What a special day it has been. Up at 5:00 am to put the turkey on, then back to bed. Up later to do all the last minute things for a dinner of 11 to 18. At my house you never know just how many will be coming.
I am working with some released prisoners and families of prisoners and have some of them for dinner. A friend and her daughter also came and brought a ham and other good stuff.
We run a rather open house so when Marj got a call from one of the men, Max, that the police had just dropped a man off at his house that needed a place to stay until the bus to Dallas came at 5:00 pm, I said bring him along. The police delivered he and Max at my house about noon. He is a legal guest worker from Mexico that does not speak English. Max does, and so we had a translator. What a good time to be able to include him. There is always room at this inn.
We ended up with 13 people and lots of leftovers that I sent home with people. Some of them don’t cook much so it was nice to be able to share. Women with children in prison have a very hard life, trying to get to see them at the visiting hours many hours away from home. Many people live with hardships that we can never know.
Talked with all my kids and grandkids today on the phone. They live 4 and 5 states away so I don’t usually see them at Christmas. It is good to be able to share with friends here. God shared his family with us so I guess I can share also. May you all have the peace of the Christmas season.
I will be in Bethlehem next month living with a Palestinian family. I thought of that a lot today. I need to email the one planning my stay there to finalize some of my itinerary. I will be spending most of my time working with children in the West Bank area of Bethlehem. I am really looking forward to the experience.
Peace to all,
Dave
Had a day off and slept in. What a lazy person. Didn’t even go to church. Ate a nice lunch and then decided to go to the museum. What a treat. The Anchorage Choral was performing. As I went in they were lining up. The museum has a great open space with a fountain and wide stairs that go to a second floor balcony. The choral were on the stairs and around the balcony on three sides. I stood on the other side. The conductor and grand piano were on the ground floor under me.
What a special time. The holiday music just reverberated around in that space and was so lucious and refreshing. I then went through the museum and checked out the gift store. They had my book, “Native Alaskan String Figures” displayed in a prominent space. That’s always nice to see.
I then checked out an antique store and found a skin doll that I had to have and a second doll made in Shishmaref. It is made out of caribou horn. The head and torso are the one part of the horn and the two legs were another part of the horn. The parka comes off so you see the head and torso. It is a teething toy for the baby and after it is older they put the parka on and it is a doll. Quite ingenious. Of course I had to have this one too.
I then went to a fur and relic shop. Hundreds of carvings and other stuff for the discriminating tourist. That’s me by the way. I drooled over many things and finally purchased a cribbage board that was carved out of a fossalized walrus jaw. It has a bear carved in it and is beautiful.
I then met Charlotte Pennington and some friends of hers for dinner at the Thai restaurant. We had a couple of great hours swapping stories and showing string things. A boy from another table came over to show what he knew. I then went to the airport for my 12:30 am flight out.
When I checked in they could not find my reservation. On my trip up to Anchorage I was diverted from Chicago and in the process they did not save my ticket. It took a lot of work and a supervisor but they were great and got me on the last seat on the 10:55 flight…leaving in just a few minutes. I made it and had a safe trip home. But with two plane changes and waiting I did not get home until about 8:00 pm. Some things about travel are not much fun.
It was a wonderful trip and now to get on with things in Lawton, America.
Dave
Winding up my bookings in Alaska. Public libraries are difficult because you have that age span of a 3 year old and a grandma and all ages in between. The parents or grandparents stayed and made things with the kids.
Three year olds have trouble seeing the figures. The cross strings look just like the figure to them. But on the other hand they are just happy to have a string. I tell the parents to learn the things first because they are going to have to do them again and again at home.
It is always fun to have different layers of humor and kidding going on. If the parents aren’t entertained, they don’t bring the kids back. Everyone had a good time at the programs and were happy they came out.
At Diamond they were celebrating 15 years of service at that location. Many of the past staff were there and I saw some old friends. Emily Reeve was the childrens’ librarian. From there I went to Muldoon and met Linda Klein, the childrens’ librarian We found my videos in their collection to put out for checkout along with a couple of other books. Wendy Sparkman at Eagle River remembered me from the last time and had the room all ready.
We had maybe 25 at each group. Very different than 85 at a time for 6 programs in a day. But then at the schools I didn’t have to drive to three different locations. As I left Eagle River it was snowing lightly and cold. Not bitter but just a nice cold. Beautiful evening.
Thanks for traveling with me.
Dave
This is another return visit. I was met at the door by one teacher who wanted a bag of strings for herself. She uses them in the classroom and at her church. Her daughter took all her books and learned some figures so she could have a class at camp. I am asking her to write that up to put in my next newsletter.
