Same Sun Here

Meena saw the news story and is worried about River. She decides to send an email in hopes of getting a quick response that he is ok.

River is unharmed, but his friend Mark’s leg is severely injured, and the doctors say he will never play basketball again. The boulder that hit the gym weighed three tons, and it was a scary experience for River.

The incident at River’s school is national news. Mawmaw says that, even though the news is reporting the story now, people will quickly forget what happened because people think their Kentucky community is, “a bunch of stupid hillbillies who are looking for a handout” (177). People are quick to stereotype them, just like people might stereotype an Indian immigrant.

When River was at basketball practice and the boulders first came towards the school, he thought it was an earthquake. When the rocks started hitting the gym, the rafters fell, and the ceiling starting caving in. Mark couldn’t get out of the way of a boulder in time, and it smashed his leg. Four of River’s other teammates were injured too, but Mark’s injuries are the worst. His leg may have to be amputated. Both of River’s parents came to the hospital after the accident, and even though he was in shock, he felt so thankful to see them.

Mawmaw and her activist organization, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, are planning a march on the state capital, and Mawmaw has been on every news station speaking out against the coal company and mountaintop removal. After the accident, River’s mother’s headaches vanished, and she plans to attend the march along with River’s dad. Even though River had been partially dreading seeing his father again, their relationship has been good, since his dad returned home, and the rock fall seems to have brought his family closer together. 

Meena saw Mawmaw on TV, as well as River in his team’s basketball photo, which she cut out from the newspaper and put on the fridge. She was scared when she first saw the news story and didn’t know if River was ok or not. Mrs. Lau cursed at the TV whenever the coal company owner came on and called him a liar. Meena is the only student in her class who still writes to her pen pal, and she recognizes that their friendship is strong because of the difficult times they have been through together. 

River writes most of his letter in the form of a poem. He explains that he’s going to school at a church building now. He agrees with Meena that their friendship is close, like a family relationship. 

Meena is learning to type, since River types his letters to her, and she’s using a computer at the library because her apartment is cold. The heat in her family’s apartment is not working, so they’ve been sleeping in coats and hats. Things are so bad that a dead mouse fell through Mrs. Lau’s ceiling. Mrs. Lau says the landlord would fix the building if they were “rich white people” (194). Vanessa’s old apartment has a “condemned” sign on it, and Meena worries her family might get caught soon for living in their apartment illegally.

At school, Meena watched Obama’s inauguration on TV, and she feels happy to know that his middle name is an Indian name because it makes her feel like she is a part of what is happening. The Drama Club play, A Chorus Line, has finished. Everyone loved the backdrop of a New York City street that she painted. She included the faces of people she knew in the backdrop, along with every race of person in New York. The play reminds her of her own mind because a lot of action and crazy things happen backstage, while the audience only sees the perfect side of the play. In the same way, Dadi and India are constantly on Meena’s mind, but America is there in front of her.

Meena’s mother is still overwhelmed with grief over Dadi’s death. As a way to make a change and feel different, Meena helps her cut her long hair down to a short bob. Meena’s father is upset because he feels like he no longer gets to make family decisions. Her parents have a fight. Her father feels left out, like he’s no longer the family leader, but her mother feels she has no choice but to make the family decisions while he is away. Meena knows how her father feels; she felt abandoned when her parents first came to America and left her in India, and she feels left out when they talk about things that happened before she came to live with them in New York.