There was some loose talk around the hot stove tonight about how long I could hang around here before I lost my mind. I need to think about retirement, I'm already 55 years old, etc. The suggestion was made that I could only do five years here, because I'd go crazy by then. Life in Bethel is more civilized (!), there is more of a life away from school, so on and so forth.
It is true that there may be something in all of that. Here's the problem. Where would I go to maqiq? I happen to know that there are steam houses in Bethel. But it wouldn't be like going to Joe's. That's where I am getting my training, and that's where I feel welcome. Don't know how exactly I would feel about giving that up. Not good, though.
There is an initiative on the ballot tomorrow in Bethel that would remove the village from the local option law with regard to the sale of alcohol. It would open up the way for legal sale of liquor in Bethel. I hope that it doesn't pass. I am not optimistic, from what I hear. Alcohol is a terrible problem out here. It leads to huge tragedy, and small daily ones as well. I have a number of kids in my classrooms whose lives have been and continue to be scarred by its effects. The village just buried a nice man today because of it. All of this is true when the price of a bottle of crap blended whisky that costs $10 back home is $200 out here. What happens if the price is cut in half or less?
We will see what happens, I suppose.
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