Writer J. California Copper wrote that it’s not so hard to face death– as we all have to, and so really have no choice–the challenge she said was living. So you may ask, “Where have been, what’s the matter?” and to that I respond with her words– “The matter is life!” (And to be fair, in my case, death.) I no sooner came off Aaron’s tragedy than Haines most famous resident, John Schnabel, ( Grandpa John of Gold Rush TV) died and so I have been working on his obituary, and as I type am waiting for a few more phone calls to edit and tweak it some more. It was due a few hours ago at the paper, but that’s my editor’s soft deadline, as we both know the paper isn’t published until tomorrow night and on store counters here on Thursday, if the weather is good and planes are flying. John was a friend, and so is his family– and while dying at 96 is not a tragedy, he left a lot of life to include in a relatively short space, and he was a sometimes controversial person in Haines, which makes it a challenge to write well.
It will be shared when it’s done–
But what I wanted to say about life, is that spring cleaning is therapeutic, the crocuses are up, the snow plow stakes in the driveway are down. It’s Spring Break at the school and feels like Spring, and the Free Ride big mountain ski and snowboard competition happened yesterday on a mountain outside of town, and everyone is safe, had fun, and a local boarder, Ryland Bell, won the men’s snowboard division, which is so great. Also, the adult basketball teams are playing at Gold Medal in Juneau, and the Haines women — with three of my daughters playing– won their first game and play again Thursday at 2:30, and I will be there. The Haines Merchants men team won last night, as well, with Kyle Fossman scoring 45 points. The state spelling bee is happening right now too– and a Haines student, Aurora Alten Huber made it through the third round! She is in round four now with just 30 others– and has correctly spelled words like novillero, apparatchik, menhaden, and tanha– that I don’t even know the meaning of.
There is a movie tonight at the Chilkat Center thanks to the Arts Council, it’s about music and begins at 7, and I don’t really care what it is about to tell you the truth, I will just sit in the dark and watch it, grateful for the break in my action.
