For the first eight months of 2007, I kept really busy... really busy. Anyone that ever said life in a small bush Alaskan community is boring isn't trying very hard. If I'd had more hours in the day, I could have done plenty more. As it was, I think I did enough.
I put in a third year at Bristol Bay School District. I taught a Spanish II class to four students we'll call Jake, Mike, Derek and Katrina. Now four students doesn't sound like much, but half the class was insane so it kept me busy. But just like a dog begins to take on the characteristics of its owner, perhaps the class was merely a reflection of their maestro. I coached volleyball for a third year in a row as well, although technically volleyball season was in the fall of '06. I REALLY missed coaching volleyball this fall and will try to figure out how to involve myself again in the future - maybe as a ref, maybe as a coach... Even though we lost all of our matches, it was a great season. Then I did decided to punish myself for three or four months by taking the varsity girls basketball coaching job. To say 'varsity' is funny, however, since the total number of players in the high school varied from 11 at the beginning of the season to three at times. On average, I had about eight. Now, it should be stated that no one wanted the job, which is why I ended up taking it. My interest in ensuring that the girls I'd coached and cared about during volleyball season trumped my reservations about taking on such a big duty. Anyone that knows me knows how much I know about basketball... Anyway, armed with a stack of books ordered from Amazon and a borrowed Steve Nash video (huge thanks to Jon King and Steve Nash), I set out to conquer the world. Memorable highlights include a Cherokee ride over to Dillingham when the windows on the plane started to ice over a bit and the defroster just wasn't cutting it. Unphased, the pilot opens the window, leans out and scraps the windshield clear with a credit card. You don't see that everyday. I'll also remember regionals fondly... I spent a small part of it in the emergency room trying to get the vomiting under control. In the end, we ended up winning three games total - far more than we were expected to win, so I feel like that was something. I also feel like I had a positive impact on a few of the players - or at least I hope I did. All I can say is that I tried and that I learned a lot from the experience and that I'm grateful for having had that opportunity. Thanks to the girls that played for me and the parents and community members that supported me ...
When I wasn't wandering the halls of the school, hablando y enseñando español, or haunting the gyms with my practice plans and whistle, I was finishing off the fifth of a five-year U.S. Department of Education TRiO Talent Search grant for the UAF Bristol Bay Campus. As Program Coordinator, I had the honor of creating a compelling series of career and academic exploration opportunities for youth throughout four school districts of the Bristol Bay region (Lake & Peninsula, Southwest Region, Bristol Bay and Dillingham City School Districts). I loved the creative component of this job and I came up with some really great camps. But I'd like to pause for a second the thank the hundreds of people throughout Alaska and even across the U.S. that made these camps possible. From the patient and capable staff of the UAF offices to the counselors and village leaders around the Bay, I had an amazing amount of support - and for that I am hugely grateful.
The events included (in roughly chronological order):
· (January) Early Childhood Education Camp: Spent a couple of days talking with EEC leaders in the Dillingham area, then flew my students over to Anchorage for an EEC conference, visits to Job Corps and childcare facilities around the region, and trips to Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Highlights included watching scary movies and eating pizza, checking out the Folk Festival at UAA, and Chelsea (those present will understand). January was also an exciting month for me because I had the cast removed from my right arm.
· (February) Grand Dérangement: This was a cultural event put on by the Dillingham Arts Council. 'Grand Dérangement' is an Acadian folk/rock music group that was fantastic. Especially memorable was the look on those young boys' faces from Manokotak... I'm pretty sure that they've NEVER seen anything like THAT before. Once they got over the initial shock, they got into it.
· (March) Culinary Camp II: The first camp was so popular we did it again in the Spring. Huge thanks to Monsieur Villon and to Donna for making the camp such a success. Of all my camps, the food was best at Culinary Camp. It was a GREAT way to spend a few days.
· (also March) Filmmaking/Documentary Camp: One way I come up with ideas for my camps is to think about what I'd like to do, then I take the kids along for the ride. In addition to that selfish motivation, I always attempted to come up with ideas that would diversify the bush economy and give the youth idea for careers outside of oil/gas and mining that they could pursue in their backyard, all the while continuing their subsistence lifestyle and cultural way of life. It would be difficult to find a more amazing backyard than southwest Alaska. Filmmakers and photographers come to Alaska from around the world to shoot... Why not have locals do this? Such was my thinking when I came up with the Filmmaking/Documentary Camp idea. Huge thanks go out to Mark Emery and Robert Wooten for their instruction and friendship. We spent the first half of the camp learning how to set up the shots and the story, then the last half of the class learning non-linear editing techniques. If I could do it over again, I'd keep the number of students to a small group and avoid shooting in March. But despite the size, I'd call the class a success... Especially for a select group of students in attendance. Memorable moments include the frigid temperatures, staying up late with Robert troubleshooting and getting lied to and let down by a student (didn't see that coming). By the way, I turned 40 during that camp. Learning about documentary filmmaking was one of the best ways I could have spent that day.
