Lots of jobs to be done today. Bills to be paid, laundry to be done, rhubarb to be turned into a crisp, grocery shopping and a native american celebration to get to. Bills done, laundry done, crisp made, groceries purchased, Pow Wow attended.
We heard the drums as we approached the celebration grounds. Dancers moving slowly, rhythmically in a loose circle in front of the tribal building on the shore of Puget Sound dancing to the sounds of the throbbing drums and stacato women's voices. Beautiful, colorful costumes, feathers, narrow silver bells ,soft leather, mirrored discs, raptor feet and bone. People intent on the dancers, little children caught in the music, dancing everywhere. Long, thin canoes each holding 10 or 15 men racing other canoes on the bay, chanting, counting, rowing powerfully. Orange chunks of salmon smoking at the food tent, scenting and coloring the air. The Northwest Indian version of our chicken barbeque. We were overwhelmed.
Pictures? No, no pictures. I turned the camera on, tried to focus on one of the little children dancing, and...nothing. Camera is completely frozen. No focus, no menu, no off, nothing. I called Jesse in a panic and he gave us a number of things to try, but nothing worked.
We had to take a deep breath, stand back and take it all in, commit it to our memory. Sorry you couldn't see it, the pictures would have been spectacular, but they wouldn't have captured those drums....
After two frustrating phone calls with customer service people from Nikon, people whose first language isn't English, we realized that this camera was DOA. We need to pack it up and send it back to Nikon and wait for them to decide whether they will send us a new one. The one year warranty is up as of TODAY! Can you believe it?
So far, the TV quit, the new and expensive electric tea kettle's plug fell apart, and now the camera. Lets hope three problems will end the streak...
No pictures for awhile.
Well, your written description of the pow-wow made me feel like I was there ...I could certainly imagine all those sights! Too bad about the pictures and camera ....we've all been enjoying the documentary as you go. Will need to rely on your descriptive words for a few days, eh?? A good exercise for our technologically-tired brains which get a lot of visual stimulation!!!
ReplyDeleteNice weather here now ...got down to mid-40's the night before last. Stunning morning sunrises and beautiful temps. Makes NY look look pretty good right this second! Great weather to start our new fencing project. No trailer yet. Any day ...
I must have been a spectacular sight. I have read about the Potlaches the Indians of the Pacific North West were "famous" for. Food, dance, more food.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing Jesse. There was something so familiar about him. I saw Foofie a bit and even your Dad. It has been so long. He is a handsome young man. I know you and Dave are very proud and love him a great deal. Mary