Barter Fair

By Tia Greenfield

The images of the skunk, official mascot of this years Barter Fair, and the I-Ching hexagram Gathering Together adorn this years official Barter Fair tie-dye t-shirt. You can get yours for just ten dollars when you get there.

You may have to drive all the way from San Francisco just for the weekend, but itll be worth it. Every crystal sucking, tree hugging, dirt worshipping earth muffin, white witch, Ashland yippie, and backwoods hippie in Southern Oregon will be there, and itll be fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun! You can camp with your old pow-wow pals. Their campsite is pretty full, but theres still room for one more tent.

Want to buy a corn snake? Take a ride on the space wheel or a giant rocking horse? Hear the tree-sitters story? Watch the corn dance or listen to the Native American drummers and singers? You might even want to buy one of those famous Barter Fair goo balls. Youll probably have even more fun if you do! Dont miss the big parade, complete with skeleton band, naked mud dancers, and giant puppets.

Its Saturday afternoon, and the Barter Fair is in full swing. Want to get pierced or tattooed? Hungry? Get something good to eat at the Rainbow Kitchen or the totally hemp food booth. You can get an animal spirit guide reading or cast the I-Ching. You can have your palm read, your hair braided, your aura analyzed, your future told, or your past lives revealed!

Later, visit the earth, air, fire, and water installations, watch the full harvest moon rise, and dance, dance, dance as the Lions of Jah lay down some cool reggae tunes. Then, find out what goes on after the day crowd departs.

Sunday morning, theres still time to check out the hemp house, sky chairs, and dog pods or visit the belly dancers camp. And hey, dont go home without a crystal or two. Those corn snakes are still for sale! So are the goo balls!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 28, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467800754

Tia Greenfield

Tia Greenfield was born in Boulder, Colorado, and spent her childhood there. When she was in her early teens, her family moved to Southern Oregon. After graduation from high school, she moved to San Francisco, California, and attended City College of San Francisco and the University of California at Berkeley, where she received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English Language and Literature. She has three grown children: Leef, Lars, and Lyca. Currently, she resides in the Chicago area with her husband, Dennis, and teaches English at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. DOG WARS is her third novel, following POW-WOW and BARTER FAIR.

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© 2010 Tia Greenfield. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 3/29/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4259-9398-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4678-0075-4 (ebook)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Prologue

FRIDAY

Olaf Isn’t Going

Suzanne and Lacy Are Packing

On the Road

Meanwhile Up in Oregon

Are Dogs People?

Back On The Road and We’re There

Setting Up

Full Moon Rising

It’s Getting Late

Meanwhile Back at Camp

Lacy and Jasmine Explore

In the Camper

Lacy Finds a Campfire

In Ben’s Tent

Over In Sarah and Suzanne’s Tent

Lacy Finally Goes to Bed

SATURDAY

Tai Chi in the Morning

Pancakes For Jam

Shasta Wakes Up

Jodi Dragonfly

Hare Krishna

Les Is More

Sarah’s Tattoo

Ben’s Breakfast

The Corn Dance

The Fortuneteller

Sequoia Has Questions

Naked People

Lacy Wakes Up

Suzanne Goes Shopping

Corn Snakes For Sale Or Trade

Where Is Ben?

The Big Parade

Making Money

Deep Water and Marcy Arrive

Drumming With Deep Water

Ben Is Back

Dinner

SATURDAY NIGHT

Walking Around

Installations

Back At Camp

Music

Fire Spinners

Jumping

What Shall We Do Now?

Let’s Call It a Night

So What Do You Think?

Witches

Sweet Dreams

SUNDAY

Emerson, Tai Chi and Pancakes

Morning Stroll

Good Morning

Money Or Fun?

