Preston Singletary Exhibition Catalogue - The Talented Mr. Raven by SandraAinsleyGallery1

BIOGRAPHY

When I began working with glass in 1982, I had no idea that I'd be so connected to the material in the way that I am. It was only when I began to experiment with using designs from my Tlingit cultural heritage that my work began to take on a new purpose and direction.

Over time, my skill with the material of glass and traditional form line design has strengthened and evolved, allowing me to explore more fully my own relationship to both my culture and chosen medium This evolution, and subsequent commercial success, has positioned me as an influence on contemporary Indigenous art. Through teaching and collaborating in glass with other Native American, Maori, Hawaiian, and Australian Aboriginal artists, I've come to see that glass brings another dimension to Indigenous art. The artistic perspective of Indigenous people reflects a unique and vital visual language that has connections to the ancient codes and symbols of the land, and this interaction has informed and inspired my own work.

My work with glass transforms the notion that Native artists are only best when traditional materials are used. It has helped advocate on the behalf of all indigenous people -- affirming that we are still here -- that that we are declaring who we are through our art in connection to our culture.

My work continues to evolve and connect my personal cultural perspective to current modern art movements, and I have received much attention for striving to keep the work fresh and relevant I have been honored that my success has inspired other artists from underrepresented indigenous cultures to use glass and other non-traditional materials in their work and hope that I can continue to encourage more innovation in this area as my career progresses

- Preston Singletary

Old Woman of the Tides

25.5H x 6W x 8.5D”

KEEPER OF THE TIDES

The whole world had gone bananas as far as Raven could tell.

He considered going back to sleep and giving up on the world entirely but then he remembered he already was asleep.

“Not really,” he said to himself. “More like a waking dream.”

“There was a time when sleep meant sleep,” he replied.“And awake meant awake.”

“And a time when food meant food,” he added, for sometimes Raven was of two minds and he liked reminding himself of things.

“I’ll bet you ’ re hungry,” he said. “We could eat,” he agreed.

So Raven set off in search of food.

True, his real mission was to set the world straight but one must eat properly.

What good is a phone call if you ’ re unable to speak?

He went down to the beach, hoping for a meal, and found the tide was far out much farther than usual.

Instead of worrying about the cause, he generously helped himself to the effect: a bounty of clams, mussels, urchins, and crabs exposed and awaiting consumption.

He flung the tender morsels into his gullet with nary a chew, and, for a moment, brought to heel his insatiable appetite.

But then the tide came in suddenly and with such force that he was soon up to his neck in water.

“Gak! What have we here?” he wondered, trying to wade ashore.

But before he reached the beach, the water around his ankles pulled him back into the bay as the tide abruptly withdrew.

“Perhaps this is all a bad dream,” he thought, noting the fresh supply of crustaceans newly exposed.

“Like a bottomless all-you-can-eat buffet!” he said, bending for an urchin only for the tide to come roaring in again, tumbling him anew.

“I believe I’ve had enough of this,” Raven muttered, shaking sand from his crevices.

He searched for the cause of this chaos because every effect has a cause, except the First Effect, which still had a cause, albeit of a divine and therefore inexplicable nature.

Soon he spotted an old woman pushing the tide in and out with no regard to any schedule.

“Look here, Old Woman,” Raven called. “Are you the Keeper of the Tide?”

“I am, truly,” she muttered, though distracted.

Beach Banquet

26.5H x 11W x 4.5D”

“It’s an important job,” said Raven. “Not one to be taken lightly.” “Never,” she said.

“Well, how now?” he demanded as the tide rushed past his ankles.

“Did you say something?” the Old Woman asked.

“Even in a chaotic Universe, there must be some order!” Raven cried. “Chaos needs a framework within which to exist! If everything is chaotic, then nothing is!”

“I’m distracted,” admitted the Old Woman, as the tide surged in again, tumbling Raven once more.

“See here,” said Raven, knocking his head on a rock to clear the sand from his ears.

“You were chosen for this job because you ’ re not the distractible type. The sun cannot be distracted. The moon, same. The tides absolutely not!

