End of the summer activities…

Every year for the past 5-6 years, I have attended a Pow Wow held by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The event called Schemitzen (which I may have spelled incorrectly), is a corn festival with over 500 Native American Tribes in attendance. The event has Native American dance and drumming competitions, as well as a vast array of vendors offering all manner of crafts, artwork, and jewelry.

This event is a remarkable sight; the costumes (for lack of a better word) are beautiful and incredibly detailed. The people are equally as beautiful as well very warm and friendly. Although I am always amazed that tourists feel compelled to photograph these people without asking their consent, then are dismayed when the person turns suddenly spoiling the shot. It is no wonder we American’s have the reputation for being rude that we do.

All of the silver bracelets that you see Me wearing are acquired from this event. The artisan who creates them wasn’t there last year, so I didn’t have an opportunity to add to My collection. This year he was there, and recognized that I was wearing quite a few of his bracelets. He again gave Me a discount due to the quantity that I have purchased over the past 5-6 years.
Unfortunately, he does not have a Web site; he advised that he was concerned about his product being copied/knocked off, which is quite understandable.

Last year I commissioned another Native craft’s man to make a custom purse for Me, as fur handbags were anticipated to be the height of fall fashion. He wrote down the specifications and dimensions of the purse I wanted and I gave him a deposit. He advised that the item would be completed about a month later.

A month passed and I didn’t receive the handbag or any notice of a delay. I pulled out the business card and receipt and called the phone number on it. I left a few messages with My contact information, which he had previously written on the deposit receipt. I also emailed him, as he had a Web site, but there was no response. Coincidentally the Web site went down about a month later. In November, I filed the deposit slip with some of My other paperwork.

This year, upon arrival I looked for his booth and brought the receipt to him. He was sitting in a lawn chair playing old Native storyteller to a young couple. When he paused in his story telling, I excused Myself and advised that I had placed a custom order with him last year. He said he remembered Me, and that he had gotten My phone message, but that I should have called again. I advised that I had made several calls, to which the man from the young couple said, “the stories just get more and more interesting”.

My guess is (and this is only My opinion), that he thought I was just a tourist and that he could make a quick buck and not have to come up with any product. I think if the young couple hadn’t been sitting there he would have given Me a bit of an argument. He counted out the amount listed as “balance due”, and handed it to Me. I told him that was the “balance due” and that he owed Me the deposit, which happened to be more. He took back the money, re-counted, and then handed Me the correct amount.

I would rather have had the handbag, but at least I recouped the deposit and it paid for the entire day and the new bracelet as well.