An Alaskan Friend

While getting my second cup of tea this morning I struck up a conversation with a woman I assumed worked in our hotel. She had been chatting with other employees, but it turned out she was just dropping her boyfriend off. He is a mechanic at the hotel. In our conversation I told her how much I loved walking through downtown Anchorage and visiting the different parks and the museum. It turned out she had local craft items for sale there.

Julie taught herself 'Skin Sewing' and 'Bead work' and just recently had added Ivory carving to her list of skills. She showed me some of her things and we talked for quite a while. She told me about her village 50 miles from Nome, on the island, Shishimeraf. There are about 100 people that live there. The island is slowly eroding away and eventually the villagers will have to move to the mainland. Her village hunts for seal, and has a tannery. Their seal skin is highly prized and is shipped to all parts of the world. The government wants to relocate them to Nome, but that is not their familar hunting grounds. They hope to stay closer to the waters they are familar with.

As I admired the Ivory earrings she pointed out which ones were fossilized ivory and which ones were Walrus Seal Ivory. She explained the difference between light seal skin and dark, belly fur and back fur. She explained the laws involving who can own and create items for sale using ivory and seal skin.

Sea Otter and Walrus Seal are among the animals in Alaska that are protected except for a very specific use. Only native Alaskans, those with tribal connections, not just people born here, may harvest protected animals and they may only do it to supply their needs; food, clothing, tools, and crafts. Many villages still survive only through this lifestyle. All materials must be tagged by the Fish and Game Department, and only natives may own tagged materials.

The people that hunt and make many items for sale live lives of subsistence. They go without running water, let alone iphones, doing what their people have done for hundreds of years. Sometimes the outside world likes to dictate what is right, and what is wrong when it comes to animal rights. I often support them. But there are always 2 sides to a story, and sometims the other side can give you a lot to think about. In this instance, I can help support them in their world rather than insist that they relocate to mine.

It's a choice. I chose the ivory earrings and I got her business card. She is a modern day Alaskan, but she has many relatives that still live on that little island. She spoke well for them and she raised my social consciousness up a little above Political Correctness.

Alaska

The view has drastically changed this week! I'm no longer driving the busy streets of my town, or navigating the interstate highways of western PA. Instead, Larry and I are weaving our way down Alaska Highway 1 through the mountains and along the shore of Turnagain Arm, between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula.

This is my 2nd trip to the largest state in the union. Did you know that Alaska holds the unique claim to being the northern most, western most AND EASTERN most state in the U. S? Amazing isn't it? How can that be? Well, I'm sure you can figure out the Northern and Western most points, but the Aleutian Islands stretch south and west until they cross the dateline and enter the "Far East" part of the hemisphere. Therefore, Alaska is officially the eastern most state, too. I learned that little bit of trivia last year.

Yesterday Larry and I celebrated our upcoming 39th anniversary by taking the 26 Glacier Cruise in Prince William Sound, a 5 1/2 hour cruise on a catamaran. We were blessed with unbelievably great weather. Even the crew kept remarking on it. Although most of us were outside in our sweatshirts and hats, one girl on the crew stood in the sun in her short sleeves remarking how warm it was. The air was probably in the 60's on land, and the sun was wonderful, but the air off the glaciers and the breeze from the boat kept us in jackets. According to our guide, the Sound has rain 8 out of 10 days. They may get 20 feet of snow in winter, but the mountains may get 100 feet of snow. I'll keep Pittsburgh, and learn not to whine so much about the shoveling.

This picture is of College Fiord and shows several glaciers coming down to the water. Each of these glaciers was named for a girls college. On the other side of the fiord the glaciers were named for boys colleges. The two glaciers at the end of College Fiord were named Harvard and Yale. Harvard seems to be advancing, while Yale is retreating. I wonder if that's a commentary??

On our cruise we saw sea otters and harbor seals, but no whales, although there are several pods in the area. We saw lots of sea otters, but it was hard getting a good closeup of them. Sea Otters never go on land. They spend their time in water. And they roll over frequently to put air in their coat. Their fur is so thick the water never touches their skin!