“If you were distractible, you’d be in charge of squirrels. Or hummingbirds.”

“I was thinking…if I could finish all my tides at once,I could take a vacation,” said the Old Woman.

“I’ve been doing this for an eternity,” she added. “It only feels like an eternity,” Raven said. “It’s merely been since the beginning of time which is quite a bit shorter.”

“When do I get a vacation?” she complained.

“Do not think about your own base desires!” Raven exclaimed, jabbing her bottom with a spiny urchin.

“Ouch!” she cried.

“Twice a day in, twice a day out. That is your clarity of purpose!”

“But I’ve put down a non-refundable deposit on a Carnival Cr.”

“When the Moon goes on a Carnival Cruise, you can go, ” said Raven. “When the Sun goes, you can go.

“Otherwise: twice a day in, twice a day out. Capeesh?”

And so the tides were fixed, and Raven could sleep soundly.

The very next day, however, the tides were broken again, and Raven awoke in a pool of water.

“Gak!” he cried, flying straight up into the air.

“Old Woman!” He stormed back to the beach, ready to scold her but found her poking her own bottom with a sea urchin.

“Ouch!” she said. “Ouch!”

“What on earth?” Raven asked.

“I didn’t do it!” the Old Woman cried. “Ouch! I’m doing what you told me, but look at all this water! Ouch!”

Raven pondered the matter. Clearly, it wasn’t her fault.

“Fret not, Old Woman,” he said. “I will discover the true source of this chaos and fix it posthaste!”

And off he went to do it.

Salmon Hat

6.25H x 29W x 8D”

EASTER PARADE

Now finding the solution to a problemisn’t nearly as difficult as finding the problem itself.

And finding the problem isn’t nearly as difficult as realizing there is a problem in the first place for we are all steeped in our own ignorance, and we like our ignorance the way we like our Ravens: strong, dark, and bitter.

“I appreciate your word-smithery,” said Raven. “Thank you, ” he replied.

He soared in a lazy arc toward the ocean. In the back of his mind, the ocean always equaled food.

And Raven was nearly always hungry.

Food acquisition and development were constant pursuits.

And there it was the great heaving bosom of the earth laid out before him, singing her siren song:

Take what I have to offer. Take all of me. Let me feed you from my eternal supply.

He swooped.

And that’s when he saw them: a pod of Killer Whales, parading.

Heads held high, a dead salmon perched on every head.

“What is this?” Raven asked. “A funeral procession? Performance art?”

“We’re having an Easter Parade,” said Mother Killer Whale. “This is my Easter bonnet, With all the frills upon it!”

“You’re like a band of Dadaist painters in Berlin!” said Raven “Those aren’t bonnets they’re dead fish

“And Easter Parades take place on Easter, which this is not.”

“Join in or move along,” Mother Killer Whale said. “This isn’t your problem to solve.” Raven took out his notebook.

SOLUTIONS ARE EVERYWHERE. PROBLEMS ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND. He left them those salmon-headed whales cheering on the Resurrection and flew off to the beach.

Lifting the Edge

13H x 20W x 15D”

KILLER WHALE’S REVENGE

Lifting the edge of the water, Raven slipped beneath, and dove down to Killer Whale Town.

Things had been pretty dull lately. And when things got dull, Raven remembered his mission:

To save the World.

Though, to be fair, the World had neither asked for nor was interested in being saved.

At the bottom, under the water was a revival tent. Packed with whales.

Raven slipped in the back.

The Killer Whale Chief took the stage.

“The Earth does not belong to Man,” he boomed. “Man belongs to the Earth. All things are connected Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself!”

Applause. Tail slaps. Spouts of praise.

“They want to buy the ocean. But how can you sell the sea, the sky, the sparkle of water? How do you sell what no one owns?"

Roars. More tail-thunder.

“They’ve made islands of plastic. They’re killing our turtles, our birds, our jellies. Soon the only thing left to eat will be the plastic itself. That’s why we’ll attack their sailboats!”

Slaps. Cheers.

