Three walkers seen on the way to Sam and Lee's

As I walk to get breakfast at Sam and Lee's at 9 AM, I see these three young people coming my way from the direction of the Assembly of God church. The wind has died down quite a bit from its peak last night but it is still breezy.

Text added at 10:31 AM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 57 and counting.

On learning about the Kennedy assassination in Barrow, Anaktuvuk Pass and Eureka, CA

It is often said that anyone who was alive and conscious at the time and still is remembers just where they were when Kennedy was assassinated. So, as we watched this show about the car he was killed in, I asked how Pat and Beverly learned of his assassination. Beverly had been at elementary school here in Barrow and had just walked home. There were no school buses here then and Barrow was a much smaller town than it is now. Television came in on a two-week delay so there was no live news, but there was radio. Beverly entered The house and found her mother sitting by the radio, crying. When Beverly learned the reason, she began to cry, too. They had no electricity where Pat lived in AKP, but they did have a battery-powered radio and he learned from it the same manner.

I was a student at Jacobs Junior high school in Eureka, California. I stepped outside of one wing to go to another for my next class. As I approached the door to the other, two girls stepped out and both were weeping. My first thought was, "Look at those silly girls! What silly thing are they crying about?" And then they told me. I told Pat and Beverly how I sat with my family in front of the TV and wept all the way through the procession and funeral. Beverly said she sat by the radio with her family and they wept all the way through it, too.

Text added at 10:48 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 56 and counting.

Cutting whale for the Thanksgiving feast

This is maktak from the whale Larry Aiken lost his cell phone for when he threw the harpoon into it. Larry is here in the Iñupiat Heritage Center too, along with his captain George Adams, Wayne Toovak and other crewmembers cutting bowhead for the Thanksgiving feast.

I was going to use a picture of Larry cutting with these men as as a carry-over from breakfast, but I think I need to be sure the whaler women also get credit they so greatly deserve. On the right is Diana Martin, Iñupiat Heritage Center Museum Curator. She is an expert on the weapons, tools, clothing and other implements from her culture reaching back into time immemorial. As curator, she watches over and cares for the Heritage Center's growing collection of artifacts. Today, she has also been watching over her daughter Katherine who she has been teaching the Iñupiat ways of food preparation. She has also taught her how to prepare the backstrap from caribou into the superstrong, waterproof thread used to sew ugruk seal skins into the boat cover for the umiak used in the spring hunt.

Text added at 5:40 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 56 and counting.

The Daily School Bus: parked outside as the sunless days draw near

This being Saturday, I haven't seen any buses rolling and I don't think I'm going to, but I did see these buses parked by the high school. Barrow is three days away from the final sunrise/sunset of the year 2013.

Text added at 3:36 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 56 and counting.

Breakfast at Sam and Lee's, part 2: Mrs. Lee finds comforting warmth in the coldest city in the US

This is Louise Lee, of Sam and Lee's. The Lee's have had their restaurant here for a long time – I am not certain how long, but it seems like they were here when I flew in for my first visit 31 or 32 years ago, but I wouldn't swear to it. Just as so recently happened to Pepe's, Sam and Lee's burned down a few years back, but they rebuilt and once again conduct what appears to be a thriving business. This past week, she has taken note as I have come in for breakfast and have greeted friends who have shown up at the same time. She told me that this is how it is for her, too, when she goes away for a while and then comes back. She may sometimes get off the plane to feel the coldest blast of air imaginable yet with that blast comes the rush of greetings and welcome home's. "I feel such warmth every time I come back home."

Each time after breakfast when I am about to leave, she expresses great concern that I am walking. She is afraid I will freeze. I won't, but her concern feels nice to me. 

Text added at 11:03 AM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 56 and counting.