We aren't actually here on vacation. Larry covers Alaska as part of his territory, so when he comes here, I tag along if we have enough frequent flyer miles. I'll be sharing this trip on this blog, so check back daily! This is going to be a great week, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

Happy Memorial Day

What is a flag?
A flag is something that waves, that we salute, and that we pledge our allegiance to. It is a piece of fabric, with a pattern that is symbolic of something. For a country, that design can evolve as the country evolves, as in the American flag's 13 colonies to 52 states, without losing its original meaning. Those who design a flag put great thought into it and hope others will find importance in it.

What does the American flag mean to you?
We are without a doubt the most fortunate people in the world. While poverty may be rampant in some parts of the United States, even our poverty can't compare to the poverty seen in other places of the world. Our country is big and carries great importance, if not always favor, in almost every part of the world. Our flag is recognizable.

But what does it mean to you?
If you look at our flag with pride, I salute you. If you look at it and just see the "American Flag", but you don't feel chills when it waves, I understand you. You have never seen it wave above your head as the dust clears after a battle. You have never seen it torn and tattered, but in one piece as a hero emerges from the rubble with it in his arms. For you it waves in your yard on Memorial Day, or in a parade as scouts walk by. You salute it, and you wave, and you cheer and you laugh with your friends, and you celebrate the day.

We are without a doubt the most fortunate people in the world. We are so used to being free we have no idea what it means not to be. We can't imagine going from a peaceful existence to one of hiding from bombs and scavenging for food. But that is what war is all about. If you lived in Europe during WWII, it was your reality. In 1984 the winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, but if you lived in Sarajevo in 1992, war was your reality. As Americans, we havc never truly experienced it. 9/11 brought us to our senses. It was our first real wake-up call to a world that others have lived in all along.

On Memorial Day, as you look at our flag whether it is flying over a car dealership or in a parade, take a moment and imagine the feeling that Francis Scott Key had when he wrote "In the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there."

What is our flag? It is a symbol of freedom and hope.
On the news yesterday was a WWII veteran who was placing little American flags on the graves of fallen soldiers. In a country like ours, amongst the sales, the parades, and the picnics we need to remember that the flag is not just a piece of fabric. It carries so much more and until you see it raised from the ruins, until you understand why it is carried into battle, and until you feel the hope that a soldier has felt, that streams from it like a beacon to others who see it, you will always just see the Red, White, and Blue proudly carried in a parade.

Today I will be at a picnic with friends. We will celebrate and have fun. I hope that WWII veteran is with family and friends. I know one thing. When he looks at the flag this weekend, there may be a tear in his eye as he remembers comrades who didn't come home. And I will take a moment and try to imagine just a small piece of what he must have experienced. In memoriam.

Another Era Draws to a Close

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed tonight from its last voyage into space. There are 2 more shuttle launches before that program comes to an end. Talk about the end of an era!

The shuttle has been a big part of our family's life since it's first voyage. Living in Florida made it hard to ignore, but it was more than that. Long after shuttle launches became routine in the day of the life of a Floridian we were still waking up in the middle of the night to see if we could see the launch from our backyard. As much as we loved watching it, our fascination was also strengthened by our daughter's fascination with the stars. As a little girl, one of Jenny's favorite books was Franklyn M. Branley's "The Big Dipper", fondly referred to as "the dippy cup book". Every time we read the book, we had to go outside and look for the Big Dipper in the sky. She loved reading about the moon and the stars. As she got older she would look through binoculars at the moon to see its seas.
In Florida you can see the launch from almost anywhere in the state. We watched it in Tampa and in Ft. Lauderdale. It never ceased to enthrall us. We weren't alone. Go outside at launch time and you will see other neighbors doing the same thing. Classes of children will be taken outside by their teachers in hopes of catching a glimpse of the silver speck arcing through the sky on top of the plume.

I was privileged enough to view the launch live from the edge of the inter-coastal waterway on two occasions. One was a night launch which is spectacular, but it was during a day launch that I got my best science lesson on the speed of light, the speed of sound, as well as sound waves. We watched the clock count down the seconds. Suddenly we saw the flame, then the shuttle began to rise. Next we became aware of a rumble rolling across the water toward us. As we watched the rumble got louder and the water began to ripple. When the roar actually reached us the water was bouncing in little waves. The rumble rolled over us, and kept on going and the water calmed down again. It was such a cool experience of sight and sound. The shuttle rose above the launch pad, the flame below lighting up the sky. We were mesmerized as we watched it until it was nothing more than a speck. It is a truly awesome experience.