“Excuse me, ” said Raven. “What are we trying to do here and why?”

“We’re striking back,” said the Chief. “The Pacific Garbage Patches both east and west are choking our habitat.

“We can’t breathe with Coke bottles stuck in our air holes!”

“Fair point,” said Raven “And what about those genetically modified salmon?”

“Exactly! The humans tamper with everything Their greed, their selfishness they are the problem!”

“So, without Man, the world would be just fine,” Raven said That’s the theory anyway?” “Yes,” said the Chief.

“If this news got out, people would riot. They would pull out their eyes and apologize.”

“That’s why we ’ re sinking their sailboats”

“So you can eat the survivors!” Raven suggested hopefully

“We don’t eat humans”

“You don’t have to eat them all ”

“We’d love to,” said the Chief “But we ’ re not allowed

“Our Creator forbade it That was the deal, after we devoured his enemies”

“Ah, yes, ” said Raven “I remember A bit self-serving on his part ”

“We’re Killer Whales who can’t kill Might as well call us Pacifist Whales We found a workaround though”

Kelp Forest

20.5H x 16W x 4.D”

“Surrogate man-eaters?” Raven wondered.

“Sharks!” the Chief grinned. “We sink the boats. People flail. Sharks do what sharks do.”

“Outsourcing your violence. Very clever.”

“We’re applying to rename People,” the Chief added. “Now they are Chickens of the Sea.”

“I love a good Nugget!” said Raven.

“And we ’ re changing our name too From Killer Whales to Helper Whales.

“It’s ironical. Because we ’ re helping the sharks to eat.”

“And helping the people,” said Raven, “to be humble pie.”

“With a soupçon of despair!” cheered the Chief.

“Wow,” said Raven, “ you whales really know how to party.”

“At the very least,” said the Chief, “ we’ll get a good story out of it.”

Raven shrugged and swam away.

That which does not kill you makes a good story. How true!

Ha! Gak!

And Raven flew straight up into the air.

Sharp Tooth

27H x 15.5W x 9.5D”

SHARK ATTACK!

It was later in his journey, when Raven ran into the Sharks who seemed quite friendly, despite their reputation as terrorists of the sea.

“Hail, fellows! Well met!” Raven called. “What’s with all the sparks? Looks like the Fourth of July!”

The Sharks turned their lazy black eyes toward Raven but didn’t stop dragging their long, pointy teeth along the rocks at the bottom of the cliff sending up showers of sparks.

“What are you doing?” Raven asked. “And why?”

“We’re sharpening our teeth,” said the Sharks. “All the better to eat you!”

“Haha!” said Raven. “If you bit me, your teeth would shatter. I’m not on the menu. But who is?”

“Sailors,” Shark replied. “Rich, fat sailors with expensive watches.”

“Ah,” said Raven. “Sailboat charters off Gibraltar, by chance?”

“Bingo!” Shark cackled.

“I see. So is this a scare tactic? A bluff? Some celebrity-style publicity stunt?”

“Oh, no, ” said Shark

“Man-flesh is on the menu tonight Killer Whale lifted all catch limits The season for People-eating is open W - I - D - E!”

Now Raven had no special love for People He found them dull and vain, always staring at their own reflections in their phones

But still he had a soft spot for the poor, stupid creatures

It was mostly his fault, anyway He made them out of leaves

He should’ve used stone He knew that Oh, well

Even Old Blue Eyes had a few regrets.

“On a scale of one to ten,” Raven said, “where one is least likely and ten is most likely, how likely are you to actually eatthe people knocked into the water by Killer Whale attacks?”

“Ninety-nine,” Shark replied.

“Ninety-nine out of ten?”

“Ninety-nine. And one arm, ” Shark added. “We’ll leave the one-armed person alive as a warning to the others.”

“Harrowing,” said Raven. “Yet brutally effective.

One last question a poll I’m taking. Entirely informal.

“Which came first: the chicken or the egg?