Bartering

Aura Readings

Auras, Hemp, Dreadlocks, and Monkey Poo

Past Lives

Braids, Tattoo, Kittens, and a Piercing

Drumming

Little Steps

Goodbye Kiss

Heading Home

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

For Dennis

Without whom this book would not have been possible

Nor so much else

Prologue

Skunk-2.jpgHex-2.jpg

Up in Southern Oregon, the pumpkins are big, bright, round, and ripe. Zucchinis still left on wilted vines are as big as boats. The grass has turned that shade of yellowish brownish gold that so unmistakably says fall. Leaves have turned red, orange, gold, yellow, chartreuse, magenta, burgundy, caramel, tan, and brown, nearly every color except green, and they are falling. Hay for the winter has been cut, baled, and stacked in barn lofts. The last of the apples and pears are being picked, and the hemp has been harvested. It’s time for the Barter Fair.

The Steering Committee is meeting for what they all hope will be the last time before the big event. All right, all right, says Jessie, this year’s chairperson. Let’s all settle down and get done with what we came here to do. Many of the people assembled here in the Applegate Community Center meeting room haven’t seen each other for a few weeks, so they’re reluctant to stop chatting, but after a couple of minutes, the room is reasonably quiet. There’ll be time for chatter when we finish our meeting, so let’s get on with it, Jessie continues. Treasurer’s Report?

Well, we’re still in the black, and most expenses have been covered. We have enough to print the t-shirts and flyers and still have a couple thousand left over, give or take a few hundred. Everyone claps and cheers. This is good news. Last year, they’d run out of funds and had to borrow enough to print the t-shirts they’d sold to raise money for this year’s fair.

Vendors Committee?

All set! says George, who’s in charge of that group. We have over two hundred vendors signed up, and a good variety, and that’s all we have room for, so I’m closing the applications. Everyone has paid their fees and received their location assignments, so the vendors are all set. We’ll be at the entrance to check them in and make sure they know where to set up. I’ve drawn up this map. He unrolls it and spreads it out across a table. Everyone admires his handiwork.

Great! says Jessie. Good work George – and the rest of that committee. How about food?

Yep, we’re all ready on that too. Mostly the same folks we had last year, but a few newcomers. Those fried rice people were so popular last year. They’re coming back. And the Rainbow Kitchen, of course. We got a new bunch selling everything made with hemp. A bunch of coffee booths. Falafels. Tacos. Chili. Corn on the cob and baked potatoes. Watermelon. Ice-cream. Fees paid and locations assigned and ready. No problems, reports Maggie.

All right! says Jessie. You folks are doing such a great job! Entertainment?

All scheduled. Lots of good music, some great dance groups. The corn dancers and the mud dancers are coming again this year. We got the Lions of Jah who were such a great hit at Reggae on the River, and to front them, my cousin, Cala Lily, who’s a newcomer, but real pretty and real good. We got some fire spinners. They’re new this year, but I hear they’re fantastic. And we got a puppet show and a clown and a storyteller for the kids’ stage in the playground area. We still need to do some work on scheduling, but that’s almost done, says Michael. Jade and Rich and I are meeting next week to finalize everything.

Sounds good, says Jessie. Security? How are we coming on that?

We’re good, says Ron. Plenty of volunteers, and I’ve spoken with the county sheriff. He’s agreed to escorted inspections again this year – and no plainclothes officers, no narcs, so I think we have a clear understanding. He’s pretty clear on how much money this is going to bring into the Applegate.

Great! says Jessie. I wasn’t sure he’d go for the escorted inspections, but we really need that. There were a few too many problems last year. I was a little worried about that, about whether or not he’d agree to it.

Well, he’s a pretty cool dude, says Ron, and I guess that huge donation we made to the sheriff’s auxiliary group didn’t hurt either. Also, I have volunteers scheduled round the clock for the medical tent. We got some real good doctors and nurses coming in.

Hopefully, there’ll be no real emergencies, but best be prepared, right? Last, but not least, how about facilities and grounds?

All arranged, and I ordered a couple dozen more porta-potties than we had last year, says Josh. Also three dozen more trash barrels. That was a huge problem, if everybody remembers, last year. We’ve anticipated an even bigger crowd this year, and I think we’re prepared. The owner of the land we’re renting is very particular about the location of the parking lot, and I’m going out there on Saturday to make sure we’re both on the same page on that score.

