Hey yet again,
It's late in May and the battle continues, winter is down but
definitely not out. A couple of days ago we had about two to three inches of
snow and with the temp just below freezing, the snow landing on the warmer metal
roofs began a cycle of ice buildup that would give way suddenly. It would then
slide down from level to lower level on its way to the ground, each drop
accompanied with a resounding crash as it struck the tin. This and the icicles
that formed on the overhangs became mother nature's missiles which had to be
dodged when some errand forced an unlucky soul to venture out. The morning temps
the last few days have been in the upper 20's, warming up to the 30's or 40's in
the afternoon. You might as well say we are at 24 hours of daylight as the
little bit of "darkness" is just a brief twilight that theoretically happens
somewhere between midnight and 4-5 am. The ice in Kotzebue Sound formed open
leads (open ice free areas) Wednesday and now open water is visible as far as
the eye can see. Of course there is still a hundred or so yards of ice attached
to the shore and there are patches of ice floating throughout the sound. This
gives the newly arrived seagulls perched on those ice floes a scenic ride past
town as the bergs meander by on the current. Once again for the third time since
we have been here, there won't be a sudden "breakup", the ice will just melt
away.
I for some reason feel I must apologize for the last email.
I just needed an outlet to voice how I felt at that particular moment. I must
also say that often when an incident occurs, the story is vague and inaccurate
and it takes a while to get the truth. I write about what I know and how I feel
at that point in time and sometimes I find out later my information was
incorrect. When this occurs I try to pass along the correct information as soon
as I can. It turns out that not all the information I had when I wrote last was
correct. Below is the latest information I have to set the record straight.
There has been one other suicide attempt that I am aware of but no other deaths
I'm glad to say. Collectively I believe the whole region was holding it's breath
waiting to see if there would be
more.
The cashier I wrote about is alive and well. We were wrong, it was someone else.
I just found out that the body of the
man missing since the Christmas blizzard was found Saturday around 8pm. He was
found by the airport which is way across the other side of town from where he
lived. It was reported that he had gotten drunk Christmas day and after a fight
with his family, walked out of the house into a full blizzard dressed in a light
jacket and socks with no shoes. There was an intense search for him after
Christmas that lasted weeks before it was halted. The search resumed about a
week ago after the thaw set in. The report is his face was battered and
identification was based on build, clothes, and the fact that no one else of
that description is missing. His body will go to Anchorage for autopsy. This
young man is a cousin of Gary's-Cathy's fiancé.
The three deaths in village of Selawik it
turns out were not three young people out for a joy ride. It was a father
accompanied by his daughter and one of his daughters friends. They were out
hunting and traveling on the Selawik river by snowmachine. They were towing a
basket sled and probably as is the custom here one or both girls were in the
sled. SAR recovered the machine, the sled, and the bodies of the father and
daughter, but the friend is still missing. The elders of Selawik sent out a
message to all in the region asking people to pray for divine help in finding
the young girls body. With the thaw, search conditions are getting extremely
dangerous and the fear is the body will be lost to the sea if not found soon. If
you are a religious person-well, I suppose even if you are not, a few words to
whoever or whatever is out there couldn't hurt. Again this vast land takes its
share. People disappear here every year and are never found. A man I work with
who has lived here most of his life told me in detail of a number of incidents
where folks went out and just disappeared never to be found, be it on
snowmachines, in boats, and even in airplanes.
One thing I have to extend praises about is that the Search and Rescue folks are
a tenacious and fearless bunch. Whenever a search is going on someone is at the
fire hall 24/7 manning the phones or standing by. The volunteers go out in
almost any weather and there is always hot food and drink at the fire hall
awaiting the weary volunteers. There is only one paid position in SAR, the rest
are all volunteers. I have to say that I was on a plane last fall during moose
season and there was a Cabela's warrior sitting in the seat in front of me all
decked out in his fashionable camouflage. I had witnessed his behavior at the
airport and let me just say, it was abrasive. You know the type, ordering
drinks, flirting with the stewardess, making lewd remarks-a real "he-man".
During one of his tirades he muttered some derogatory comment about the
"natives" and once again to my regret, I held my tongue. What I wanted to tell
him is that if his Cabela's clad a.. got lost out there or he was injured, it
would be those same "damn natives" who would risk their lives to find him
whether he was alive or dead.
I was winding down the week and started this letter Friday
evening during the last hour at work. I was between big projects at that moment
and just did not have the energy to start on something new that late. While
sitting there the contrast of everyday work here versus where we came from
manifested itself in two interruptions I had during that last hour. The first
was a woman in Buckland calling to ask how much bleach to use to purify river
water for washing clothes. There is a water shortage in that village and they
had shut down the public laundry. The second was one of my Environmental
Services techs thanking me for being understanding when he asked for a couple of
days off to be with his family. He and his family were related to both suicides.
The whaling season has been a successful one this year in
Point Hope and they have taken 5 bowhead whales. All of these behemoths were
taken by men in hand paddled, skin covered boats. One whale was so big they had
difficulty getting it up on the ice. A man told me not long ago about a big
whale that was taken a few years back. The edge of the pack ice was too thin to
hold the weight of the whale and it broke every time they attempted to haul it
up. So, with the help of the whole village over a period of days, they chopped
holes in the ice and passed a rope under the ice from hole to hole using poles.
Then they dragged the whale under the ice to a point where the ice was thick
enough to support the weight. There they chopped a hole big enough to drag the
whale through so it could be butchered. All this was done by hand.
I have been to Point Hope on a couple of occasions and the
beach there in the summer is about 2-300 yards deep. It is all gravel and is
really difficult to walk on. I did make it to the waters edge where there were
starfish all down the beach and green water as far as the eye could see. As I
stood there a seal swam past me. A man from Point Hope told me that the polar
bears travel that beach even in the summer because there are frequently beached
carcasses of seals or walrus to feed on. I'm glad I didn't know that at the
time.
It is now Monday morning and I am at work. Frequently I send the email from
home to here to send it out because sometimes my computer balks at the task.
Outside the ice fog has reduced visibility to less than 100 yards and it is
snowing yet again. All I can say is I hope it clears by Friday morning. That's
when we are scheduled to fly out for Kodiak, the crab festival, warmer weather,
and hopefully some halibut fishing.
Thanks for the support and replies from some of you after the
last email. They are greatly appreciated .
On behalf of all the Alaska Sam's,
Carlo
For problems or questions regarding this web contact
carlo@samsicles.net
Last updated:
12/28/05