The landing of the shuttle was just as big for me. The first time it landed, my heart was in my throat. Would it burn up on re-entry? How hot was it inside? What were the astronauts feeling? It was such a relief to see it safely land. I watched as the pilot and crew got out and walked around that plane. They were so exhilerated at the beauty of that flight. Whenever it landed in Florida I would hear the twin sonic booms as it flew overhead before landing. If I was asleep, the booms would wake me up. I would puzzle over what awoke me and then suddenly think "Shuttle's home!". I would turn on the TV just in time to see it land at Cape Kennedy over 100 miles away.

Of course, not all shuttle experiences are happy. There was the day the Challenger blew up. Thankfully, I was teaching pre-school that day and not outside, but Larry was in a parking lot and watched as the plume separated and spiraled down. I heard what happened a few hours later and went outside. The spiraling vapor trail was still visible, a sacred place in the sky where several heroes lost their life. Then, one day Jenny called me. "Mom", she asked, "Did you hear the twin booms this morning?"

I was in a hurry to leave for a hair appointment, but her question stopped me cold. "No, was I supposed to?" I asked.

Jenny, who lived in Orlando and was closer to the action answered, "Columbia is 15 minutes late."

It was a heartbreaking moment. Even before there was any real news, the truth was apparent. The shuttle is never late.

Knowing the program is coming to an end saddens me. Times have changed. Presidents have changed. Goals have changed. I can understand change. I have changed, and my view of the world has changed. Change is a part of growth. Sometimes it's good. Other times it is hard to watch. Whether this proves to be a wise decision, or not isn't relevant to this rambling of a shuttle watcher. I've loved being a spectator in this exploration of our world. I will miss it when it ends.

End of an Era

Well, we did it! Finally the search is over and I'm glad. It was getting hard keeping track of the pros and cons of all those cars I've been driving. There is a new car in the garage! However, it marks the end of an era for this family.

The car, a Nissan Rogue, is aptly named, for by buying it I am definitely "Going Rogue" (excuse me, Sarah for stealing your line). For the past 40 plus years, my husband has only owned 1 vehicle that wasn't 1) American made and 2) a GM product. His dependency on GM products was probably shaped mainly at his father's knee, or perhaps more literally, standing behind him in the garage. My father-in-law was a mechanic by trade and worked on most American made cars in the days before computerization made him see the wisdom of retirement. Frequent complaints of how Fords were put together had a lasting impression on my father-in-law's son. I have no idea if there was any truth to the mutterings or if it was just the general cursings of a man under the hood of a car, but to an impressionable teenager, Ford was out. GM was in.

It is hard to know exactly what changed it all, but the plight of GM in this last year, the death of Pontiac, the difficulty in even test-driving a car we most likely would have bought (GMC Terrain or Chevy Equinox) sent us exploring other paths. I even drove a Ford and a Mercury! In all honesty, the Toyota RAV4 was my favorite car, but I don't believe Toyota knows what is the cause of their current problems and I wasn't willing to put my life in their hands. Incidentally, as a teenager, my parent's Chrysler had a problem with the Cruise Control and one day as I was driving on an expressway the car took over. It is a scary experience and happened to me twice. I don't ever want to go there again!

We were almost ready to buy the Mercury Mariner when I brought up the issue of a 6-CD changer. Hmmm! They don't make them. Then Larry discovered they didn't have an external temperature gauge.

So there we were. I sent Larry out with a choice of 3 cars: Honda CRV, Dodge Journey, and the Nissan Rogue. When the dealing was done, we were the proud owners of our first foreign made car.

And it's Cranberry Red. Perfect for me!

When we called the kids to tell them the news they were shocked.
"MOM! How did you convince Dad to buy a foreign car??"
"Simple", I said. "It was a matter of 'two sinks in the bathroom'."

