Crumbo Motors
by Johnny Rustywire
Crumbo Motors was going to be torn down
and the old man was outside standing there selling what was left.
He hired a young Indian boy.
He was a Deal, Jasper Deal.
He cleaned up the stalls and threw the trash out.
As the young boy was cleaning
he reached into a corner of old boxes and junk
and found a stained blanket with holes;
it looked like an old time Navajo rug.
He picked it up and threw it out with the rest of the things,
but decided to take it home after the old man told him it was ok if he kept it.
Old man Crumbo was a Potowattamie Indian from Oklahoma
and had moved out west to a small town
and had his own garage.
He had picked up the rug years ago for ten dollars on a train trip to Albuquerque in 1930.
He put on the floor
and it had taken a beating
as it had laid there all those years with loose fringes,
it was sort of brown with soft colors, zig zag in design;
it was of little worth, that Burnwater rug.
Jasper took it home
and his mother washed it
and put it across the bed to keep his little sister's legs warm at night.
Her name was Karen, but everyone called her Laughing Girl.
She got used to taking it everywhere with her
and when she stood up she could wrap herself in it.
She was small
and watched everything and everybody,
and played around the yard with her toys.
They lived in Bakersfield, California.
That blanket covered her each night and she got used to it.
It was Fall
and the family decided to go to the Navajo Nation Fair back home
and they packed up and left,
staying with their grandma way down there at Oak Springs.
They went to the carnival, and saw all the exhibits.
The little girl would get tired
and her mother brought a small wagon for her to ride in
and she took that blanket with her.
They spent the whole day at the pow wow and traditional song and dance
and night fell upon them.
Laughing Girl was five years old
and had heard her Shimasani-grandma talking about learning to share
and how all people, not just Navajos, have to do that to grow up the right way.
Laughing Girl sat quietly and watched at the Pow Wow
as there was a give away by a family of their most prized possessions,
a dancers rocker or roach as it is called,
some buckskin leggings,
and shawls of all kinds.
It was a nice thing to see.
It was late and they decided to leave as it was getting cold.
A young mother came from Pinon,
way over west of Chinle,
went to the Fair with her boyfriend,
who dropped her off and told her he would meet her at the carnival in a little bit.
Pinon Lady, she waited for him to return,
and after awhile she and the baby went and saw all the exhibits by themselves.
She saw some old friends from Chinle
who held the baby and talked to her about how she was doing.
She told them she was fine and that she was living in Pinon way out in the sticks;
that they were just there for the day.
As night fell the wind began to blow and it was a cold wind.
Pinon Lady had left some things in the vehicle,
thinking if they needed them she would get them later.
She was tired and sat by the entrance to the Fair grounds
waiting and looking for her boyfriend to come and get her.
She sat on a parking strip and tried not to notice the people looking at her,
saying to themselves why didn't she bring a coat or something for her and the baby.
The little red wagon came by her
and a little Laughing Girl watched her as she was being pulled by her mother.
There were a lot of Indian people going home
and the gate was full so they had to stand in a crowd
waiting for people to get through the gate.
The wind had a chill
and the young mother stood up and tried to see over the crowd
looking for someone so she could catch a ride home.
The little red wagon got to the truck with a camper,
and Laughing Girl's family noticed that the blanket was gone.
It must have fell out.
It was dark
but they went back since they thought the little girl would cry to lose it there.
They went back to the fair grounds and saw it.
It was wrapped around Pinon Lady and her baby sitting by the front gate.
The family stopped
and Laughing Girl's father went to the woman sitting there and said,
I think that blanket belongs to us.
The woman with the baby, looked at him
and then the little Laughing Girl said in a quiet voice …
It is ok, Daddy …
I gave it away to her …
The father looked at his little girl
and she looked at him and said,
it is my give away …
the baby needs it …
it is cold …
The family stood around there and looked at the little girl …
she said,
it is my give away like at the pow wow …
grandma said we do that at sings,
they crawl on the hogan
and throw things down the people like
and sometimes what they need.
The father looked at his little girl
and then at the woman with the blanket
and the said to her …
my little girl has given your baby a gift I think …
Just then a person walked up and said, to Pinon Lady,
Rita what are you doing here?
Do you need a ride or something?
The young mother got up and said,
Yes, I think I do.
I am so glad to see you …
she turned around and gathered the things she had
and took the blanket off to give to the Laughing Girl.
The little girl said,
you can cover him with it,
it is a warm one …
it is his now …
So it was this way at the fair one night sometime ago …
volume 10(6)
This poem is copyright © 2003,
Johnny Rustywire, all rights reserved.
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