Good, says Jessie. So looks like all the committees have been really doing their jobs. Wow! This is going so much better than last year! Good going, everyone! Everyone claps and cheers. And this will be our last official meeting. Any last minute problems, don’t call me! Handle it, ok? So the only thing we have left to do tonight before we break for refreshments is to decide on our theme, or I guess I should say themes, for this year, so we can get those fliers and t-shirts printed up and ready to go. I brought my animal spirit cards, so who wants to pick our animal mascot for this year’s Barter Fair? George? Just let me smudge them first.

Jessie digs around in her bag and pulls out a halfway burned down sage stick. She lights it and fans it gently with her hand until it is lit and smoking. She holds her box of spirit cards in her right hand and swirls the smoking smudge stick around it, above it, and underneath, again and again, until she is satisfied that the cards have been sufficiently purified. Then she spills the cards out onto the table in front of her. Around and around go the cards beneath her hands. Then she collects them into a neat pile. Pick one! George does. He turns it over and holds it up for everyone to see.

Skunk! says Jessie. Respect! Everyone cheers and claps. "Good going, George! That’s so cool! The skunk! There’s some interesting medicine for us there! Now we have to cast the I Ching for the hexagram that’ll represent this year’s fair. Who wants to cast the coins?"

I do, says Nicki.

All right, says Jessie, but I want to smudge them first too. She rummages around in her bag again and pulls out a small, green silk bag from which she removes three round Chinese coins with small square holes in their centers. She smudges them and then hands them to Nicki, who shakes them between her hands before tossing them down on the table.

Two yangs and a yin. That’s an eight, says Jessie. Nicki tosses the coins down again. This time, they come up exactly the same way. That’s another eight, says Jessie. Nicki tosses the coins down again. Another eight! says Jessie. So that’s K’un, the receptive earth, for the bottom trigram. Wow! Is someone writing this down?

I am, says Kate. I’m the official secretary! Of course I’m writing it down!

Ok, Nicki, let’s get the top trigram, says Jessie. Nicki tosses two yins and a yang to get sevens twice in a row and then two yangs and a yin for another eight. All right, says Jessie. So we have Tui, the joyous lake, for the upper trigram. Just a minute while I look this up. She takes a much used copy of the I Ching out of her bag, consults the chart at the end of the book, and announces, It’s number forty-five! Can you believe it! ‘Gathering Together.’ Here, let me read you part of what it says. It says, ‘Gathering together. Success.’ And ‘Perseverance furthers. To bring great offerings creates good fortune. It furthers one to undertake something.’ Wow! Is this ever right on or what?

Jessie continues. Ok, I think we all know we’re on track for a terrific Barter Fair this year here, so Marty, get your people together and get this year’s official tie-dye t-shirt designed and printed. I think we agreed on very little publicity other than a few fliers in select locations, right? We don’t want to become victims of our own success, and we did have a much bigger crowd than we expected last year, so we’re keeping it low-key, right?

Committee members nod their heads. Any other items of business we need to attend to? No? Good, then let’s break out the coffee, tea, cookies, and the holy smoke! Katie girl, I hope you brought us plenty of your special brownies!

I did! calls Kate.

And I brought a whole big bunch of fatties! yells Max.

So did I! shouts Zeke.

Then, the Barter Fair Steering Committee meeting is officially adjourned! says Jessie. Let’s fire up those fatties!

Nearly everyone there lights up a spliff, or two, and there are so many of them being passed around that no one is left without one in hand for more than half a minute, and the room is soon full of smoke. Smoke and jokes and laughter. The Barter Fair is on! Hurrah!

FRIDAY

Friday.jpg

Olaf Isn’t Going

Suzanne has never been to the Barter Fair before, but she’s heard all about it from her sister, and Sarah’s been pestering her for a couple of years now to drive up from San Francisco (that’s where Suzanne lives) for the celebration that has been happening out in the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon on the weekend closest to the full harvest moon in October for years and years. And this year, Suzanne is going.