“Conceptually speaking ” Raven clarified. “Not any one specific chicken. Or any one specific egg. ”

“The egg necessitates the chicken,” Shark replied. “Without chickens, there would be no eggs. ”

“I like your thinking,” said Raven “This does seem pretty serious”

“But it doesn’t explain the high tides,” Shark said

Sea to Sky

22H x 6W x 19.5D”

Raven paused. Shark was right.

The origin of life had nothing to do with the tides. Or did it?

“You’re wiser than you look, friend Shark,” Raven said. “Enjoy your meal.”

He flew off, the screams of floundering, Breitling-adorned sailors fading behind him. Anyway, he couldn’t be bothered with every little shark attack.

And wouldn’t people just stop chartering sailboats off Gibraltar?

“As stupid as they are... ” Raven said.

“Stupid is as stupid does,” he replied to himself.

“But that’s ”

“As stupid as a box of chocolates?” he asked.

“I feel like you know what I’m thinking before I think it,” he told himself.

“I do,” he said. “I do.” Heh.

“Raven Rex and the Wee Little Fishes”

CHARACTERS

RAVEN – Trickster, sometimes regal, sometimes ridiculous

CAPTAIN – Groveling, well-meaning human shill

FISH MONGER – Corporate mouthpiece, smooth and sinister

[A foggy day Center stage: a ring of boats floats around a cage of churning water RAVEN swoops down and lands on the bow of a boat.

CAPTAIN notices him and immediately kneels.]

CAPTAIN

King Raven! We’ve been awaiting your arrival. I am the captain of this vessel but as King the ship is under your command!

RAVEN (startled, flapping his wings slightly) Thank you, good Bowsprit. May I enquire as to the nature of this operation you are operating?

CAPTAIN

Of course, sir We are operating an operation that conceives, hatches, grooms and releases into the food chain genetically modified salmon

[RAVEN stares into the water cage, his wings folded doubtfully]

RAVEN

Who gave you permission to do such a thing? I was not informed

CAPTAIN (groveling)

King Raven, I was made to understand that arrangements had been made I was told everyone had been paid. Have you not been paid?

RAVEN

Indeed, not! Not a whit. Not a widget.

CAPTAIN Ah. Well… Will you take payment in fish?

RAVEN

And what are you paying for?

CAPTAIN Your complicity Which, by necessity, includes your soul

[Beat RAVEN considers]

RAVEN

How many fish for my complicity? And how many more for my soul?

CAPTAIN

A lifetime of fish for your complicity. And a lifetime more for your soul. That’s two lifetimes of fish That’s a lot of fish!

RAVEN

And in return, I merely acquiesce to your operation’s operation?

CAPTAIN

And also, King Raven… this is awkward…you’ll need to turn over your soul. Then you’ll bask in the bounty!

RAVEN (musing)

Very well. But before I lend my name and soul to any commercial venture I must sample the goods.

CAPTAIN

It’s best to sample the fish after they are…eh…processed. [RAVEN ignores him. He dives into the pen, snatches a salmon, and gulps it.]

RAVEN (grimaces)

Barf.

CAPTAIN Barf?

RAVEN

It is mushy. It has no flavor. It isn’t even red.

CAPTAIN

Red is a color, not a flavor.And we process all of our product extensively. We inject the color.

The flavor enhancers. The texture enhancers. We’ve been lowering expectations for years! With the right marketing push, King Raven Brand™ Enhanced Salmon-Flavored Food Product will be a huge success!

[He holds up a slick box: RAVEN, in a gold crown, clutches a bright pink fish.]

RAVEN

Why can’t you use real salmon

FISH MONGER (stepping forward, corporate calm) In compliance with the Laws of Socioeconomics, we cannot patent “Real Salmon.” But we can patent King Raven Brand™ Enhanced Salmon-Flavored Food Product. Once tubes of our food product dominate the market

CAPTAIN

We won’t need your salmon at all! We can stop up the rivers for good!

FISH MONGER

We will have all the money.

[RAVEN turns slowly to the audience.]

RAVEN

I am King Raven. And I disapprove of this product. [Blackout.]

