Ahjee sat on a log beating up roots his mother had gathered for their evening meal.

“I’m to old for this kind of work.  Besides, it’s not men’s work anyway,” he grumbled to himself.

He knew he should help his mother but he really wanted to run around like the other boys even though he couldn’t runs as fast with his crippled foot.  He wanted to be treated like a man but his mother treated him like a child.

A truck pulled up to the village’s main area and a tall white man stepped out.  Ahjee had never seen him before and his heart umped at the thought of another government man coming to make trouble.  The man walked over to Ahjee and asked where he could find the village chief.  Without getting up, Ahjee pointed to a hut near the center of the village.  It had a brightly colored streamer hanging from a pole over the entrance.

When the man came out of the tent, he walked over to where Ahjee was sitting and sat down on a rock next to Ahjee.  Several boys in the yard saw the man and came running over by Ahjee to see what was going on.

“Your Chief told me your name is Ahjee.  My name is Trent.  Do you boys like to run?”

Most of the boys nodded yes.  Ahjee looked at the ground and shook his head.  “I can’t run because I have a bad foot.”

“Well, I just talked to your chief about building a sports field with a running track in it.”

Ahjee and the other boys just looked at Tracy because they didn’t know what a sports field was.

Tracy explained what a sports field and track was and what all you could do on it.  “Come with me and I will show you where we plan to build the field.  The boys came running after him but he noticed Ahjee didn’t come.   Tracy  told the boys all about what the new sports field would look like and what all they could do on it when it was completed.

As he headed back to the truck he noticed Ahjee was still sitting on the log.  He walked over to Ahjee and said, “What makes you think you can’t enjoy the place to play?”

“I like to run Mr., but I can’t keep up with the other boys.”  He stood up and Tracy noticed the crooked foot.

“Hum,” said Tracy.  “It looks to me like one leg is shorter by about an inch.  I wonder if you had a special shoe if you could run better?  Ahjee, do you have any animal skin and some short pieces of wood that I could take with me?”

Ahjee looked at Tracy for a few moments, then said, “I think so.  I will go look.” and he limped away to one of the little huts in the middle of the village.  In a few minutes he came back with a small piece of skin and several little scraps of wood and handed them to Tracy.

“That’s all I could find.  Is that all you wanted?

“Yes,” said Tracy.  He pulled out a sheet of paper from his notebook and put it under Ahjee’s foot.  Tracy took his pencil and traced Ahjee;s foot on the paper.  “I’ll be back in about a week and maybe have something for you.”  Tracy went to his truck and drove away.

About a week later Tracy and several other men came back to the village and the men started working in the field where the track was going to be built.

Tracy came over to where Ahjee was sitting and said, “Ahjee, put your short foot in this little shoe I made.  I want to see if it fits you.”  Ahjee put his foot in the little shoe and stood up.  “Now try to walk with the shoe.”

Ahjee stood for a moment moving his foot around then tried to walk with it.  He had no trouble walking after the first few steps.  “Now, Ahjee, try running on it.”  Ahjee started walking then began to trot.  He came back to Tracy and was grinning a big wide grin.

“Can I go show my mother my new shoe?”

“Of course you can.  Now Ahjee if you keep wearing this shoe when we finish the running track, you will be able to run with the other boys.”  Several times while the sports field was being built, Tracy would find Ahjee to see how the new shoe was working.  he made two adjustment in the shoe and Ahjee was able to run better.

By the time the sports field as completed Ahjee was able to run and keep up with the other boys.

One day the village Chief announced the track ad playing field was ready for the village to use.  Ahjee could hardly wait for the foot races.  He knew he could rn now and wanted to show everybody.  He thought if he won the race he would be considered a young man and maybe no longer have to do women’s work.

The last race of the day was for boys of Ahjee’s age.  They all lined up waiting for the Chief to drop his staff.  Ahjee found himself at the back of the pack by the third turn.  Two of the boys fell and he pushed harder and was about to pass the boy leading the pack.  As they came to the fourth turn he began to feel the shoe coming loose but he kept on running.  With only a few meters to the finish line the shoe broke loose.  He tried to keep running but the shoe came off.  Ahjee began to fall but came in third.

Embarrassed, he kept on running as best he could and kept running toward his hut.  Several of the other runners chased after him, caught him and began dancing around him, shouting Ahjee! Ahjee! Ahjee!

“I Didn’t win,” he sobbed, “I didn’t win.”  The boys paid no attention to his mutterings and dragged him before the village Chief.  They all bowed down on the ground.

“Ahjee,” said the Chief, “You are a hero.  You may not have won but you are a brave runner.  You are a young man!” and he waved his staff in the air over his head.  Everybody began to dance around the boys.

When the excitement began to calm down, Ahjee saw Tracy standing near the track.  He was holding a new shoe he had had a shoe cobbler make and was bringing it to Ahjee.

The next day Ahjee’s mother asked him to fill the water jug.  without hesitation, he picked up the jug and said, “Yes, Mother, I will be glad to help you.”  Ahjee smiled as he walked out the door.