"What Ever Happened to Frank Snake Church?" Summary

Frank Snake Church is a thirty-nine-year-old Spokane Indian forest ranger on Mount Rainier near Seattle who thinks he's been struck by lightning one day but discovers it's a "vision" telling him that his father has died. He jumps into his truck and drives at breakneck speed to Seattle's Central District and the home he shares with his father, Harrison. As he drives, he recalls all his years of growing up with his father and mother, and especially the years they've spent together since his mother Helen died. When he reaches the house, he finds his father sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal and drinking coffee.

Almost exactly a year later, though, Frank's father dies, and after the funeral Frank returns home, gathers up pieces of his father's hair...