Oh, don't pull out the Kleenex and don't send letters trying to cheer me up....it's not THAT kind of sad! Here's what happened....oh, and yes, I will get back to my earlier post to fill you in on the details....but not yet....still too much going on for me to take the time to do that. I mean, hey....it's almost 12:30 a.m. right now so it's not like I'm getting to bed early at night.
I was walking home from school tonight....around 11:30 or so. There was a basketball game tonight and although I didn't watch the game, I did help for a little bit in concessions....enough to smell like popcorn for the rest of the night and to ruin a good shirt with popcorn oil. By the way, the guys won the game by 2 points and the next game is tomorrow at 2:30. We're playing St. Michael's....which brings back the not-so-pleasant memory of the staff being deposited in -40 degree weather at the airstrip and waiting for 45 minutes for a plane that never arrived...that's waiting OUTSIDE, folks. Anyway, we won the game tonight. The girls won their game, too....but I can't remember just now where they played....some other village. Was it Koyuk? I'll have to check and get back with you.
Ok...I'm on my way home and watching for bears and hoping that John and Kate took me seriously when I said that if they hear screaming, they are to come and rescue me! But, alas! It was not bears that I saw but rather....incredible Northern Lights! I deposited my bag at home (I'm the original "bag lady" up here...and that warrants yet another story....for later on) and headed back out to view them. I bravely walked down the snowplowed trail towards the seawall where if there will be any bears...they'll probably be down there. But the thing is, in order to adequately view the awesome array of shimmering lights, you have to get away from artificial lighting. So, towards the seawall I went...and there they were in all their glory....absolutely breathtaking. I'll leave it at that because words cannot really describe what I was seeing tonight. But you know what made it sad? It was so wicked cold out that I couldn't stay out there too long! It's like -29 degrees with a windchill of -48....brrrrrrr!!!!
Now, as I stood there, I had yet again to remind myself that I was in Alaska....and I was gazing out towards the frozen sea looking towards....Russia....about 160 miles or so away. Reality check! Then I looked around the sky and saw Orion and the thin sliver of the golden moon hugging the horizon and it reminded me of standing out on my deck back in East Jordan, Michigan last summer and looking up in the sky at the very same things. I remember thinking, "When I see this in Alaska, will I remember standing here on my deck and wondering what it will look like once I get there?" Yup....I remembered it all. My sister, Shirley, will vouch for my uncanny ability to remember things. However, my cousin, Pat, will tell you I forget a lot of things!
Nevertheless, I started to get sad....because I have realized my dream....I'm here in Alaska....and I'm overwhelmed at times.....and I know it can't be forever....nor would I want it to be....because there are so many things I still want to do and I know I cannot possibly do and see everything I want to in my lifetime. Then I started thinking about my deceased parents and not being able to share with them my adventures.....and about my Uncle Bob who always wanted to get to Alaska but most likely will not (he's in his 90s now). I also thought about my kids, Dan and Jessica, and how we like doing and seeing even the simplest of things together....like viewing the night sky....and they will not get to see this. They will not be able to come up here during the winter months and that's when you will see the Northern Lights because....of the "midnight sun" which will be awake in the sky by the time they arrive here for a visit.
It's been a rapid back and forth jumble of thoughts tonight....happy/sad....happy/sad. I'm still one very incredibly lucky person to be experiencing all this! And to boot....I had potato chips, Coke, and a Heath bar (no Reese's this time) earlier tonight....all the comforts and junk food known to mankind....here in bush Alaska....couldn't ask for anything more...except more time to write it all down!
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