Back In The USA

Just kidding, although it often seems as if we live in a totally different world n Alaska. I actually like that aspect of our lives quite a bit. We kind of went our different ways on the plane, as we weren't sitting together for the most part. I ended up sitting next to a woman from up on the Yukon who was going to see a boyfriend in Chicago. We had some interesting conversation about our respective villages. I managed to get some dowse time in, although not a lot. As morning began to show its face, we crept Eastward towards O'Hare airport. My wife and I went through our usual routine upon landing, with the difference being that she had five additional people to keep track of. It apparently presented no significant challenge. I went off to pick up what turned out to be a giant black Chevy Suburban. It was a beast, but it accommodated seven people, their luggage, three dogs, and their kennels (broken down, of course). No small feat. We had actually reserved two smaller SUV's, but this did the trick very nicely. Our next course of business was to get out of Chicago and on to breakfast in Indiana. Once this had been accomplished, we headed to Cadillac, MI, our home base for the summer. Haircuts and some coloring changes followed, and we were treated to a cookout by my wife's parents, who did such a great job of helping out with fundraising when they visited in April. Our trip was off to a flying start.

Leisure Hours In Anchorage

I wrote earlier about the frantic dash that we made to the airport in Bethel, and the close squeeze we had in getting everyone on board the plane. Once the relatively short flight to Anchorage was complete, we faced the question of what to do in order to keep busy for the next eight hours while we waited for the 11:30 flight to Chicago. Of course, we did the things that people do in airports to pass the time. We read, we ate, we gossiped about people passing by. The doggies needed a walk, and that managed to kill a solid ten minutes. After many weary hours, we came to the boarding gate, where we would enter the airplane for another six-and-a-half hours of tedium. At least we might be able to sleep on the plane...

Change Is Complex

I am sitting here with the new Blogger set-up and an iPad, trying to figure out how to edit the last post. No progress. I suppose that could have taken up the last thirty days and may be the reason for the quiet from these parts. But that would not be telling the truth, and truth-telling is especially important now. The real reason is that I could not remember my password. When last we left the intrepid Class of 2012, there were four of us at the airport, and three on the way, with time running out. Some pressured phone calls ensued. It was agreed upon that, at the very least, those present at the airport should board the plane. If all else failed, my wife would bring the prodigals to Anchorage on the evening flight. All of us were booked on the overnight flight to Chicago, so barring weather problems or equipment failure, the separation would only have lasted a few hours. On we went, as the last call for boarding was made. I tried to prolong the TSA process by bringing a small dog on board the plane. This apparently now requires chemical examination to assure that I have made no attempt to smuggle a bomb aboard inside my dog. He weighs seven pounds. In order that security be maintained, I stood in my socks holding a small, mop-like animal (he really needed a haircut) while something that looked like the Stridex pads that we used to use to battle teenage acne was passed over us and submitted for scientific analysis. This might ordinarily annoy me, as I seem to be temperamentally unsuited to the process now in place to protect me from various evil-doers. However, in this case, I was hoping to halt the progress of the airplane and my fellow passengers to Anchorage. It was all good. Heck, they could have searched all of my bags at that moment. It was all about buying time. I boarded at the back of the aircraft and took a seat in the next to the last row. We were flying in an aircraft called a Boeing 737 Combi. The fuselage of the plane is divided between cargo in the fore section and passengers in the tail. (Sort of the mullet haircut of airplanes-business in the front, and party in the back. Kind of depends on the number of Alaska Amber Ales that we can buy and consume during the one hour flight to Anchorage.)I was seated on the aisle across from two of our girls and an old coot in a "Deadliest Catch" baseball cap, a true mark of Alaskan tough-guy spirit (or posturing). He seemed to be muttering about something, and he seemed to be irritated about whatever it was. Not my problem. As we awaited takeoff, I could hear the flight attendants in the back of the plane talking. Something to the effect that we were waiting on three passengers, two of whom had apparently called saying that they were in a taxi on the way to the airport and would be arriving in minutes. Time for a sigh of relief. My wife and the two remaining students climbed up the stairs shortly afterward, and one of them went to take her seat. Unfortunately, her boarding pass suggested that her seat assignment was for the place occupied by Mr Deadliest Catch. She tried to explain this to him, but he would have none of it. He cited a higher authority in support of his refusal to move for an eighteen-year-old girl who actually had the ticket for the seat in question. It seems that "the stewardess" had said that he could "sit anywhere." I considered having him identify the flight attendant in question for further conversation on the subject, but we were all on the plane and it was time to get out of town. Besides, I wouldn't want any angry "crab fishermen" on my conscience. What if this affected his concentration the next time that he was at the rail on the storm-tossed Bering Sea? Some Red Lobster patron might find a nasty surprise in their Utlimate Feast. I gave Valerie (the student in question)my seat, so that she could talk to her classmates on the flight, and took the seat behind me in the back row. No altruism here. Combos are boarded from the rear. I had the first row out on landing in Anchorage. Next: Hours of fun at the Ted Stevens International Airport.

