Alena! had to work a couple of hours today, so SP was ensconced in his chair having a second breakfast. Aunty Laresa came by and we decided to take a quick outing to see what we could see.
Looking home.
SP soon found a big metal chain that he proceeded to drag around the hills until he got too tired to drag it anymore. I am sure his mom will be forever grateful that we didn’t let him bring it home.
We wandered around and, of course, he was soon so hot and sweating. It is very hard to keep a coat on this boy. At least he was willing to tie it around his waist, so that we didn’t have to haul it around.
Too hot for a coat.
Running in the hills and exploring – what could be better? I’m sure it would be better if Grandma wasn’t there telling him to “get away from the edge…don’t poke your eye out on the bushes…stop running so fast, you’re going to trip in those boots!”
Woo hoo!
We had to distract SP by taking pictures of the pole when he realized it was a climbing pole!
Thank goodness SP isn't tall enough to make the first step!
We were investigating various things, including the status of cranberry plants.
Last year's berries with spring buds.
The fireweed are sprouting. Shoots like these are yummy this time of year. Use them in salads, stir fry, spring rolls and whatever else you can think of to do with veggies.
Fireweed sprout.
Climbing on concrete seems to be a lot of fun.
And all that running around – like a dog, he probably puts in 75% more mileage than we do – a rest is always in order.
Well, the Alaska Initiative of StoryCorps has officially ended. Our equipment is boxed up, ready for shipment, and we are finishing up the paperwork that needs to accompany the last recordings. A little snafu with the mailing – apparently for the way we want to mail the boxes, we should have used paper tape instead of reinforced tape. Well…I am sure Kristine will get to the bottom of this!
We recorded 119 stories in Unalaska and Akutan. That was 14 more than our official quota of 105. When Kristine and I were first training, we thought that 105 was a number that we would surpass in a matter of weeks! How wrong we were. I have to give credit to my partner – the best – Kristine King – for her tenacity in enticing folks into the recording seats – week after week and month after month.
The one and only!
We want to give a big thank you to KUCB, our partner in crime, who agreed to accept local recordings for editing and broadcast. We thank the director and staff of the Unalaska City Library, for agreeing to be a local repository for the recordings, and for allowing us to use the Alaskana Room, on occasion, for recordings. We are thankful for all of the help from April Pelkey and Darryl Pelkey in setting up our recordings in Akutan. A huge THANK YOU to the groups who allowed us access and use of the AA room at the Burma Road Chapel. Without your generousity of the use of the site, our goals would have been much harder to obtain. We appreciate each and every minute that we spent there. (Can you believe that on the last night of recording, we ran behind schedule, and actually were still there recording when our time ran out? And we had such a perfect record!) The use of the room was also a surprise icebreaker, as folks peeked their heads in the door, expecting an impromtu intervention. Thanks for the laughs and the thought provoking decor.
We thank our families for allowing us the freedom to take on this important project. Especially, kids, grandkids, and husbands. We thank our families, also, for those guilt and pity recordings that helped get us off to a great start!! We thank Dave Isay and all of the staff at StoryCorps for hiring and working with us…yes we know we were a little unorthodox, but we can blame that on me and my bad influence on Kristine! We met some incredible people through this project. A huge shout out and thanks to the Unalaska blogging community for taking on the StoryCorps challenge early on in the project!
Last, and certainly not least, we thank each storyteller and their partner for braving the unknown and facing those obnoxious, intimidating microphones! Thanks also for allowing Kristine and I the opportunity to get to know you a little better. The tag line for StoryCorps is that listening is an act of love, and I have to say that our bonds to this community are even stronger (as if they weren’t strong before) for having been given your gifts of stories.
And now, by popular demand, the list presented by mc’s Kristine and Sharon at the Aleutian Arts Council Coffee House. This list was lovingly crafted by Kristine and then massaged to perfection.
You might live in Unalaska if…..
You only go to seafood buffet when you have out-of-town guests
You can still smoke in a restaurant
You think it is normal for a playgound to sit adjacent to a propane farm
75% of the sweatshirts you own were once door prizes
You are not confused why the Polar Bear Run does not have polar bears
Your graduating senior from UCSD earned more than you did last year
While on vacation, your children don’t know to run inside for shelter during a rainstorm
You remember when the bars used to be on the “other side”
You don’t really expect to fly out on time, on schedule…or ever really
Once you fly, and each time after that, you find that you are more willing to ask the clinic for some assistance with your next flight
You’d rather not fly with Frank Kelty
You can pronounce Iliuliuk correctly: “Town Creek” – right??
You get smacked by AB when you say you live in Dutch Harbor
You can quickly organize a VALID work-related field trip if the sun breaks out
While on vacation, you forget you can pull out in front of cars when entering traffic
You join Fire/EMS so you can drive fast…..and then resign when you learn that you still have to follow the speed limit
You’ve been on television
You had Wilma Adams as your Kindergarten teacher. And then your kids had her.
You’ve been Annabelle Wilt’s go-to person for at least one project
You can’t count to “TWO-” “FIVE-” or even “TEN-” when followed by the phrase “-YEAR PLAN”
In all of her fiestiness, Kristine told me to add this if you don’t get the list, or don’t find each little item endearing: you should probably, as soon as is humanly possible, move away from Unalaska!
Unalaska From My Point of View 
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