When I was a teenager in the 1970’s, I worked summers at the Triple A travel agency in Richmond, Virginia. I was reminded of this experience by a recent conversation regarding fall foliage. In my day, long before the advent of the internet, before Google Maps Lady was even a glint in a rich man’s […]
Author: Evelyn J. Willburn
The razor’s edge
It is 10:01 a.m. I am sitting on the steps of this bush Alaska teacher apartment, waiting for my ride to the airport. The plane, at last report, is due to land at 10:10. I have already called the local airline agent twice today. The first time it went to voice mail. The second time, […]
A lady always knows when to leave
Or so I’ve heard. Friday was my last day of subbing in this small town. The regular teacher is back, smiling and restored to health, and I helped her move some of the classroom furnishings into the positions that she prefers to have them. Later she worried that she had offended me, and I did […]
Bush mail, part the second
It has been four days since I ran out of peanut butter. Never mind that I have eggs, cheese, and canned salmon. It is peanut butter that I want now. The cargo plane is, at last report, due at ten minutes to six. At twelve minutes to six, I jump into the school truck (not […]
Now’s the time
It is 10:00 p.m., more or less. I’m sitting in the comfiest chair in my teacher apartment in bush Alaska, where I will be for two more weeks. In the bush, not in the chair. Although it is a pretty nice chair. . . But I digress. I hear a sound that at first I […]
Bell-to-bell instruction
The leaders of this rural Alaskan school district want what any self-respecting educational leader wants: uninterrupted learning for students, all day and every day. Who could argue with that? However. Here’s a shining example of what sometimes happens in a rural Alaska school. On this particular day, probably my third of subbing here, the phone […]
Bush mail
“There is no store out there,” said Human Resources. “You will have to bring all your groceries with you. Also, there is nothing in the new teacher apartment, so you will need some pots and pans and flatware. And bedding.” “OK,” I said. I was on my way for a month of long-term subbing in […]
Dream big
When I was somewhere in the 8-12 years age bracket (12-year-old me didn’t look much different from 8-year-old me) I saw a dress in a catalog that cost $12, and I wanted it. I showed the picture to my mother, and she shook her head sadly. She had only recently, reluctantly, given up making pastel […]
The Stone
Chapter Eight in “Decades with the Squad” by my late father, William Palmer Jervey, Jr. This episode involved one who might be referred to as the Fastidious Gentlemen. On a scale of one to ten, he would surely be a nine. Believe it or not, he has on occasion involved himself in getting up hay. […]
Bread and bears
I wonder if bread is funny in the same way that bears are funny. I compare the two because both, while having the potential to provide merriment, also play a serious role. Bread has been a life-giving staple in the lives of humans since the very beginning of agriculture, while bears can provide humans with […]