Buying a Car

I've been driving a lot of cars lately. It is time to trade in my Pontiac Torrent and I've been trying every SUV I can find hoping to find the successor. When it comes to buying cars, Larry does the book research, and I do the hands-on kind. He finds the ones with the best ratings, that seem to offer what he likes in a car and then I go drive it and see how I like it. One thing I've learned is that inside a car we look for entirely different things. He's a big man and often a seat that is comfortable for him is too big for me and hits me in the back of my legs.
I've also learned that over the years what is important to me has changed. One of the first things I used to check out were the cup holders. I know I'm not alone here, either! However, I realized this accessory has moved down the priority chain. For one thing, they are now very standard in all vehicles, so I don't have to check to make sure the car has them. But the biggest reason goes right back to that 'view from the empty nest' thing. I no longer ferry kids all around, nor do we do a lot of family trips! As long as my car mug fits and there's a place for a bottle of water or my large ice tea, I'm good.
One thing that has become more important to me is the choice of color. I confess...this one seems really weak, but it became a major player when I bought my Torrent. It seems to me there are a few basic styles of vehicles; Truck, Car, Van, SUV, Sports car. It also seems to me that most of them are Gray while the rest are Tan or Silver. I had a gray Malibu once. It was a very pretty car and looked identical to a Toyota and very much like most other gray cars. Apparently, I don't discern differences in cars very well. When it was time to buy my Torrent I said "I want a car I can find in the parking lot"! The electric blue of my Torrent was VERY easy to find in a parking lot.
As we began the search we knew it would be an SUV, with sunroof, leather seats, electric seat positioning and of course, cruise control. That was the starting lineup. But as we started looking we discovered not all cars come with simple things we have become accustomed to. We were all ready to make a deal on a car when suddenly there it was. 2 sinks in the bathroom! The bottom line for any car was that it had to have an external temperature gauge (Larry's sink), 6CD changer (my sink) and heated seats (this may be the 3rd sink thrown in by the builder). The car we were ready to buy didn't have the external temperature gauge or the 6 CD changer! However, these are things we have had for a long time and we are accustomed to them.
It sounds so picky. I really wondered if we were unreasonable or just plain spoiled. But as Larry put it, "I've worked hard and if I can afford it and they provide it, why shouldn't we have it?" The truth is our lifestyle has changed and these are the things that are important to us. The 6 CD changer was a deal breaker for me. Now that I drive long distances alone a lot, I listen to Audio CD's. To be driving through Chicago while trying to switch out a single CD on a book I'm listening to sounded as bad as trying to text while driving. My CD player has been my traveling companion for a long time. I needed it. The heated seats joined the Must Have list this month as I have had some lower back problems and the heated seats feel so good!!! As for the external temperature gauge...eh... that's his. I'll just stick my hand out the window to see if it's cold or not, but hey, as long as I get my CD changer, he can have his temperature gauge.
The search continues, but we are almost there. I'll let you know the final result.
By the way, if you didn't get all the "sink" references, go back and read the post previous to this one. It will explain it all.

Two Sinks in the Bathroom

"Two sinks in the bathroom" is a phrase that has become our family "in joke". It epitomizes the bottom line when making a purchase. It started a few years ago when my husband and I were house hunting. Many of the homes we looked at had small bathrooms in the Master Bedroom and I noticed that most had only 1 sink. Now we have not had to fight over sink space while brushing our teeth or shaving in many years. The past several homes we have lived in all came with 2 sinks in the bathroom. The homes tended to be newer and were a comfortable size. Perhaps we were spoiled, but it was an accomodation that I really appreciated! As our house hunting continued, it became more and more the focus of what we wanted. Our single mindedness was almost funny. First we would check the layout of the house and how it felt. Next I wanted to be sure the kitchen was well laid out. A 3-car garage was a must. We had options--things we wanted but didn't have to have. But nothing would make the final cut if it didn't have 2 sinks in the bathroom.

The house we settled on had our relatives scratching their heads. We went from a single story house where we raised our children in Florida, to a 3 story house in Pittsburgh. This is a good place to say that most homes in Florida are single story, while a home in Pittsburgh could have only 3 rooms and it still could be built as a 3 story house. With the hillsides around here, buildings naturally go UP. But the house we bought wasn't a little one. It was big. "You do realize it's just the two of you now, right?" was the comment most often heard. "Sure", we answered, "but it has 2 sinks in the bathroom!"

We've been here 3 years now. The house has way more room than we need, but we use it all. We love the house, the neighborhood and Western PA. When our children and families visited we had room for everyone. and we've never had a shoving match trying to brush our teeth in the morning.

Every home has a few things that make the owner say "hmmm". We wonder what the architect was thinking when he designed a room or placed a closet. This house is no different, but there is one puzzle we've never figured out. When we finally moved into the house, we found the builder had made one change. He added a sink. There are now 3 sinks in the bathroom.