By Ron Momogeeshick Peters

The original was done on acid free paper with pencil and water color.This was done in the mid 90’s at a period of introspection. I had been painting, drawing and creating works that individually required 100 hours or more to finish but for this piece it was more less done in one to two hours.

I was influenced by a collecter of my artwork, to create in a shorter amount of time. He would hand me 5 hundred bucks and inform me that he would be back in 15 minutes. I tried to do a swift realistic piece and the rendering of the eagle was detailed aound the eyes enough for my liking and the rest was blurred. He came back and took the painting. He suggested that I try a more limited pallet and pictorial approach for the following day. He came back and did the same thing, handing me 5 hundred bucks and this time I did two blue lines , a red swirl and 3 receding grey lines. The image size was about 20 x30. He loved this one and so did I. I called it “Bears in The Snow.” He did this one more time and I did a drawing of a lone loon swimming on the lake.

While living in Toronto,Ontario, I was selling my art on the corner of Spadina St. and Bloor St. I was also doing my artwork right there. It was a colorful experience what with all the people and events of the day. I was told by a city planner that 100,000 people passed through every day. I don’t know if that is true but it sure seemed to be the truth.With my collector friend’s (Lauterstein’s) influence I got quicker and my mind would wander off into memories of the past. I had been trying to find a true love for some time and I admired my great grandparents love of over fifty years of marriage. I remembered the stories of the loon and the fact that it is truly one of the birds in the animal kingdom that is monagamous.

This is the story about how the oldest bird, Mah-oong (Loon) came to laugh at it’s own stories just before sundown. Just before the night stars come out in the warm months the loon can be heard laughing and sometimes it would cry. Eventually the loon finds it’s mate and the two lovebirds then marry for life.

Grandapa Pete aka Paw-peach-ah-been-aynce told me that the loon had been a young human girl in an earlier transformation. This very same girl had outsmarted the Trickster. Here is my recollection of the story with my own
dialogue and take on it:

Keebutch the Trickster and Halfcloud the Leading Girl are standing by the river on a
black and white pebbled beach. It is hayfever season.

“Kee-butch, you ornery half rabbit man thing, get your smelly toes off of that hole. You are going to kill those poor snakes down there.” exclaimed Halfcloud.

“I wouldn’t talk if I were you, Halfcloud, womanbeast of the Ojibways of Ah zot ees kawn ing. You should get your raggedy arse off that rock before you permanently color it like those French caveman paintings over in Europe ways.” retorted Keebutch.

“Seriously Keebutch, seeing as how you were born from the ofal of Nanabosho, the trickster, you should get your foot off of that hole.” implored Halfcloud.

“Halfcloud, you speak many honey words but they fall on bees-wax filled ears. We have nothing to do but argue about who is getting fish for breakfast. Isn’t it time we play the rock game? Look at those white and black pebbles there.” said Keebutch.

“I know. I know. I’ll pick one white and one black. One for each hand.” replied Halfcloud.

Keebutch bent over quickly and picked up two BLACK pebbles, one in each hand, thinking that Halfcloud hadn’t noticed his deception.

“I’ll do the game. If you pick the black pebble you have to get the fish and marry me this afternoon.” said Keebutch.

“If I get the white pebble, you have to get the fish and turn me into a loon by afternoon. I always wanted to swim as far as I could and fly as far as I could away from you.” answered Halfcloud .

“Hah, pick one my wife-to-be.” chortled Keebutch confidently.

“Ahh, ahh, ahh” grimaced Halfcloud.

Halfcloud picked a hand and when Keebutch opened his hand, Halfcloud covered the rock with her hand.

“Ahh-choo.” sneezed Halfcloud.

“Whoops. I dropped the pebble, what do you have in your other hand? Keebutch. Am I to marry you?” asked
Halfcloud.

After a long drawn out pause Keebutch sighed and said “I have the black one.” Keebutch turned his love into a loon and marked her with black and white pebbles for her smartness as he had promised.

Heads I win, Tails you lose. Or to give you a chance, Heads you lose, Tails I win.

Neshe Old Birds In Forever Love.

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