We Be Jammin'

The family reunion is over and life is resuming a sense of normalcy. When we left Michigan yesterday for our long trek back, the plane had mechanical problems, fortunately before anyone boarded. So, the gate attendent asked us if we wanted to get a first class upgrade and go on a quicker flight, connecting only in Minnesota instead of Seattle and Anchorage. What?!! Do chickens have lips? Of course, so we had a comfy ride for 5 1/2 hours being plied with complimentary beverages and a dinner of chicken quesadilla, rice, beans and cheesecake. The only hint of inconvenience was that our bags were not so lucky and came later. There was no risk of being taken- they were all full of dirty clothes.

Here are 10 reasons to visit Michigan: 1) beautiful lakes, 2) friendly people, 3) Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum, 4) walking and biking are alive and well, 5) the starry night sky, 6) fireflies, 7) Vernor's Ginger Ale, 8) farmland, 9) dramatic thunderstorms, 10) family.

I have many memories of my Alaskan born children visiting Michigan in the summer. Ben was terrified to sit in the seat behind the driver's seat because it looked like all the cars were coming at him. Neither child liked the idea of running through a cold water sprinkler as the locals did. They also couldn't figure out why they weren't allowed to walk on the grass. Why was it mowed? What else would it be for? (I agree with them!). The night Erin could pick the menu, she wanted moose meat. Ben was very interested in the flushing toilet. Where did it go?

City words for which children in village Alaska have no schema: sidewalk, street light, traffic jam, skyscraper, rush hour, apartment buildings, toll roads. Businesses not available in Fairbanks: Big Boy's, IKEA, White Castle, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Costco, Best Buy and many more, although Anchorage has some of these (360 miles from here).

Erin taught me about photo jamming (see photo). The idea is to catch someone taking a picture and then get in it doing something inappropriate. In this one, my sister Wendy is trying to take a photo and Erin walked right in front of her and showed her best side. Pretty cute, huh? The best gig would be to do this to a stranger, then disappear into a crowd. Erin says that it is also really fun to misbehave in the background of someone's photo so they don't notice until they download and look at their pictures. But then, it's too late, isn't it just?

I also learned about picasa albums on Google. I posted the family reunion pictures there and all my blog pictures are available there also. That way, I can just post a group of pictures only interesting for a small group of people. Go to Google and click "photos" to post your own albums. It would be a great place to share photos of student activities inviting only parents to view.

Gas prices have been on my mind. While I was in Michigan, gas prices went from $4.19 to $3.84. That was an interesting drop. In Fairbanks, where there are very low road taxes, gas is still $4.45 or more. The pipeline goes right by us! We also have a refinery in North Pole. Go figure.

I read "Of Love and Shadows" by Isabelle Allende last weekend. I recommend it if you like her style. She is a master at character development and relationships. Her books always backdrop South and Central American themes and this one is loaded with the horror of dictatorships and the "disappeareds". If you are a novice to Allende, start with "Eva Luna" and "The Stories of Eva Luna". You'll either love it or hate it.

The heavy rain has caused severe flooding around Fairbanks. The rivers are high and there is an emergency shelter in one of the schools. In spite of this, there are no signs warning, "In case of floods, go to higher ground" like the ones we saw in Colorado. Now, is it just me or is that something that most people should figure out. I think we need to use more natural selection to weed out those who don't know that you climb in a flood. That way our limited resources would be used to propigate those in our species more able to adapt to climatic change. We might be looking for lots more higher ground when the glacier melt raises the ocean level.

Fairbanks still has about 20 hours of usable daylight. Many people wonder how Alaskans sleep in the long daylight. I say, very well, thank you. If you go to bed to sleep only when you're tired and get up when you are rested, the daylight doesn't matter so much. I must say that a more debilitating condition is getting up in the dark. SAD or seasonal affective disorder is a general lethargy that occurs in the winter darkness. The cure is to stay busy and to bundle up and get outside even in the cold. Even so, some people use darkening shades in the summer and full spectrum lights in the winter to even things up.

On Friday, I am driving to MacLaren River Lodge to drop off my nephew to work there. I'm looking forward to the beautiful drive. Watch for pictures upon my return.