Henry and Michael

I took two cans of salmon south to Dad when I flew to San Diego last weekend.  I already heard second hand that he opened one and found it delicious.  We went back to the Wildfish BBQ for dinner the other evening, just three blocks from our house, and I had to buy a couple more cans, this time a sockeye and a king salmon.

In talking to the owner, I found out she has the little restaurant and cannery for sale, and has for quite a while.  She told me the Log Cabin RV Park and Cabins, just across the street, have also been for sale for a while.  I know that there are two businesses in Craig that have also been for sale for up to two years.  This speaks volumes about the shape of the economy on Prince of Wales Island.  Sport and commercial fishing are not getting any better either.  The new Vo-Tech Center is about to begin construction, but it’s impact on employment will not likely be significant. 

The owner of Wildfish told me there had been a bear about recently.  We knew this already:  it had been at our house three nights last week!  Each time it riles up Lakota, which wakes us up with her growling and barking.  The first time was when the trash was out.  The bear knocked down the trashcan, hoping it would spill, which it didn’t happen, so he moved on.  The next night, he or she came back, sniffed around where the trashcan had been, then ambled off, but of course, not before Lakota got all riled up.  (Update:  I had to chase it away from our trashcan twice last night!  It figured out how to get the top off, despite the bungy cord.  It wouldn't leave the first time, and the dogs were going crazy trying to get out of the house!  Finally it ran off.  An hour later, it was back, and popped the top again.)

September 25, 2012

“Henry's started watching a TV show called Super Why. It's a group of characters with special powers: Word Power, Spelling Power, Alphabet Power, Power to Read, and, the viewer with the Power to Help. They solve problems by consulting books, changing fairy tales into lessons. Throughout, they ask questions of the viewer. Henry loves it. He puts his hand in when they join in the beginning. He says his name when they ask: "Henry Oscar CaMannell!" He yells out letters when they ask, "What letter is this?" and he points out "Super letters" when they float onto the screen. He repeats lines and jumps up and down when they solve the problem. 

In the mornings I watch him giddy to learn, spinning on his tippy-toes and clapping. "Hip hip horray," he squeals. “

Kelli and Brady and Friends, Genesee Gardens Apt, 1981

Brady's Third Birthday, with cousins Jenny and Tim and Kristin, 1981

What would you do, if your daughter was writing blog posts like the one above, and you were living 3,000 miles away from this precious new being that is Henry?  What would you do, if you were nearly obnoxious dropping hints for a grandchild, finally got the most precious gift in the universe, and then found yourself moving 2500 miles away from him just eight months into his life?  What would you do, if you ended up missing both of his first two birthdays?  What would you do? 

Lately there has been a sun-faded maroon ~1990 Ford Tempo running around Klawock.  It’s a virtual clone of the car my brother-in-law drove for years, and so I think of him, and miss him, every time I see it.  When we moved back to San Diego with toddler Brady, and no jobs, Michael agreed to move in with us and share the rent, which was a Godsend, the only way we could live in a decent place.  We found a large apartment next to Juvenile Hall, in a nice apartment complex, with a lawn right outside our door.  It was close to our families, close to the freeways, very convenient.  Several years later, we found a large house in Allied Gardens, and Michael moved with us, again making it possible for us to have a nice house to rent.  Without Michael's help, we would have been forced to live in a not-so-nice part of town, in a not-so-nice place.  

Michael was probably the most intelligent person I've ever known.  He was the most degreed, too.  He was kind and thoughtful, and loved animals.  As kind and intelligent as he was, he never really found a way to share those special gifts with the world, beyond his family and friends, too.     

He passed away about two and a half years ago, five days after his mother died.  I think of him every time I see that faded maroon Tempo, remember the great political discussions we had, fun reviewing movies, the occasional sports talk (he knew a lot more about sports than I'll ever know), the way he loved our kids, and dogs, and books and reading, and newspapers.  I miss you, we miss you, Michael. 

I Had a Dream

I had a dream, a weekend long one.  It began with an incident-free Cessna flight off the island to Ketchikan International, which is not sure thing, weather being what it is across the Dixon Strait.  My flight to Seattle and transfer to a plane for San Diego went without a hitch, too.  The sun shone the entire trip from Seattle south (It continues to surprise me how much I miss sunshine.)  