Her husband, the serious and studious Olaf, professor of Medieval English literature at San Francisco State University, doesn’t want to go. There’s a Baroque Philharmonia concert in Berkeley this weekend he’s been really looking forward to, an all C.P.E. Bach program. Driving all the way up to Oregon for the Wolf Creek pow-wow a couple of months ago had been all right, even though he hadn’t stayed for the whole weekend. It had been just too hot up there for him, and he had spent the rest of the weekend in the air-conditioned comfort of his sister-in-law’s house in Medford. At least the pow-wow had some cultural value. But the Barter Fair? From what little he’s heard about it from Sarah, Suzanne’s zany sister … Well, it certainly doesn’t sound like something he wants any part of.

Suzanne? She’s usually all right, but when Sarah gets a hold on her, it’s like Suzanne reverts back to her childhood. Suddenly, she’s like a ten year old. Sarah? Olaf believes that psychologically and emotionally, Sarah hasn’t progressed much beyond eight! He’s suggested that maybe Suzanne really should see a therapist about what happens to her when she’s around Sarah, but Suzanne just laughs at that idea. Maybe he should talk to a therapist about how uptight he is, she says. Lighten up a little, she says. He’s not uptight, he says, just serious. And more mature, naturally. He is fifteen years older than she is.

Anyway, he’s told her that he doesn’t think going sounds like a good idea, and he definitely won’t be going, but he never tells Suzanne what to do – or not to do. Not that it would do any good if he did. He realized years ago that in fact, if he tells Suzanne to do something, it just makes it all the more likely that she’ll refuse, and if he tells her not to do something, that just about guarantees that she will. Their daughter Lacy is the same way. The acorn sure didn’t fall far from the tree with those two, and of course Lacy wants to go along. And of course Suzanne has said that she can, even though, from what he’s heard, Olaf isn’t at all sure that the Barter Fair is an appropriate environment for a young teenager. Oh, well.

It’s a long drive up to Oregon, and since Olaf has made it clear that he’s not going, Suzanne has asked one of her colleagues, Ben, a gay guy who teaches English at City College with her, if he wants to go. Ben’s solid, a good friend to both of them who is at their place for dinner just about every weekend. Olaf likes him. Ben’s a darn good poet and a serious teacher. They’ve had some really good intellectual and literary discussions over coffee and dessert. So maybe he’ll have a good, calming influence on Suzanne, and Olaf is glad he’s accepted her invitation. Maybe with Ben around, she won’t be quite as influenced by Sarah as she would be otherwise. That Sarah can get the craziest ideas.

Sure Olaf loves Sarah. She’s sweet and talented and funny, but my god! Irresponsible! Silly! Disorganized to the point of being downright chaotic! He loves her all right, but sometimes, a little bit of Sarah goes a long way. The Barter Fair sounds just like her kind of thing. Olaf likes camping, but not in the middle of a fair! It’ll be dusty and crowded and noisy. Sarah’d said the music goes on for most of the night. Sarah’d said no one gets much sleep at the Barter Fair. And it sounds like every crystal sucking, dirt worshipping, tree hugging hippie, yippie, and whacko in Southern Oregon will be there.

So, let Suzanne and Lacy go. And Ben. Let them have their fun. Suzanne is a hard worker. She deserves a good time. Dee, Suzanne’s mom, is going, and they’ll all be camping with Dee’s good friends, Pam and Rob, and their son, Les. They’ve been invited to drum at the fair. Olaf likes them, and he loves Dee a lot. He knows she misses having Suzanne living nearby, like Sarah and Sally do. She doesn’t get to spend as much time with Suzanne as she’d like, and she’ll be happy to see her and Lacy. It will be good for Lacy to see her grandma, aunt, and cousins again.

He’ll get some work done in the garden. The boxwoods need mulching. He’ll do some reading and get that stack of essays in his briefcase graded. Maybe take in a movie. Go to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. Go to the Baroque Philharmonia concert in the evening. It’ll be nice to have the house to himself. It’ll be peaceful and quiet, and Suzanne and Lacy will be home late Sunday night, probably dirty and tired, but happy. He’ll have a nice dinner waiting for them, and he’ll be clean and well rested and ready to start another week of work.

