i sent my bracelet to m. frances, who lives in the santo domingo pueblo, about 60 miles west of Albuquerque, new mexico. i met her at the taos pueblo during the San Geronimo feast, an ancient ceremonial event celebrated near the end of the harvest season. This crisp day in October, over a hundred local Native american artisans brought their crafts to display on folding tables set up throughout the pueblo. amidst the sea of exquisitely crafted silver jewelry, pottery, and other wares, a necklace with a turqoise and fiery orange stone pendant caught my eye. i stopped to admire it and began a conversation with the woman who stood behind the table where it was displayed. i mentioned a bangle bracelet my mother had given me years ago. several turquoise stones were missing and i wondered if she could repair it. she suggested that i mail it to her. i agreed. so she took one of her fiance's cards and printed her name carefully in ink above the p.o. address: m. frances.
after i mailed the bracelet, several days went by without a word from her. i tried calling a few times, but no one answered the phone. eventually an automated message informed me that voice mail for this number hadn't been set up yet. i was slightly annoyed. more than a week had gone by since i put the bracelet in the mail. i knew that i had taken a chance, sending a bracelet to someone i barely knew, but in spite of no communication from her or her fiance, i was certain i woul
d see the bracelet again.
finally, nearly two weeks after mailing the bracelet, frances answered her cell phone. she apologized for the delay, telling me that apparantly her fiance had picked up the package from the p.o. box days before, but had neglected to tell her. she works as a nurse, she explained, and often has extended shifts. By the time she gets home, her fiance is either asleep or at his job. As a result, she had barely seen him during the past several weeks. But she had finally spotted my package under a stack of other items on a bureau in her dining room.
as for the bracelet--frances informed me that the stones were imitation, but that if i liked, she could replace them with real turquoise. it would cost me eighty dollars for the stones and for her work. i thought about this for awhile--calculating whether or not i wanted to spend the money, realizing that the price was fair, but wondering if the money could be better spent. i thought about the lapidariest i had taken it to a few months ago, a man who told me he would charge me sixty dollars for the stones alone--and that they would be plastic, not real turquoise. i was processing all of this when suddenly she spoke in a different tone, as if she had somehow heard my conversation with the lapidariest in California. Her voice was soft and clear. She was telling me something straight from her heart.
"i don't use imitation stone or metal, because that is cheating. my grandfather told me a long time ago that you must be proud of your work, that that is important. you must always be proud of what you do and not cheat anyone. and then the person who wears your work wears it with pride as well."
i was struck by what she said, because she could have easily replaced the missing stones with more fake ones. and i would have paid her far more than what they were worth. but instead she chose to tell me the truth, knowing that I would probably choose not to have the bracelet repaired, especially because she had also told me that the band was some kind of metal, not silver.
so i chose not to have the bracelet repaired, but it doesn't matter. this woman gave me something far more beautiful than the bracelet and she gave it to me for free. she transmitted to me the spirit of her grandfather, who spoke of doing your work with pride. so that when you give or sell something that you have made--it is something of value, something from you.
i carried that into my workplace the next day. i thought of things i had written--too quickly perhaps, because they weren't that important and didn't deserve the focus of my time. but that day i decided to change that. so that whatever i do--i will do it with pride. pride in the work and pride in the giving, because of it.
after i mailed the bracelet, several days went by without a word from her. i tried calling a few times, but no one answered the phone. eventually an automated message informed me that voice mail for this number hadn't been set up yet. i was slightly annoyed. more than a week had gone by since i put the bracelet in the mail. i knew that i had taken a chance, sending a bracelet to someone i barely knew, but in spite of no communication from her or her fiance, i was certain i woul
d see the bracelet again.finally, nearly two weeks after mailing the bracelet, frances answered her cell phone. she apologized for the delay, telling me that apparantly her fiance had picked up the package from the p.o. box days before, but had neglected to tell her. she works as a nurse, she explained, and often has extended shifts. By the time she gets home, her fiance is either asleep or at his job. As a result, she had barely seen him during the past several weeks. But she had finally spotted my package under a stack of other items on a bureau in her dining room.
as for the bracelet--frances informed me that the stones were imitation, but that if i liked, she could replace them with real turquoise. it would cost me eighty dollars for the stones and for her work. i thought about this for awhile--calculating whether or not i wanted to spend the money, realizing that the price was fair, but wondering if the money could be better spent. i thought about the lapidariest i had taken it to a few months ago, a man who told me he would charge me sixty dollars for the stones alone--and that they would be plastic, not real turquoise. i was processing all of this when suddenly she spoke in a different tone, as if she had somehow heard my conversation with the lapidariest in California. Her voice was soft and clear. She was telling me something straight from her heart.
"i don't use imitation stone or metal, because that is cheating. my grandfather told me a long time ago that you must be proud of your work, that that is important. you must always be proud of what you do and not cheat anyone. and then the person who wears your work wears it with pride as well."
i was struck by what she said, because she could have easily replaced the missing stones with more fake ones. and i would have paid her far more than what they were worth. but instead she chose to tell me the truth, knowing that I would probably choose not to have the bracelet repaired, especially because she had also told me that the band was some kind of metal, not silver.
so i chose not to have the bracelet repaired, but it doesn't matter. this woman gave me something far more beautiful than the bracelet and she gave it to me for free. she transmitted to me the spirit of her grandfather, who spoke of doing your work with pride. so that when you give or sell something that you have made--it is something of value, something from you.
i carried that into my workplace the next day. i thought of things i had written--too quickly perhaps, because they weren't that important and didn't deserve the focus of my time. but that day i decided to change that. so that whatever i do--i will do it with pride. pride in the work and pride in the giving, because of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment