I am entering uncharted waters in two areas of my life. Mad venture #1: I am publishing a book! The odds are good that you already know that. I have ordered two proofs of said book from amazon, one with “premium color” and the other with “standard color.” The two copies have been printed and […]
Category: Mostly Alaska: Life as an educator and citizen
Stories about teaching and living in Alaska
The Warring of the Green
Perimeter check. Armed with only my gloves, a pair of pruners, and my tiny chainsaw, I set out to search my yard for plants that don’t play fair. Of which there are several. If I were to conduct a contest for the Plant-that-is-the-Biggest-Pain-in-the-Neck, the following, I believe, would be the winners. I will include photographic […]
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 […]
Snow ice cream at thirty below
My last day in Latest Tiny Village, Alaska, was the coldest one in my three weeks there, and the last day of school before the break. I had planned to make snow ice cream, come hell or high water, and with staunch encouragement from my obligatory cheering section, I made the preparations. I was accompanied […]
Fifty shades of fall
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 […]
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 […]