Hubbell Trading Post
(Group Hug)

Wherever he goes, there they are: Monkey fans*--people who want to give Opice a hug, or a squeeze, or a pat, or a kiss, or a good tongue lashing.

"They wouldn't do it if they didn't love me," he tries rationalizing.

Okay, then why do these lyrics come to mind? "I love you, a bushel and a peck and a [wringing of your] neck!"

*Huggers Ebeth & Erin suggest a possible answer might be guessed from his June2004 Trading Post visit.

Monkey busts loose from the Love Fest.
"Come-on. Let me show you the cool stuff inside." But then waits for one of the gals to open the door for him. Mr. Hubbell wisely put the door handle higher than an ape's reach.

"Open the door! Open the door!" he whines impatiently. "Why do I always have to tell everybody to do everything all the time?!"

Inside he springs into demonstration mode. "This is a genuine cradelboard. It's the original backpack. See how it works? I can ride in one of these all day and never get tired.

"Babies do, too. And they can't get out or get in trouble." He swings his dangling feet a couple times. Thinks. Kicks. Starts hyperventilating. "Let me out! Let me out!"

Monkey is set free of the cradelboard despite overwhelming prescedence against clemency.

Feeling completely in charge again, Opice sits upon a stack of rugs and dons a Chief's Blanket. "I don't know if this is a 3rd Phase or which Phase but for sure I'm making it a Czech Phase Cheif's Blanket. And therefore, as presiding headmonk, I'll now have Ranger Hope give you a nice rug demonstration.

"You may proceed," he says with great imperiousness not understanding that a true headman doesn't speak like that.

The National Park Ranger knows Opice well enough neither to argue, nor to concede authority to him.

"If people would like to take a seat," she gently asks for attention, "I was about to give a short presentation on the various styles of Navajo weavings when you came in." She looks at Monkey with her disarming smile.

"This is a Ganado Red style rug," she begins showing examples of the major types, e.g. Eye-Dazzler, Two Gray Hills, Chinle, Yei...

"Sometimes you'll find a rug with a Spirit Line or Spirit Trail in one corner. This is it here. Another term for it is Weaver's Pathway. When Spider Woman taught the first Navajo to weave, she warned to include a way out of the design. The Spirit Line is a single thread that traverses the boarder providing the weaver's creative spirit a path to leave the rug when it's finished. Otherwise the weaver might loose the ability to create more rugs.

Hope concluded her presentation with a pictoral style, "This is the Tree of Life rug. Traditionally it has birds flying on it and a cornstalk growing out of a Navajo Wedding Basket. But there are no absolute rules. Sometimes the birds sit on the corn leaves. Obviously corn is an important symbol of life to my people.

"Before Hubbell influenced the artists, most wove in the Chief Style and in any case the categories are somewhat arbitrary. There are weavers who make textiles combing two or more patterns into one rug. Those are often called Rug-within-a-Rug."

"I hope you've enjoyed my short lesson on rug types. There's a lot more to choosing a rug than just pattern. There's how the yarn was made and dyed, how dense the weave, and details in the weft and warp. If you have questions..."

Monkey had a question, of course. "How do I get to the Stone Hogan?"

Hope was happy he asked. "I'm glad you're getting out of the Trading Post... into the FRESH AIR, I mean." And then she told him where to go.