So this week we’ve had snow, sun, clouds, wind, calm, cold, warm– and Alaska made the national news because there’s not enough snow in Anchorage to start the Iditarod sled dog race there this year. Today? The clouds fell from the sky and landed on the beach.
In other news, the school board narrowed the superintendent candidates to three this week — in a lot of meetings– so thank them for their time and effort. The pool closes Monday until the 28th for locker room repairs. The House of Bernada Alba, a drama with 20 women in the cast, opens tonight at 7:00 at the Chilkat Center, same time tomorrow night too, and Sunday at 1:00. The Presbyterian Church Valentine Tea is tomorrow from 1-3 at the church. The Craig Panthers play the Lady Glacier Bears tonight.
Tomorrow is my daughter’s 31st birthday. Sarah is the only one of my children born in Haines, she was in the last batch of babies delivered in Dr. Jones’ old clinic. She was born in an epic blizzard and cold snap, as soon the doctor and nurses made sure we were all okay, and I had something to eat and drink we went back home. Linda Lemcke, whose daughter Piper and Sarah would attend pre-school and elementary school together– walked to the clinic with cranberry juice and a turkey sandwich from the Fogcutter Bar when she heard the news. Once we were home safe, the snow drifted and dumped all night until it covered the first floor windows by the morning and school closed for the first time in about 17 years.
Our first visitors were Roger and Nancy Schnabel in Roger’s big grader. (The roads were not cleared.) The second visitor was Dr. Jones on snowshoes. My mother had been staying with us for a week anticipating the birth and to help care for Sarah’s toddling older sister, Eliza. Sarah is named for my mother, who did not live to see Sarah’s children. Linda died before Sarah and Piper were adults. Roger’s father John (Grandpa John of Goldrush fame now) just celebrated his 96 birthday yesterday with 50,000 likes on facebook. Who could have predicted any of this? Sunday night we will have a day-late birthday dinner with Sarah and her family and her local sister’s family, and we will celebrate love, life, family, friends, and this wonderful world by ringing all the bells we can still can ring. (I feel like I should say Amen now.)