Had delicious Salmon salad sandwich for lunch. I do love the food here. This school had a pot luck for me the last time I was here. An Alaskan pot luck. Smoked, Jarred, fresh salmon, moose meatballs and spagetti, caribou meatloaf and crab dip are a few of the things I remember them having. And blueberries. Remembering it made me so hungry that this evening I went to a seafood restaurant and had salmon chowder and battered halibut. Wow was it good.
Are you getting the hungries?
Dave
This was a return trip to Gladys Wood School. I have been there before and Amy Dalton, the librarian wants my job. She loves the travels and fun I am having. Her students were so ready for my visit. Some were talking about how they had forgotten a move or figure and some of the new students were wondering what this was all about.
I had a great day with many of the teachers talking about how long their students kept their strings active. Some are still using them. We did some old favorites for the new students and some new ones for the experts. Of course, if they knew one of the old ones…even better because they could show the others.
I left a few books with Amy for those who forgot their money. Yes, she called me on Friday to ask how she could get more. She had sold out. That is the story of this trip. All authors should have that problem.
After school was out at 3:30 I hustled over to Baptist Childrens’ Home to do a session with some of their boys…actually young men. They were very receptive, once I showed them a trick they thought they could do. They tried it and couldn’t replicate what I did. I did it again and they tried again. I showed them how to do it and they then did it. Caught them. They were mine from then on. It was a donated program but they gave me a nice gift card for one of the better restaurants in Anchorage.
Went out to dinner with some friends to the Thai Kitchen. One of the men had just returned from mission trip in Africa. I was showing a few figures at the table and his friend was captivated. He learned one and wanted more. And more. We spent a good bit of the evening showing him different ones. What a good time.
Dave
Guess who called me today and needed more books? Yep, Christine Maxwell from Bayshore School. She said they were lined up when she opened the library. We will see if I brought enough with me this trip.
The early morning drive to Palmer, a community about 40 miles inland in the Matanuska Valley was work. Just at freezing, the windshild kept getting slushy and the road was very hard to see in the dark. I followed others to see where I was.
Sherrod has only grades 3 through 5. It was great to have some kids who had fine motor skills. I could teach the simplest things and they caught it right away. The older ones really got the tough ones. There were a couple of teachers that were really caught up in the learning. What fun we had together. Lots of laughing and kidding around…showing off that they could get it. The kids really joined in good naturedly.
Debbie Melton, the Librarian, had to search through the staff lounge to find some coffee bags to make me a little of my morning brew. I really need it in the morning. She had a nice salad for my lunch.
The drive home was just the oposite of the morning. The sun was just setting on a very clear day. The mountains were all around, pristine white with new snow. It was 20 degrees and all the fog froze to the trees in hoar frost. Long spikey and white, it was a winter wonderland. The pinks and blues of the sunset were reflected off the mountains and the highway was clear. A day to treasure.
Closer to Anchorage the weather warmed up and the fog set in. No hoar frost, just fog. quite surreal. Things can change here so much as you cross over a pass or leave the valley. Well, I am back in my room having a cup of lemon tea and relaxing. I work hard but I also relax hard. Thanks for reading.
Dave
Started my day off with a phone call from Christine Maxwell at Bayshore. The extra books that I left with her are gone and she needed more. So, I took her another batch. They are really into the string stuff.
Then went South along Turnigan Arm to Girdwood, about 30 miles. Snow showers but nothing sticking. Saw a couple of old friends. Jim Kaiaser, a stained glass artisan who collects Alaskan artifacts took me to his home to see the Musk Ox skull seasoning in his shed, a drawing by Jack Titus, Jr. (A native from White Mountain) and some of his other recent additions. His home is like a museum…except you can touch things.
Then went up to the school and attached public library to see Denise and the staff there and catch up on the news…a lot of grandchildren talk. Stopped at the Alaska Jade Company to see what they had for sale and then headed back to Anchorage. 3:00 and getting dark, just the perfect time to meet a moose.
Along the highway that was almost totally cut out of the mountains were cataracts and waterfalls every few hundred feet. Some were frozen waterfalls but many were running in a white tumble. Just beautiful. Had to be careful to watch for falling rocks as this is the time they are loosened and come down. Thank God for a safe trip…which is no small thing.
In Anchorage went to the Native Hospital. They have a shop run by volunteers for Native craftsmen. A small fee is charged for running the shop but most of the money goes directly to the artisans. It is a wonderful place full of baskets, masks, dolls, ivory and jade carvings and many small bags of ancient artifacts they find in the old village dump. I usually find a treasure that I just can’t pass up. This time I was too late, they were closed and due to their hours, I don’t think I will be able to get back there this trip. One way to save money.