OF MICE AND LEAVES

Off Raven flew, high and brooding, wondering if he still possessed the power to conjure a flood not a sprinkle or a storm, but a flood of mythic proportions. One that would wash the world clean of its filth.

Maybe there was a pill for that.

Either way, the old conclusion was circling closer, like a wolf in the fog: Man is his own worst enemy. And it was getting, you know, more inevitable by the minute.

Now, Raven had left People before If you consider going to sleep the same as abandoning the Waking World.

Which it is.

When you sleep, your body stays put, but your consciousness slips the leash. You opt out of this dimension in favor of another. You can say: “I didn’t mean to abandon you… ” but intention is irrelevant. What’s done is done. Intention just tells us who to blame.

So yes. When Raven went to sleep for a while a year, a decade, a century?

Maybe longer.

He abandoned the world, technically speaking He turned his back on it Let it spin on without him Let the cries go unanswered, the damage go unchecked

And still... he came back. Which means redemption is always part of the equation.

Part of Raven loved People. Truly. And part of him detested their whiny, selfish ways. Their amnesia Their lack of awareness

Yuck

To think he made these simpering whippets. And from leaves!

His great regret

If he’d made People of stone as originally conceived they wouldn’t fear death all the time. They’d be steady. Hard. Full of Integrity. But no, he thought leaves would be more poetic.

I thought the peaks and valleys of temporal existence would be more fulfilling for them,” Raven muttered

“How could we have known it would go so wrong?” he asked himself

“It’s a pretty significant blunder,” he replied, voice as flat as a cedar plank.

“A knife at a gunfight”

“No regrets,” Raven said aloud

“No regrets!” he cheered.

And he laughed Because yes He could abandon them again He really could Heh

RAVEN AND THE HOLLOW MOUNTAINS

As he flew away from this World to leave the People to stew in their own wretchedness, Raven had more thoughts flush through his mind.

Maybe it was the thinness of the air so high had he flown. Maybe it was the pale sky. The bright sun. The scars of rivers and mountains below.

We will never know what stopped Raven. Some say neither will he. But something did.

He landed on a mountaintop so high the moon was within reach. Dawn and dusk held hands. The stars prickled his feathers. He yawned. He cracked his neck.

“I do love this world,” said Raven.

And a voice replied a voice that was not his own: “It is a fine world.”

There sat Mountain Goat, bearded and still, the very image of subarctic enlightenment.

“But it is a world full of chaos,” said Raven.

“Chaos is as chaos does,” said Mountain Goat.

“I don’t think you ’ re using that right,” Raven said. “But it’s easy for you, ” he added. “Up here above all the ignorance.”

“We all have our troubles, Raven.”

“What kind of troubles could you have up here in your Mountain Kingdom?” Raven,” bleated Mountain Goat, “let me tell you a story…”

There is a bay far north, long and narrow, a crooked finger of the sea. The Mountains there cut high and deep. And far beneath the black water in a cavern cold and hidden, lives the King of the Frogs.

“The King of the Frogs?” Raven said. “There are so many kinds of frogs. You’re telling me one king for all Frogdom?”

“Yes,” said Goat. “Toads included?” “Not toads.” Raven exhaled. “At least there is some order in the world!”

Mountain Goat continued:

If anyone disturbs the water a paddle, a ripple the King of the Frogs erupts in fury.

He shakes the earth. He topples buildings. He sends a wave to wash it all away. And if he finds the offender, he turns that one into a Bear.

Heh.

“That’s it?” said Raven.

“That’s it,” said Mountain Goat.

“It’s not much of a myth,” Raven said. “Joseph Campbell would be underwhelmed. It could use a Ritual.”

“Our mountains are hollow,” said Mountain Goat. “First they took the gold. Then they took the silver. Then they took the uranium. The People took everything. They left nothing. The bones of our world have been scraped clean. Our mountains are hollow.”

Raven thought.

“The Matterhorn at Disneyland is hollow,” he said. “And that’s a great ride.”

“Hallow hollow!” cried Mountain Goat.

“I’m just saying,” Raven mused. “Sometimes opportunity is just a fish pretending to be a rock.”