Once in San Diego, I walked out into the warm sun, now getting to feel it as well as see it.   Ahhhh, how nice it felt.  My luggage in hand, I wait on the curb for someone to pick me up, and here comes Brady driving a white Mustang convertible with the top down!  What a perfect car for a weekend in San Diego! 

Coming home, over Gravina Island, site of the infamous proposed  "Bridge to Nowhere," which would have connected this Island and the Ketchikan Airport to the City of Ketchikan.

It was a quick trip from the airport to our Courtyard Marriott at Liberty Station.  Kelli was there already, having flown in from Maine in the morning.  This was her first trip away from Henry.  Fortunately (?), she had stopped nursing just two weeks ago, so this was not a big issue.  His Mom and Dad explained that she was visiting California, with Bumpie (me), Uncle Beadie (Brady) and Aunt Faith, and he seemed fine with this explanation, the whole weekend (don't ask what happened when she got home!)  Also, there was a surprise waiting for me in our hotel room, besides niece Kristin:  amazingly, Mitt Rmoney had already arrived, and was taking a nap in my bed!  

It was so great to see Kelli and Brady.  Our third floor room was really nice, with a view out over the channel and a huge green grassy park.  

The wedding of Mary and Jay was beautiful!  There were over 200 family and friends, and the air remained tranquil as they said their vows on Sunset Cliffs.  I love weddings, especially outdoor ones.  The only thing missing was my lovely bride, who did not make the trip south with me, unfortunately.  Mary and Jay were radiant, as were all the parents.   They were married by Jay's pastor from Minnesota, a fun connection to his life growing up.

It was great to see everyone I did get to see.  I had a nice long visit with my Dad, and a short conversation with my Mom, who was more lucid than she has been for a long time, a special treat.  I usually detest making long trips for short visits, but this was really nice, and seemed longer than a long weekend.    

View of our neighborhood.  We live just north of the white roof-hoofed cabin, about mid-photo on the left.  The water to the left is one of the arms of the Klawock Inlet, part of the Pacific Ocean.  About 500 yards to west/left, is the main part of Klawock.  

See the Klawock Log Sortyard, a deepwater port on Klawock Island.  Klawock proper is on the top part of the picture.  The Klawock Cooperative Association Cannery, docks, and buildings are at the top left.

Our car, which we ended up sharing, had MORE THAN TWO RADIO STATIONS!  I had forgotten the fun of having audio choices!  It does exist!

Most of main Klawock, with the Klawock Cannery under the red roofs on the water, and the dock just below.  This is where I worked until the Tribal Transportation Department moved the first of October.

Klawock Airport, the only landing strip on all of Prince of Wales Island, although there are several sea plane ports.  Along the west side is another arm of the Klawock Inlet, leading north into the Big Salt Lake.  We live about three miles south of this pictures.

Back home, and it still feels like it was a much longer break from the Island.  I'm so glad I went, so glad I got to see Brady and Faith and Kelli, and other family.  I will be re-living this trip for a long time, probably all through our Alaska fall and winter, at least.

Not Enough, and Too Much

We go for hikes in the forest, sunny, cloudy or drizzling, and see no squirrels, no frogs, no snakes, no butterflies, maybe a bird or two or three, maybe an insect or two, in a dense forest with running creeks, open areas, and muskeg.  There are sitka spruce and western hemlock and alder galore, and occasional alaska yellow cedar and western red cedar.  The underbrush is filled with ferns and devil's club, bunchberry and blueberry bushes.  It's a beautiful mosaic of many different textures, shades of green, browns and other colors, mushrooms and other fungus, a circus of botany.  How strange it is then, that in the official desert of San Diego, I often went for an hour walk from my house in the suburbs, and observed no less than eight, and often more, birds.  Squirrels, rabbits, and even occasional snakes and raccoons.  Strange that, in a place where a basic biologic need is so scarce there is so much wildlife, at the same time, in a temperate rainforest, there is so little. For me, this lack of wildlife, especially birds, leaves me wanting.  This forest is just not enough.

One of the many mushrooms popping up now.

Some of visitors, just passing through.  We even hear them honking overhead at night sometimes, maybe taking flight to avoid predators?

The scenery is drop-dead gorgeous, as I've written more than one and will probably again.  We often remark that this is most likely the most beautiful place we will ever live.  Glacier National park is a close second, and Bellingham, too, but they didn't have the surrounding water.  The scenery by itself, it's not enough.  

