This year has been all about waiting. Waiting to see if my university was going to be destroyed by draconian budget cuts…waiting to see if my friends would still have jobs…waiting to see if my homestead would be consumed by fire with no water to put it out even if it had caught fire…waiting for … Continue reading Waiting…Waiting..Waiting…
What Do I See in the Rearview Mirror This Summer…?
Summer for me started early (March 19) when I learned that I was facing a possible quadruple bypass. My 61st birthday was spent in a hospital bed as I reflected on a lifetime of really bad dietary choices that led to my needing open-heart surgery. Hindsight is always perfect, isn’t it? I look in my … Continue reading What Do I See in the Rearview Mirror This Summer…?
Ten Things for Which I Choose to Be Thankful
First and foremost, I’m thankful that I am not dead. Some of you know that I had a triple bypass in March…the surgery and the subsequent looooooooong recovery period and the rehab that has become necessary were and are not fun, but being alive trumps the pain, inconvenience and bother. I’m thankful that I’m alive… … Continue reading Ten Things for Which I Choose to Be Thankful
Scared…
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne This week our Finish the Sentence Friday writing prompt is “Scared…” so I thought I should share my recent … Continue reading Scared…
Sometimes Thankful is Too Hard…
There are times when it’s incredibly difficult to be thankful. There, I said it. I know, it’s Thanksgiving next week and everyone’s posting “Today I’m thankful for…” on Facebook, and I’m over here going, “Yeah, but how come I feel as if someone just stabbed me in the heart and then ground the blade in … Continue reading Sometimes Thankful is Too Hard…
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye…
When I was a child, I knew a man named Johnny Blidburgh. In the mid-1960s, he was the track patrolman on the Curry to Gold Creek section. He lived at Curry House, which was where the freight crews would stop for dinner or to overnight when they went dead. (“Going dead” means that the worker … Continue reading Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye…
Hallowe’en…What’s So Great About It?
I grew up in the Alaskan Bush, far from towns and neighborhoods. My formative years were spent mushing dogs, riding snowmachines, skating on the Big Pond, exploring the benches behind our house in March when the crust of the snow was just right...so when October rolled around, the only thing we were ever excited about … Continue reading Hallowe’en…What’s So Great About It?
Summer 1967: Who’ll Stop the Rain?
In the summer of 1967, I was 9 years old and we had only lived at Sherman for three years. We were blissfully ignorant about Alaska’s capricious weather, and little did we know that this was going to be a summer none of us would ever forget. Our house still had a flat tarpaper roof. … Continue reading Summer 1967: Who’ll Stop the Rain?
The Day the Dog Did Not Die
I grew up on a homestead located thirty-two miles north of Talkeetna, Alaska. In the early 1970s, we had a winter that was particularly hard on the wild animals in our area. There’s a trickledown effect when the winter is harsh and food is scarce, and lynx are as affected by this as any other … Continue reading The Day the Dog Did Not Die
Grandmothers
Growing up in Alaska meant that our extended families were very far away. In the early 1960s, when we were homesteading at Sherman, money was in short supply and we didn’t take trips Outside. Our extended families lived mainly in California and Missouri…might as well have been the moon. My grandmothers were really the only … Continue reading Grandmothers