“Oh, Raven…”

“Jesus valued perseverance and creativity,” Raven said. “Remember the paralyzed guy they lowered through the roof? Jesus saw that and said: 'That’s effort!' And boom that guy walked home! Just saying.”

“The Hollow Mountains will collapse,” said Mountain Goat solemnly. “When the Frog King shakes the world.”

Raven fell silent.

“You’d best keep kayakers away from that bay,” he said, matching Mountain Goat’s solemn tone. “One earthquake and this place goes full pancake.”

“That is the fear,” agreed Mountain Goat.

Raven nodded slowly.

“So you told me a story entirely about your problems and nothing about mine.”

“Like a rising tide,” said Goat, “ a catastrophic earthquake raises all boats.”

“Traditionally,” Raven said, “when one consults a wise mountaintop goat, the story has relevance to the seeker.”

“Luck of the draw,” said Goat.

“The word ‘Tradition’ suggests repetition,” Raven said. “Otherwise it’s not a Tradition. It’s an Occurrence. Or worse: A Random Occurrence.”

“There’s no such thing!” laughed Mountain Goat. “Every Effect has a Cause.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” said Raven.

“Well then, tell me, friend Raven ”Mountain Goat pointed his shaggy beard at something in the sky “what is the Cause of that?”

To be continued…

THUNDERBIRD 2028!

Mountain Goat pointed over Raven’s shoulder to a resplendent golden bird hovering in the sky above the mountain.

With each stroke of the great bird’s wings, the sky cracked with a deafening explosion.

“I am Thunderbird!” bellowed Thunderbird.

How odd, thought Raven. Thunderbird wasn’t there a moment ago.

“You are looking especially radiant this evening, Thunderbird,” said Raven.

“I am Radiant and I am Grand!” Thunderbird blared.

“Tell me, Thunderbird,” said Raven, “aside from telling people you are Thunderbird and looking radiant and grand, do you actually… do anything?”

Thunderbird looked astonished. Then hurt.

“When I flap my wings, thunder shakes the sky!” Thunderbird proclaimed. “I am Thun ”

“Yes, yes, ” said Raven. “You are Thunderbird. I’m just wondering…I hear thunder maybe five or six times a year. Eight, if I’m being generous. What do you do with the rest of your time?”

Thunderbird blinked. Then blinked again. Earnestly confused.

“Time is waiting… for me?” he asked, doubtfully.

“Always,” said Raven.

He wasn’t sure what he had triggered in his radiant friend, but clearly, he had stumbled upon a metaphorical splinter in Thunderbird’s metaphorical paw.

Thunderbird watched Raven, rapt. Then shivered involuntarily.

The shiver sent a peal of thunder crashing through the sky.

“I do not like being waited for by Time,” said Thunderbird.

“Ah, then you should use Time more wisely!” Raven cried. “Rather than buffing your radiance between thundering duties, join forces with me and we will fix the world together!”

Thunderbird looked at Raven for a long time, grave with thought. Or lack thereof. Raven wasn’t sure which. (It was said that Thunderbird was no more facile with thoughts that he was with words.)

“How?” he asked.

“We will run you for office!” Raven said. “We’ll get you on the ballot for 2028.

“You’re perfect presidential material.

“You’re buff. You’re radiant. You have a deep voice. You control the Thunder.

“That alone guarantees you 51% of the vote.”

“But they took from us our birthright,” said Thunderbird. “I am a foreigner in my own land.”

“Once you get elected, you can change that,” said Raven. “Let’s practice your press conferences. I’ll be a reporter. You be you.

“Okay... Scene!” ahem

“President Thunderbird, President Thunderbird! What are your thoughts on the economy?”

Thunderbird startled. Not knowing what to say, he flapped his wings sharp thunder cracked the sky and he said,

“I am Thunderbird!”

“Perfect,” said Raven. “Brilliant!”

“Mr. President, what’s your view on the immigration problem?”

Thunderbird chuckled. The sky rumbled.

“I am Thunderbird!”