The people are friendly, which always makes a real and positive difference in ones happiness.  We love the habit people practice of waving to each other on the road, whether they recognize your car or not.  Really nice people are a treasure, but they alone are not enough.

The water everywhere, from the Klawock River just blocks away, running under the big Klawock River bridge right near Kathy's SEARHC, the many creeks, the big Klawock Lake, to the coastal waters all around us, the water is just beautiful, ever-changing, a fascinating magnet for the few birds and mammals who call the rainforest home, but it's just not enough.

Kathy bought a Barbie to entertain the kids who sometimes come with their parents to her counseling sessions.  A co-worker stitched a Tlingit regalia rob and hat, very cool


















She has other Alaska Native pieces around her office, too.  


Labor Day weekend behind us, and a Tuesday becomes a Monday:  no Internet, welcome back.  How can this be?  Oh, we didn't pay the bill?  Well, let's get on that, except the bookkeeper is out today, and the credit card holder is on leave.  Okay, well, time for Plan B.  Hey, our shuttle buses have arrived in Thorne Bay, an hours drive away, cool!  My co-worker Tom and I have to recruit a third person to drive us their and drive that car back, so he and I can drive the two buses back.  Success, adding someone who can be, well, trying.  Great, an hour in the car with this person.  

My expectations are far exceeded:  Tom and the third person trade fishing stories all the way over, very entertaining.  My favorite is the man who took his grandmother out on his boat fishing often, and she always caught a lot more fish than he did, and wouldn't tell him her secret.  25 years later, she revealed that it was Chanel No. 5!  I'm guessing it wasn't the real thing, still a funny story.  

Sunshine and Two Bears

Before I share our weekend, I need to post an update.  From what I had read before we drove away from Sunny San Diego, this island was literally crawling with black bears.  We were excited to be able to see them so easily and often.  Well, we've seen them, but not nearly as often as I expected.  I still believe there are many bears here, but I have another view of sighting them.  As one Alaska Native recently told me, grizzly bears may eat your arm, but black bears will kill you.  I didn't realize they were so dangerous.  I do know the cities won't put up with them marauding through their boundaries.  So, if you were wondering either why I haven't written more about them, now you know.  


While I'm on the subject of wildlife, the river otter picture in a previous post, well, that was actually a seal.  I've seen lots of seals, only a few river otters; guess I jumped to a conclusion.  Hey, these were well up the river, too, so that helped fool me.
See a closeup of the head-only pose at:  Seals of Alaska


This weekend was spectacular, with nothing but sunshine.  We had a crazy low pressure on Thursday which brought winds gusts of more than 30 mph, then left as abruptly as it came, so we were spared the much higher winds that Anchorage experienced.

We had a two-bear Sunday, pretty rare.  First, our neighbor came over and told us there was a bear up a tree between our houses.  This explained why the dogs were acting strange.  He told us he was keeping his dog Daisy inside.  He wanted to give the bear a chance to wander off safely and stay out of trouble.  Of course I had to go check this out.  At first I couldn't see or hear him.  Then I heard loud huffing and claws on bark, and there he was, six feet up a tree in the middle of a small grove, about 20 feet away from me!  He seemed to be very agitated, so I backed off and hid behind a bush, hoping he would soon come down and run away, with me snapping pictures like crazy.  That didn't happen.  He stayed put, occasionally huffing and puffing, but staying up the tree.  I got impatient, and went back around to our yard, on the opposite side of the grove of trees.  I was getting a good look at him, but it was dark in the trees, so getting a picture was going to be tough.  Finally, he came down the tree and took about three steps in my direction!  He hadn't noticed me standing there.  As soon as I took off at a dead run up the path, it startled him, and he quickly turned around and climbed back up the tree! I decided to leave him alone, and that was the last I saw of him.  

An anxious bear gets trapped between our house and our neighbors, in broad daylight.

Later in the afternoon, we drove to Balls Lake Picnic Area.  On the way, we caught sight of another bear crossing the road.  Once at the picnic area, we had a nice warm walk, out in the sunshine for much of the time, and made it about half way around the lake.  There was plenty of boardwalk on the trail, this being a rain forest and so plenty of muddy trail.  There were several bridges across creeks, too.  There was one couple having a picnic at the trailhead, and a couple came in as we were returning, and so the rest of the time, we had the trail to ourselves, pretty nice.  Kathy let the dogs go for a swim, which they need very little prompting to do!  About the only wildlife we saw were several dragonflies, which were very interested in our furry beasts.

