrian. "Of coarse, From what I hear, she is doing very well in school, and has already had college's looking at her", said Victor.
Another 5 years pass, and instead of being on the porch, Victor, Adrian, and all of folks from the reservation are huddled around a small TV, watching Basketball. On the screen, a face pops up, and says that she has 45 points this game, setting a new record. The women on the screen, is Lucy, and she is playing professional women's Basketball. She is the first person who is from the reservation who made it to the big time. In a live interview, after the game, she was asked, "What makes you such a good basketball player", and she answered, "At my home on the ranch, not everything was easy, and I had to work very hard, for the easy things, but while living on the ranch, I learned to never give up, and always follow your dreams, because if you work hard, then anything is possible".