Had a cup of herbal tea and checked my emails and now need to decide where to have dinner. Thanks for reading.
Dave
The weather here is nicer than in Lawton, OK. 38 with a little snow in the valley. Snow in the highlands.
I was at a new elementary for me today. The strings and books had arrived before me and Christine Maxwell, the librarian has been really promoting the day. She showed (after she got a kid to show her how.) the scissors and sold some of the books. Saturday I was in the Lucky Wishbone restaurant and saw a couple of kids with strings. I stopped to talk with them. They were so excited because they knew I was coming to their school Monday.
I had a mother stop me this morning at the school and thank me for making this activity available. Seems her two children bought a couple books and strings and were busy all weekend with the strings. I’m not even there yet and it is a phenonomen.
We had a wonderful day and the Kindergarten teachers were very appreciative that I did strings with their kids. We did some pretty simple things such as shapes and letters, but that’s where they are right now. We couldn’t get the 5th graders to leave…they wanted to learn more and more.
One of the staff shared how she had the Jayne book, “String Figures and How to Make Them” when she was a child. In 6th grade she ran for president of her class and used one of the figures in her pep talk. She made a “W” with her string to help them remember her name Cheri Whiteside. “Wow”, she said “It brings back so many memories.” She didn’t get elected.
Dave
Saturday I drove down to the Kenai Penninsula. Left Anchorage as dawn was breaking…about 9:00am and drove down a sort of canyon with the Turnigan Arm (part of Cook Inlet) on one side and snow covered mountains on the other and across the arm. About 30 miles down you could see the lights of Aleyska Ski Resort in a valley. In the gray of dawn it was just beautiful.
Lots of snow machines were around the pass enjoying the snow there. Not much on the road, thank heaven. You drive during the daylight hours so you can see Moose. Kenai Penninsula has had 158 moose killed by vehicles. That means that 158 vehicles were killed by moose. They are very large and dangerous…on foot or in a vehicle. I did see a bald Eagle and a couple of moose from a safe distance. The Russian River was still open and so emrald. Just like the post cards.
Went to the City of Kenai to visit Herb Schaan, the man who was my guide and translator in Papua New Guinea. We had a good visit, went out to eat halibut then to walk on the beach of Cook Inlet. Boy was the windchill cold. The gray of dusk, the gray of the sky and sea made it very memorable. And to an art show. When something is going on in town, everybody shows up.
Had a good time looking at pictures of his last trip to PNG about 6 months ago. Kids are still doing string. In fact, when they had to evacuate the school because of tribal warefare they took their strings and did some things at the bird sancuary where they were staying. Good to see them.
Herb also reminded me of how to make “Birthing a Baby” that he collected in the 60″s, I could not remember the start. Then I showed him the start to the “Crocodile” that he could not remember. The halt leading the blind. Lots of good laughs.
Went to church at the Lutheran church in Soldotna and then on home to make it back just before dark…4:00. In my hotel trying to get the internet to work. The desk only had one person on so they couldn’t go to the boiler room to switch it back on. Finally got it working and have checked my email and responded. All is right with the world when I have a trip and arrive back safely.
Dave
I had a great day at Colony middle school. Sometimes the teachers were more excited than the kids and that is saying a lot. They all couldn’t wait to learn more, more, more. I know they went back to the room and didn’t get any other work done that day.
One of the teachers, John Gilland, introduced himself. He is the brother of one of the team members that I went to Poland with from Oklahoma. She was visiting him last summer and they saw one of my books at the Alaska Native Heritage Center and she was so excited she took a picture to send me. (Later at Finger Lakes School I met his son. He came in and said, “Do you know Shannon?) He was a big man on campus because his aunt knew me. We take strokes wherever we can get them, don’t we.
One of the students at the school is a very quiet person but the native language teacher was telling me that he started talking about the string figures he could make. He was opening up and she was very pleased. We invited him for a special few moments of his own where I taught him the spider. He can now teach the rest of the school. Sometimes, reaching one person is the reason for the day.
The weather here has been great. Cloudy and cold,,,in the 20’s with just a light snow. Sunrise is about 10:30 am with sunset about 2:30pm. Lots of trying to find things in the dark.
Tomorrow I go down into the Kenai Penninsula to see Herb Schaan, my guide and translator for the trip to Papua New Guinea. It will be good to reminiss with him. He has been back since our trip so I will get to hear how the string games that we taught kept going.
Dave