The Excitement Is Over...for the moment...

We have come to rest at last...the great class trip of 2012 is finished. The kids were duly returned to O'Hare Airport, and we stuck around to make sure that they made it through the TSA thicket. Two of them had tribal ID, which was temporarily confusing (not surprised), but the requisite calls were made and they were allowed to pass on to the boarding gate. Several hours later, we began to see texts and Facebook posts suggesting that they had made it to Anchorage successfully. Then it was time for the pictures to begin appearing. I get the impression that they had fun... The trip began on the 21st of May, with a group of four seniors gathered at the airport in Napaskiak. One of them already did not have ID that showed him to be older than three or four years old. We do not always have much call or formal ID in the village. I can go for weeks without even pulling my wallet out of a drawer. However, from time to time, we must accede to the wishes of the outside world for official confirmation of our identities. Not long before we left, we discovered that another of the group could not find her ID, either. This meant that we now had two children that needed to get over to the agency to get tribal-issued ID. That meant that we needed to get across the river quickly, so that all of the necessary pre-flight errands could get done. My wife needed to get to the district office to pick up the check for the trip funds, the dogs needed to get checked in to fly, and the kids needed ID. The plane that was to get us to Bethel was late, and there was not enough room for all of us on it. I stayed at our airport with the dogs while the others got across...(more to come later in the day)

Wrapping Up...

It's time to clean it up and check the heck outta here...another year over...some triumphs and some regrets...posts will be infrequent after today as we stay at home without internet, and then travel. I have purchased an iPad with the hope that I can stay connected throughout the summer without the necessity of paying the installation fee for cable internet back in Michigan. More adventure updates will be available as all of that gets set up and operational.

For now, it is sayonara for the moment...happy summer time fun to all!!

Clean-Up...

Time to wrap it all up for the year. I am moving some of the stuff in here around in order to facilitate a more open floor plan for next year's class. I have moved the computer cart away from my desk, and have replaced it with a bookcase in which we can actually store some books for use in the classroom. I have visitors from the fifth grade on a daily basis, and I have been trying to figure out a different arrangement for storage for two years now. I guess that it doesn't say too much for my imagination that it has taken that long, but I had to share the space the first year, and I thought that I had an arrangement that would work this year. I just turned out to be wrong.

I see that SBA scores have hit the e-mail, so it is time to go and hope (or cringe, as the case may be)...

We're Done!

The books are closing on my third year at this strange and occasionally wonderful job. The waters began receding yesterday, and we took a walk on a glorious spring (finally!) evening with Mrs. Jung last night. It ended with us standing on the porch talking with one of my students and just lingering in the sunshine. My wife got a call to go and steam, and I found myself surprised by the fact that I was still reading and it had somehow become 12:45 am...the time becomes nearly impossible to keep track of in this season.

We have an awards assembly this morning, and I have thought and thought about awards, and have decided that I want to address the whole class and not just a selected few kids. I think that I can do it quickly (at a premium at these events), and that I do not wish to leave any one out. I just mean to speak from the heart for a few minutes.

After that, the day will go fast. There are activities, and a lunch for the community. We will spend the afternoon working in our classrooms, which gives me a chance to catch up on some last grades, and begin to put this place in order for next year. There is a check out list, and when we are done we will have a couple of days to recuperate before we meet the seniors at the airport and begin the long trip back to Michigan with them all.

It has been an interesting year. I hope that I have learned some new things, which is the essence of life as I see it. I look forward to learning some new things as we return in August. It is time to go and get ready for the day...