Suzanne and Lacy Are Packing

Can I bring more than one bag for once? Lacy is standing in the doorway of Suzanne and Olaf’s room, watching Suzanne pack. Suzanne is putting a folded pair of faded blue jeans in her backpack. She has several t-shirts and a sweatshirt laid out on the bed, ready to be folded and put in too. Because only you and me are going, and Ben, so there should be plenty of room in the car.

Don’t say ‘you and me are going,’ Lacy, says Suzanne. That’s not right. Say ‘you and I.’

Whatever! says Lacy as she stamps a foot. You have no idea what it’s like having two English teachers for parents! It’s such a pain! Can I just bring more than one bag for once?

No, says Suzanne. One bag is enough, and it doesn’t matter how many people are going or how much space there is in the car. You know you get to bring one bag; that’s the family rule. Pack light! You don’t need any more clothes than you can fit in one bag. That’ll be plenty.

But I don’t know what to bring! Lacy whines. I’ve never been to the Barter Fair before. I don’t know what people wear up there to something like that. I don’t want to end up looking like some kind of dork up there.

Oh, don’t be a big old whiney baby, like Aunt Sarah always says, says Suzanne. Bring an extra pair of jeans, a couple of t-shirts, and a warm sweater or sweatshirt. It’ll be pretty cool at night.

But I have to bring a different sweatshirt to wear with each t-shirt, so they match, and I don’t know what I’ll feel like wearing, so I need to bring at least six t-shirts and six sweatshirts, and I have to bring the shoes that go with each outfit, and it won’t all fit in one bag! And I need other stuff too. Lots of other stuff. It won’t all fit in one crummy little bag. Or even a big one.

It’s a fair, not a fashion show, Lacy, says Suzanne. One bag, and I’m sure you can figure out what to bring. Once we get there, you’ll be having so much fun, you won’t worry about what you’re wearing, and besides, what you wear just isn’t that important.

Yes it is! says Lacy. You just don’t understand how important clothes are. I won’t feel right if I don’t like what I’m wearing. You don’t understand fashion! You don’t understand matching! You don’t understand shoes! She turns around and stomps off to her own room to try to figure out how many different outfits she can fit into the one bag she’s always allowed to bring on any trip, no matter where they are going or for how long.

I understand shoes! Suzanne shouts at Lacy’s receding back. You wear them on your feet, and they get dirty when you’re out in the country, so bring your old hiking boots, not your new white gym shoes! And don’t forget to bring socks! Matching socks! That’s very important!

Thanks, Mom! Lacy yells back from her room down the hall. She slams the door behind her.

Suzanne is finished packing now, except for her wash-up kit, which she has to get from the cabinet in the bathroom. It’ll probably take Lacy another three hours to finish packing, but Suzanne wants everything ready to go tonight, so she can just pick Lacy up after school lets out tomorrow, swing by Ben’s and pick him up, and hit the road before rush traffic gets heavy. Suzanne had put her tent and Lacy’s tent and their sleeping bags in the back of her Volvo station wagon before dinner.

Thank goodness they don’t need to bring their Coleman stove and cooking gear or any dishes. There’ll be plenty of food to buy, Sarah’d said. Really good food, and mostly vegetarian, too. Mom’d said Pam and Rob would be setting up their camp kitchen, and they’ll have plenty of pans and dishes and cups, if they need any.

Suzanne decides she’ll call Ben and see how he’s coming along. He answers on the third ring. Hey, Ben, how’s it going? Are you all packed?

Just about, he says. Do you think I should bring my new leather jacket with the fringe and silver buckles?

Let me tell you what I just told Lacy. It’s a fair, not a fashion show! It’s way the heck out in the sticks. And Ben, not only is it not a fashion show, it’s not the Castro or one of your gay bars either. Bring one of your old sweatshirts or a jacket.

