Spirit of the Bear

Fetish:

Stone carvings by the Zuni pueblo to represent the spirit of the animal carved in the stone. The bear signifies strength, courage, adaptability, healing and spiritual communion.

While on our trip to New Mexico, we did a lot of hiking and sightseeing and checking out the local spots. We did not do a lot of shopping. It just isn't our style, but also, we were in Taos. And while there is a square with some shops we did visit one afternoon, many weren't open, probably because the owner just didn't feel like it that day. But C-man had some money to spend, and it was burning a hole in his pocket. We satiated his need a bit with a $15 arrowhead necklace from the Taos Pueblo and a $2 snake from a local trinket shop. While in the pueblo, he really wanted some carved stone bears. But I said they were too expensive, and not carved in that pueblo anyway (the Zunis do the carvings), so vetoed it. And since he had his arrowhead necklace, he was still pretty darned happy.

I, on the other hand, had it in my head to get some silver and turquoise jewelry, which I disappointingly hadn't found all week. So on our very last day, on our way to Albuquerque to get on the plane, Beerman said, "I'm going fast enough for a half-hour side trip if you want." I quickly googled "silver and turquoise jewelry, Albuquerque" and lo and behold, Old Town Albuquerque was only a few miles from the airport.

Dave the GPS navigated us flawlessly, we parked quickly and flew in and out of shops. And while it would have been nice to eat lunch and listen to the sweet mariachi band in the cute little plaza, I had work to do! The shop ladies were all about me trying on this piece and that piece, but I wasn't having it. If I didn't love it, I wasn't buying it. And I wasn't wasting any part of my precious 30 minutes trying on a $1200 necklace I certainly wasn't going to buy anyway! (Even if it was drop-dead gorgeous.) And in the 7th store, there it was; the set I'd been looking for at a price that wasn't going to require a second mortgage. And so, I impatiently waited for the woman to finish helping another woman so she could get my pieces out. Then we went to the counter to pay where Beerman and C-man joined me; Beerman with a serpentine Zuni bear fetish in his hand and C-man with a giant smile on his face.

So upon strict instructions from the lady who sold it to us, C-man is diligently feeding his spirit bear cornmeal. And occasionally, the bear gets hungry and the cornmeal disappears, to C-man's wonder and amazement. I guess the overpriced bear was worth it after all.