Where was I? The Snowmachiner returned from his surveying trip and told me that he was ready to start for Togiak. I hastily called the Forklift Operator, who said he would have his employee Freddie meet the Snowmachiner there. I called the Snowmachiner back and gave him the green light, whereupon he hooked up his […]
Category: Twin Hills
Here, there will be tables: Part three of four
OK, so we were talking about my struggle to get two state-of-the-art classroom tables for Twin Hills School. We paused my most interesting narrative with the box of tables having arrived in Anchorage. Since there was apparently no way other than a snowmachine/sled combination to get said box directly to Twin Hills, I made it […]
Here, there will be tables: Part the second
When last we talked, I told you all about the process of ordering a pair of small group tables for Twin Hills School. When we left off, my tables had been packed up into one large box*, had left the factory in Texas with Freight Company A, and were chugging their way towards Southwestern Alaska. […]
Here, there will be tables
I admit it: when I took the job as principal/teacher at the Twin Hills (Alaska) school for the 2023-24 school year, I had an agenda. Well, several agendas. I had already visited Twin Hills school many times through my five-year job with the Department of Education, and I had a long list of items under […]
Strawberry triage
The other day while cleaning out a random cupboard, I started thinking about strawberries. This particular strawberry story comes from my recent year working at a bush Alaska school, and it goes like this: “I’m sorry,” said Jane from Food Service. “I’m sending you some fresh fruit for the school, and I just learned that […]
Second-day air
Blogger’s note: This is the rest of the story that I started in my recent post “Stay in the moment.” I write this from the warmth and safety of my teacher trailer in Twin Hills, Alaska. How, you may ask, did I get from being grounded on the runway at King Salmon, to here, in […]
Stay in the moment
I’m hungry and thirsty and I have to go to the bathroom. I’ve also been told, with implications of dire consequences, not to get out of my seat. It could almost be that one time in fourth grade, but no: it is 2024 and I am in seat 7B of an Alaska Airlines jet. I […]
Turkeys from Togiak: the second helping
I have been driving this little four-wheeler around the community of Twin Hills, Alaska, for almost four months now, and this is the first time I have ever hit thirty miles per hour. What makes this occasion especially noteworthy is that I have two passengers. These passengers come in the form of two of my […]
Turkeys from Togiak: the main course
In Twin Hills, Alaska, there are three general ways to get your groceries. One: you can buy stuff when you are in town and bring it out with your luggage. Two: you can call in or order online and have your stuff delivered by air freight or through the mail. Sometimes, if you know someone […]
Of sandbars, tides, and sunsets
I would get out and push, I really would, if only I had the proper footwear. By “proper footwear” I mean insulated, water-proof boots that come up to my knees. Why would I need such footwear? Well, I’m sitting in a 15-or-so-foot skiff, piloted by the young man who owns it, and we are stuck […]