Update:  Terrible when one writes a blog post and then never posts it.  The story above was from last weekend.

We had a 'summer' all this week, gorgeous warm sunshine!  Wow, it was soooo nice!  Today, Saturday the 22nd, it's back to full cloud cover.  At least it's not raining.

Hope a fun weekend is in store for everyone.  Happy first day of autumn.  I know Henry is starting it out with a field hockey game.  Have fun, Henry!  

Summer Past, Fall Ahead

Summer, such as it was, is behind us, and Fall is here.  The overnight temps are cooler, the rain has returned, and the sun, well, hopefully we will still see it occasionally.  

The weeks fly by, we both agree, even if we can't figure out why.  Maybe just because it was technically summer?  

Most of the commercial fishing fleet of Klawock

   

A different 'fishing fleet,' just up the Klawock River from the harbor.

We took the dogs down to the Klawock River today, and they had a fun time swimming.  As usual, the river otters kept a watch on us, from about 50 yards away:

This is all you see of the river otters, for just long enough for a good look, then they dive.  There were about ten of them watching us.

Not much else going on up here.  Oh, we did finally get a sign for the building.  Before this, there was no sign at all.  Pretty sharp, eh?

Oh, and one more building picture, of the Mink Clan House, also very cool.

More Than His Share, and What Happened to Summer?

I'm going to guess that no one reading this blog will recognize the name Dan Peek.  I wouldn't have, before about two years ago, when an email came to the Ronald McDonald House where I was working.    

I was listening to Pandora the other day, and a song by America came on.  I had a minute, so decided to read the bio they had listed for America, having more than a casual interest, as you will see.  I liked some of their hits, but wasn't a huge fan.  Getting to the end of the bio, I was shocked to read that Dan Peek, a founding member of America, had passed away.  How did I not hear about this?  Wasn't he way too young to die?

I switched to Wikipedia, and found he had passed away in late July of last year.  That explained why I missed his passing:  we were on our week-long trip up to our new lives in Southeast Alaska, so not getting much more than major headlines for news.  Wow, I just couldn't believe he had died.  The article said he was only 60, definitely too young.  He had passed away in his sleep, most likely a peaceful and probably painless death.  May you rest in peace, Dan.

I was working at the Ronald McDonald House in San Diego, and my boss got an email from Dan, out of the blue.  He forwarded it to me, asking that I find out if it was legit, and go from there.  It turned out it was very legit:  Dan had several guitars that he no longer played, and had decided it was time to do something with them besides just store them. He wanted to donate them to us, to do with as we saw fit, to benefit the families served by the Ronald McDonald House.  Wow, how cool is that?!  

Between one thing and another, and another, it took about four months to get this wonderful, thoughtful donation finalized.  In the mean time, Dan had posted his offer to donate his guitars on his blog, and a few fans had responded that they would love to purchase one or more of them.  Some of these guitars had appeared on America album covers, so had a little more cache.  

Finally the day came when the guitars arrived at the House.  Dan had even donated the materials and labor by his handyman to carefully crate them up for shipment, who then drove the crates to the nearest Fed Ex facility, which, if I remember right, was about 80 miles from his home.  The only hiccup in the whole process was when his wife saw the list of guitars Dan had chosen to donate, one of which was her favorite.  Dan was so apologetic about having to switch it out for another, while we completely understood of course, and would have been just as happy with four instead of five.  He was a very generous person.

We were just about to put them on ebay when one of the people who had contacted Dan months earlier finally responded to one of our many emails to him.  He wrote that he really wanted the whole collection, and would pay a bit of a premium over what our research had shown the guitars would probably bring at auction.  Accepting his offer would also save some costs, so we accepted it.  Dan's thoughtful gift resulted in the Ronald McDonald House of San Diego getting $50,000!  Wow, we were pretty excited!  What a wonderful donation!  We invited him out to participate in a person-to-person thank you event, and introduce him to some of the families staying at the House.  He politely declined, saying he didn't travel anymore, but thanked us for the invitation.  He was so accommodating throughout the whole process, it was nothing but a pleasure working with him.  