Well, Suzanne, you never know. There might be some cute guys up there, some Oregon honey bears. I can’t afford not to look my best, so I’m bringing the new leather jacket.

All right, says Suzanne. Make sure to bring some matching socks.

What? says Ben. I don’t have any black leather socks, but it sounds like a good idea. I’ll have to look for some next time I’m shopping in the Castro.

So I’ll pick Lacy up at three, and then I’ll swing by your place and pick you up, and we’ll hit the road and be on our way. Whee! I’ll see you tomorrow morning, ok?

Both Ben and Suzanne have early classes tomorrow, and they both will be finished at noon. Then they have office hours. Ben’s office is just down the hall from hers, so they see a lot of each other at school.

What are you doing in class tomorrow? Suzanne asks. I’m giving a punctuation quiz, which I’ll be able to grade quickly before I leave school, so I won’t have anything to grade over the weekend. How about you? You’re not doing in-class writing or collecting sets of essays are you?

Of course not, says Ben. They’re doing peer response groups, and I’m collecting the revisions on Monday. I don’t want to have to do any grading over the weekend either. I just want to have fun all weekend long for a change. I think we deserve a weekend off, don’t you? It’s a long haul until Thanksgiving.

I hear you there, says Suzanne. I know we’ll both have a ton of work next weekend; next weekend will be no fun, but this one’s all about fun! I’m really looking forward to it; I’ve heard so much about the Barter Fair. It’s about time I checked it out for myself. So I’ll see you tomorrow before class?

You know it, Girl Friend, says Ben.

Ok, good night, Sweet Cake, says Suzanne.

Bye, says Ben. Love you.

Love you, too, says Suzanne.

After she hangs up, Suzanne goes to check on Lacy. Amazingly enough, she has her bag packed. The sides are bulging, and it looks like it barely zipped, but it’s sitting on the floor at the end of her bed, and Lacy is sitting on her bed polishing her fingernails bright pink. All packed, I see, says Suzanne.

Yes, Mom, says Lacy.

Good. Then remember to put your bag in the back of the car tomorrow morning, because we’re not coming back home, remember?

Yes, Mom, says Lacy.

Ok then. You’re going to bed as soon as you finish your nails, right? I want you to get a good night’s sleep. We might be up pretty late tomorrow.

Yes, Mom, says Lacy.

Well, then, good night, says Suzanne. She gives Lacy a hug and a kiss.

Good night, Mom, says Lacy, as she carefully screws the lid on her fingernail polish and puts it on her nightstand.

On the Road

The next afternoon, Suzanne picks Lacy up outside of her new high school and drives to Ben’s house. She sends Lacy up to knock on his door because there’s no place to park anywhere in sight. Ben must be all ready to go, because Lacy only waits for a minute before Suzanne sees him step out onto the porch, his bag slung over his shoulder. He’s wearing his new black leather jacket. He closes the door and locks it, then follows Lacy down the steps.

The back’s open, calls Suzanne through the open car door window. Lacy gets in the backseat, and Ben opens the back of the Volvo station wagon and tosses his bag in. He gets into the passenger’s seat up front. Let’s get going, says Suzanne. I hope we can get across the Bay Bridge before traffic gets heavy, but it’ll probably be slow going up by Vallejo.

Just let me know when you get tired of driving, says Ben. I’ll take over any time you want.

I think I can get us to Vallejo all right, says Suzanne. I’m not tired. I got a good night’s sleep, and I had a cup of coffee just a bit ago. God, traffic is getting so bad just about all the time; there are just too many cars in this city!

Tell me about it, says Ben. He turns around to talk to Lacy. So what’s up, Girl Friend? What’s new at school?

Nothing, says Lacy.

Well, what did you do at school today? he asks.

Not much, says Lacy.

Did you learn anything?

Not really, says Lacy. School’s boring.

Well then, says Ben, it’s your job to find a way to make it interesting for yourself.

No it’s not, says Lacy. That’s impossible. It’s my job just to survive it. It’s the teachers’ job to make it interesting.

That’s one opinion, says Ben. "Well, I didn’t like high school much myself, but