“Exactly! You’re perfect! You’ll definitely win.

“It’ll be a puppet government, of course. You’ll be the puppet.

“We will revolutionize their world from the inside out and we will teach them!” Thunderbird’s eyes widened.

“What will we teach them, Raven?” he wailed.

“How to unbreak an egg!” cried Raven.

Thunderbird began to cheer and the thunder rolled over the horizon but then he stopped.

“What?” said Thunderbird.

“What?” said Thunderbird

“The physicality of our world is a boundary to us only if our will is weak,” said Raven “What what?” said Thunderbird

“Never mind,” said Raven “I got ahead of myself”

“We should get started right away. Fly to the top of the sky over there and let everyone know: Thunderbird is in the house!

“Let ‘ em have it. Everything you ’ ve got. Leave nothing on the field!”

Thunderbird flew high into the air.

So high!

He flapped his wings so mightily! So loud!

He rained his terrible rains He shone with all his brilliance

And in a voice so loud it shook windows, made dogs howl, and rippled the water in bedside glasses

He proclaimed to the entire world, which cowered in fear and awe before his magnificence:

“I AM THUNDERBIRD!”

Cue: Hail to the Chief. And… Scene.

RAVEN AND LOON

Raven sat beside a still lake, dazed, confused his new resting state. Because: sometimes there are answers. Sometimes there are questions. Sometimes they trade clothes and go dancing.

A loon laughed across the water, that ghostly giggle.

Raven did not flinch. “I am no danger to you, Loon,” he said. “Your laughter betrays your nerves. ”

Loon changed tone now a jubilant yodel and coasted toward shore.

“Friend Raven!” Loon cried. “I see it’s you! No need to worry unless I’m a clam!” He laughed at his own joke, his laughter skipping off the cliffs.

Raven blinked.

“Because you love clams!” Loon said. “That’s the joke!” “I get it,” Raven dead-panned.

Loon swam a tight circle, showing off a glint of something new. “Do you like my necklace?” “It’s new. We all have them now! All of us! Isn’t it pretty?”

Raven looked. “Lovely,” he said wryly.

“Ah. Sarcasm! A familiar cloak,” said Loon. “Darkness still clings to you, friend Raven. But I’ll cheer you up! Do you know that Shaman from over there? I think you know him.” “I know him,” admitted Raven. “After you saw him, things changed, didn’t they?” Loon asked.

“It is true, bright bird,” said Raven. “But your talk of clams has made me hungry. And I happen to have an excellent recipe for Pheasant Under Glass. Substitutions allowed.”

Loon gulped. “It’s bad luck to eat the entertainment!” he cried. “Listen! ” When I met that Shaman, he was blind. Blind as a rock! Blind as driftwood!”

“Indeed?”

“Truly! He asked to go for a ride on the lake. He climbed on my back, and I paddled us out. Then I saw a fish! A shiny one, in the clear water. I was hungry ” “A feeling I know well!” Raven cried. “So I dove!”

“What was it?” asked Raven. “An anchovy? A sardine? Was it packed in oil or salt?”

“I never caught the fish!” said Loon. “Diving with a Shaman on your back is hard. But I tried. Again and again. Seven times I dove and each time I surfaced, he laughed and shouted, ‘I can see! I can see!’”

“He could see?” asked Raven. “He could!” said Loon. “After the seventh dive, he saw clearer than an eagle. And in thanks, he gave me this necklace. Not just me one for each of us! Every Loon gets one! They’re very shiny. They make us very pretty!”

“This is bananas!” said Raven. “Bananas?” Cried Loon. “You think I’m bananas?” “Not you, ” Raven said. “The world. The world is bananas!”

“The world is bananas?” Loon echoed, laughter trembling at the edges. “The world? The world? The world is bananas?!”

Loon spiraled into the air, crying to the sky: “THE WORLD IS BANANAS!”

Raven watched Loon fly off over the hills until he had disappeared. Raven shook his head.

“You can always tell a Loon,” he said to himself. “But you can’t tell him much,” he agreed. Heh.