· LPSD AA meet and the NWS Women in Science event: Flew to Iliamna with Marjorie to attend the annual LPSD AA meet. Always enjoyable. First of all, Iliamna is gorgeous. NOTE: Putting in the world's largest open pit gold mine just outside of Iliamna is an amazingly bad idea. Please help STOP the Pebble Mine. Second, watching the Native Youth Olympics is a joy that you pretty much have to come to Alaska to experience. Thirdly, I had a great time hanging out with Marjorie and the LPSD staff. Many thanks go out to Steve Atwater and the LPSD staff for helping make TRiO a success. I helped my absent wife out by taking her place at the Women in Science event. I did not go in drag.
· (June) Guide Camp: If you've never been to Pedro Bay, then you're missing out on one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I am thankful for having had the opportunity to spend a second year in a row there, exposing youth to careers in guiding. Massive thanks goes out to Jerry and the entire Rainbow Bay Lodge team for helping making this camp what it was. If you're planning to go fishing in Alaska, do yourself a favor and give Jerry a call. You will not be disappointed. We expanded the camp and changed a few things from the previous year and I think it rocked. With the exception of having the twins bail on us (incredibly moronic), the camp went smoothly. So many highlights: halibut fishing on the Pacific side, driving across the pass, climbing Pedro Mountain, beach fires, shore lunches, bear guarding, wilderness first aid... the list goes on. But the absolute highlight was flying into the Upper Tazimina Lake and rafting down the Tazimina River to the lower lake. Especially exciting was the black bear visit. Special thanks to Nancy and Mike for their expertise and fellowship.
· (July) Color of Justice: Running out of money, I sent one student into Anchorage to explore careers in law. I did not go but was glad to support for a second year in a row.
· (August) Oceanography/SCUBA Camp: The crown jewel in the '07 lineup, in my opinion. I lobbied hard to make this camp happen and, thanks to Debi, was able to put this together. Logistically, this was probably one of the most challenging camps I put together - and thankfully, everything worked out perfectly. Thanks to divine intervention and a whole army of people... Gary Hadfield (this could NOT have happened without you!), Jodie Hazenberg, the staff at BBSD, Terri at the pool (you are AWESOME), Peggy Perales, Trooper Faye... And OF COURSE Loic Thomas, Joe Waggoner, Chris Rehkopf and Teresa Duncan. Let me please recommend Last Frontier Diving to you world should you want to experience the waters of Alaska. We spent days studying, did closed water training then packed over a ton of SCUBA gear onto Gary's skiff and motored out to an unnamed island on Naknek Lake for our open water dives. So many highlights... John Casteel, you need to come into town and we'll go dive, buddy. My son Connor was amazing... simply amazing.
The grant came to an end August 31st and that was that.
In my spare time, I watched films, took a dance class, filled the role of President on the Headstart board, MC'd the Winterfest and Fishtival events (thanks for that opportunity, guys!), got to purple belt in Tae Kwon Do (thanks, Ron!), went canoeing, socialized, walked the dogs, sat in the hot tub, was the GED Examiner for our side of the bay, traveled around...
Michelle resigned from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and we decided to leave the bush. But to where? With both of us out of work, we could really go anywhere. In the end, we decided to stay in Alaska and moved onto the road system. Why stay? Simply, Alaska feels like home. With the work I'd done for the University and the school, I felt invested in the state and had grown my network to a fairly large size. It was getting to the point that I couldn't go into town (Anchorage) any longer without running into people I knew. That's pretty cool. With a population less than 700,000 in an area of land equal to an area stretching from the Canadian border down to Texas (and just as wide), Alaska is the largest small town in the U.S. I love it. And I have much exploring left to do. AND it's so beautiful, wild and vast here. It is both frightening and comforting at the same time.
So how have I been spending my time since leaving Bristol Bay? Well, I've been looking for work mostly. I've been arranging things around the house, volunteering a few hours a week down at Alex's school, working out and practicing yoga, walking the dogs (religiously), involving myself in the film community and writing. Oh yeah, and thinking a lot. Nice to have a moment to stop and think.
Which brings me to this evening - now officially Christmas. 2007 has been a gift. I'd rack it up into the 'great years' column... For that, I send thanks. May 2008 be just as great.
