Dear friend, readers, and cheerleaders: I have decided to place this blog on hiatus, and focus my writing energy on producing articles for the Prince of Wales Island Post for the time being. Meanwhile, I also plan to publish a book of my best essays from the blog. You can help me choose! Please take […]
Author: Evelyn J. Willburn
A break in the weather
“Sucker hole” is the inelegant term that Southeast Alaska fisherman use to describe a temporary lull in a life- or investment-threatening storm. In this case, the “sucker” would see the blue sky, load up his creaky old troller to the limit with bait and gear, head out to the fishing grounds and fill his holds […]
Seventies music and a patchwork quilt
Blogger’s note: this is a post from an earlier time! I took it down on accident, so here it is back again! “Hey, that’s my dress from fifth grade!” Scene: my sisters and I are looking over one of the many crazy quilts that our mother made during her life. Her method was simple. First, […]
The Home
Chapter Eleven in “Decades with the Squad,” by my late father, William Palmer Jervey, Jr. Blogger’s note: The Muses are out getting their nails done, apparently, so I figured today is a good day to share something from my Pa, whom I credit as the source for both my writing and my acting chops. This […]
The other Sleeping Lady
“I like seeing the Sleeping Lady,” says Elder Son, leading me to momentary confusion. He and I are sharing my car for a few days, and I am driving him to work. We are just passing the black cliffs between Craig and Klawock, a pair of sister cities on Prince of Wales Island. My son […]
An old family recipe
Imagine, what a snowball effect a few thoughts on baking cookies can have! I wrote in a previous post about a cookbook my sister Laura gave me in 1979, and the wonderful sugar cookie recipe contained therein. Betty, a longtime neighbor, family friend, cousin-by-marriage, and reader of this blog, expressed interest in the recipe that […]
The great peanut butter paradox
The other day I read a meme that made me truly LOL (laugh out loud) as opposed to SALTS (smiled a little, then stopped). This meme said that if you ever wonder just how out of touch with reality you are, then try measuring out an actual serving size of peanut butter. I laughed because […]
Adventures in cookie making
In December of 1979 my sister Laura gave me a cookbook. We had been sharing an apartment in Anchorage Alaska while she worked for a veterinary office and I drifted from pillar to post in the world of waitressing. After six months she was preparing to go back to Powhatan, and I was moving into […]
Will you by my Muse?
I always did love Greek mythology, and as a creative writer I find myself especially attracted to the Muses. These nine sisters are daughters of Zeus (who isn’t?) and the Titan goddess of memory, Mnemosyne. Note that the “m” is silent, and the final “e” is pronounced as a separate syllable. Neh-MAH-sih-ne. Knowing the rules […]
The Trip
Chapter Ten in “Decades with the Squad” by my late father, William Palmer Jervey, Jr. Blogger’s note: In filling in for my inconstant muse, I offer another story from my father’s book. This one, while ending happily, reminds me of a favorite quote, sort of a parent’s lament: When they’re little they’re on your […]