There was a time when most of my adventures happened beyond the village on the tundra or river. It didn’t matter if I was near or far from the house. The Lord had a way of reminding me/us of the danger that can lurk in bush Alaska. And He had let me live to relate the stories.
Then I became older, had an accident that pretty much eliminated any thought of risky behavior, and now I am a bit wiser. I still tend to attract the unusual and my eyes still observe life and the environment my way. The difference now is that the attraction is limited to home, school, and the immediate confines of the village I may be in at the time. Guess you could call me more of an introvert than an extrovert, but I’m still me. I can’t escape myself, or Murphy’s Law.
I went to Good News Bay (about a 45 minute ride in a bush plane) last Wednesday and stayed the night at the school. They offered me a choice of sleeping arrangements. I chose a couch in one of the classrooms. Slept well, but probably could have been better. The next morning they asked me how I slept.
“Y’all need a longer couch,” I joked, “but I was comfortable and got some sleep.”
“Did you know that it is a hide-a-bed?”
“No, I didn’t, but I know now.”
Have you ever been to Good News Bay? It is a beautiful place. Mountains surround the village. They are everywhere. Did you know there is even one in the sewage lagoon? It isn’t really a mountain. It’s more like a mound and no; it isn’t made up of what you may be thinking. Some maintenance was done to the lagoon and the pile is just dirt – or so I was told.
When I got back to Eek it was time to prepare for next week’s testing required by the Federal Government and No Child Left Behind. One thing on my list was making sure there were plenty of snacks and drinks for the students. It should have been a supposedly a simple, easy chore to carry out – call stores in Bethel and get the stuff flown out to Eek.
It was easy at the beginning. After phoning one store and placing an order for drinks and snacks, it was time to call a grocery store for other items I wanted. That wasn’t so easy.
Never before had I been turned down by a grocery store until now. All I wanted to buy was fresh fruit for the students’ breaks during the dreadful testing week. I called the store and said something like, “I’d like to order a couple cases of oranges and apples to be delivered to the airport and shipped to Eek School.”
Their response left me wondering why, in these economic times, would a business turn down customers? The lady told me that they weren’t taking any orders until Monday (this was Thursday) because we’re full right now. All I could mumble was, “Okay, thanks.”
Maybe I will try to order again Monday, but testing begins Tuesday. It is now Sunday afternoon and I just got my drink and snack order I placed Thursday. There may not be enough time.
It looks like I need to follow my wife’s advice. For two days I’ve been expecting the order to arrive. I was worried that I would miss the call and not be able to go to the airport and get it. Irene told me that the agent should bring the stuff to the school and to “not worry about it.”
So, I kind of didn’t worry about it and do you know what happened? The plane landed and the agent brought the order to the school. Weird, uh?
