While walking Hamilton Loop in Craig, Alaska the other day, I saw an old friend. Here it is in the background: St. John or San Juan Batista Island, so named in the 1700’s by the first Spanish explorers to the area. And here’s another friend, known to science as Port Bagial, but known to me […]
The mighty heart of the hummingbird
The other day I saw a hummingbird resting on a powerline near my house. The scale of bird to wire was unmistakable; I could see his tiny silhouette and, even in repose, his head was darting around as he watched for predators. This fellow does not consider himself to be small. Most days I don’t […]
In which the grammar police begin to lay about
The phrase “to lay about” is grammatically correct, but it’s not what you think. I understand why nobody gets the modern uses of “lie” and “lay” right, because you can’t teach them to middle schoolers without a national incident. Even high schoolers will snicker and snort and fail utterly to pay attention to the lesson. […]
Consider the spider: Guest blog by Laura J. Graham
When I was much younger I was very scared of spiders. I would have fits of terror and disgust, eventhough I would never hurt one. They must all be carefully relocated. Mama was scared of them too.Once on a visit home I was upstairs tending to Baby Helen, and I heard Mama walking up the […]
Celestial Rain
As a resident of Craig, a small town in the southernmost tip of southern Southeast Alaska, I miss a lot of things that happen in the sky. You know, because it rains all the time. Well, not all the time, but you know what I mean. One hundred inches, give or take, per year, coupled […]
The Ashtray: Guest blog
Chapter Eighteen in “Decades with the Squad,” by my late father, William Palmer Jervey, Jr. This one came as a possible D.O.A. Upon our arrival at the scene we discovered a rather remarkable situation. It did indeed include a D.O.A. There was an 86-year-old female lying on the floor beside a table strewn with cards […]
Facebook is a big doofus
Some background information might be in order. In the early days I was a little slower than some to get a facebook account, but eventually I joined my friends in the land of “what’s on your mind?” From the get-go I had a love/hate relationship with social media, despising myself for spending hours mindlessly scrolling, […]
Weather watch
While substitute teaching in Crooked Creek, Alaska this past January, I couldn’t help but notice the weather. Mind you, Crooked Creek (known to locals simply as “Crooked”) is deep in the interior of Alaska, winding along the banks of the Kuskokwim River. So why was it 40 degrees. . .? The duplex I was staying […]
I meant to do that
While substitute teaching in Crooked Creek, Alaska, I sought and obtained permission to use the school’s four-wheeler. Riding a four-wheeler is to me a little bit like riding a pony: bumpy, sure-footed, and a tiny bit unpredictable. Not to mention the fresh air and the moderate exercise that staying on requires. One day after it […]
Interesting Times: Guest blog by Laura J. Graham
I have heard of an ancient blessing that says, “May you not live in interesting times”. I think this means may you come in every night and sit by the fire with the cat on your lap, and not have to worry about wars, or famine, or pestilence. However, I believe we live in very […]