You may be wondering why he chose the Ronald McDonald House for such a generous offer, and why San Diego's, out of the hundred's of wonderful Houses across the U.S.  When Dan was very young, around six maybe, he had to be hospitalized for a while, and the nearest hospital was 200 miles from his family home.  His family couldn't afford to stay in a hotel, so for periods of time, he was in a hospital in a strange town, alone.  When he thought about donating his guitars, he thought of the one organization that is dedicated to overcoming just that situation.  As to why San Diego, we had recently updated the website, and at the same time taken advantage of a service Google offered nonprofit ads   high on the right hand column of a search page, and that was how he found us when he searched on "Ronald McDonald House."  Wow, that really paid off for the House!  

A deer family out for a morning walk

Viking Lumber in Klawock is the last large lumber mill in all Southeast Alaska

Last week it was sunny almost the entire five days!  Before that, we had several sunny warm days lately, a very nice change from most of the summer.  The seawater turns so very blue when the sky is clear, and the sun reflects like magic off the ripples from the jumping salmon, the breezes playing along the surface, and the currents flowing underneath.  

The Tribe put on their Second Annual Sockeye Salmon Festival two weeks ago.  This is an all-day event, with events for kids and adults, a salmon dish contest, a dessert contest for youth, and a free salmon fry.  The weather cooperated, and it was sunny nearly all day.  We had a big crowd and everyone had lots of fun.  Kathy was in Sitka for training, so missed out.  

View across the ballfield to the Klawock Inlet

KCA Tribal Council President Nick and co-worker Tom

Lined up for the three-legged race.

The sound of the purse seine boat engines idling at the dock outside my window always tugged at me, as if a good memory was being tickled.  They rubble with lots of power, even though muffled by the water and the boat surrounding them.  They sound nothing like the higher, sharper, loader rumble of a 302 in a Mustang.  Only after hearing them many times, and taking a few minutes to explore my memory, did I realize why the sound was familiar and positive:  it reminded me of the Jungle Cruise boats at Disneyland!  Ha, that's it!   That has always been one of my favorite rides.  The Boat Guides do a great job of using double entendre's, etc., for the adults, while also making it fun for children.  Those boats sound the same, low and rumbling.  Too funny.  

The dog and coho salmon are jumping in the channel, right outside my window and across the bay, seeming to have contests, and to yell at us, ‘come and get me,’ are fun, and big, but it’s not enough.

Patches of snow remain in the mountains, a true indicator of how cool and cloudy this summer has been.

Hope everyone has a fun Labor Day weekend.

Life After 60, Day Three :-)

Happiness is......going to work in blazing sunshine, and having it last all day long!  Wow, how nice it is to have the sun shine!

Happiness is...... using my sales tax exempt card at the grocery store for the first time today, and finding out I can get an additional 10% off by shopping on Wednesdays!  

I got my sales tax exemption number yesterday, WOOHOOO!  This is for the City of Klawock, so I no longer have to pay the 5% sales tax!  Hey, that's like a raise, right, especially since they tax food here.  

Our experiment with one car is going very well.  In a walking village of only 800 people, where one can walk home from work easily, walk to the store and post office, walk to take a hike along the Klawock River, one car is more than enough.  It's a new experience for us, one we haven't had since, let's see, the mid 80's.  At some point, I bought a new Ford Ranger pickup, when we still had our 1984 Toyota Corolla, so that was the first time we were a two-car family.  I think I bought that Ranger in early 1989.  

As we look back on our year here, and our arrival, we remember the 80 days we spent in housing limbo, moving from place to place.  Even the last six weeks we spent at one place on Pt. St. Nick Road, we still didn't completely unpack.  Wow, crazy that it was a year ago.  We did survive it, but there were times when we weren't sure we would.  

I must be missing my parents more than I realized.  They don't travel anymore, much as I'd love to have them visit us and see the amazing place that is Prince of Wales Island.  On Saturday morning, my birthday, I had a vivid dream:  I hear my Mom calling me from outside our log house.  I get up and answer the door, and standing there is my Dad and Mom, 15 years younger.  Ha, my mind found a way to get them to travel:  just make them much younger.  :-)

I walked home from work yesterday, and saw a blue jay, and heard it chattering away.  Nothing takes me home more quickly than hearing that chatter.  It takes me right to Palomar Mountain, and many, many fun memories of camping with family.  It still surprises me when I see or hear a jay, because they are here, but I can go weeks without seeing or hearing one, just the opposite of our times on Palomar, where they are ever-present, loud, and usually in groups.  One of the many differences between San Diego and Prince of Wales Island.