Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A New Personal Low

Howdy. I’m sure everyone is as relieved as I am that January 3, 2007 came and went without a terrorist event in Alaska. I’m sure the seemingly neurotic fellow in my previous post was instrumental in preventing such an occurrence.

That’s assuming the terrorists had nothing to do with the tire that blew out when we landed on an Aleutian island a couple days ago. I think it probably had more to do with frozen moisture preventing the wheel from turning when we touched down. Landing in a central Alaskan town earlier that day, I set a new record for the coldest temperature I had ever experienced at -41 which is roughly the same in Fahrenheit as Celcius. I was really thankful that there was no wind. Aside from the moisture freezing in my nostrils every time I inhaled, -41 wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d thought it might be.

Later, while we waited for a mechanic to show up with a new tire, one of our ramp workers gave me the grand tour of the little Aleutian village. The road up to the hill-perched village was littered with stacks of rusty crab pots and we passed a couple marinas full of big (40’-60’) fishing boats. Rays of sun escaped through holes in the overcast and spotlighted three or four small sailboats in the bay. Hardy individuals to be sure!

We went to the docks, where my co-worker (a former fisherman) chatted with a couple of fishermen who were preparing to offload their catch. Throwing octopus into a large bucket and chipping away at ice on the hull, they enjoyed the inconsequential banter of those whose lives share similar routines.

It was one of the rare moments since I moved to Anchorage when I really felt like I was in Alaska.