I started this blog on August 21, 2012, with the release of my first book, Titan Encounter. Most of those posts are now in what I call the “Early Blog.” I’m gradually updating their format and bringing them into this new journal. Back then the sole purpose of the blog was to promote my books, but gradually that changed.
That’s how it started but, over the years, I’ve mused about other things that are important to me, such as my family, my farm, rural life, and occasionally about politics and country. However, I try to limit the politics in this journal. If you want to know more about my political leaning go to The Conservative Alternative.
Traveling by bush plane is nothing like a regular airline.
As you may have guessed from the picture in part one, I did find Ferdinand and, with him driving, I rode to the airstrip sitting on the side of the ATV. Like the airfield the road to it is dirt, but with hundreds of potholes, mud, water, ice, and gravel. I’m always glad when these trips are over—my butt is sore and my pant legs are splashed with mud.
Read MoreI was supposed to report for jury duty on Tuesday of last week. I packed a bag with three days of clothes because travel at this time of year is always iffy. I might fly into Bethel and get stuck there, so it’s smart to pack extra underwear and socks.
Read MoreA man with two rifles stood just outside the door of my apartment.
No, it wasn’t a burglary or gang activity. It was Brett, the principal of Eek school. I live just across the hall from him and his wife. On this Saturday morning, he stood at the end of the hall wearing hip waders with one rifle slung over his shoulder and the other in his hand.
Read MoreAbout ten days ago several of our students here in Eek excitedly told me there was an article about me in The Delta Discovery.
The Delta Discovery is the weekly newspaper in our region of Alaska. I had sent them a press release about the book and later someone from the paper had asked me a few questions so, of course, I wanted to read the article.
Read MoreArt is enjoyed by most people.
I’ve written before about the apparent fascination the students of Eek School have for drawing me.
Read MoreThe first autographed copy of Through Many Fires is in the hands of a reader.
My wife sent up copies of my latest novel to where I work in Eek, Alaska. They arrived on the mail plane this weekend. Loni Hoover, the school secretary, and an avid reader, asked me for a copy. Of course, I’m going to give the most powerful person in the building a copy.
Read MoreThrough Many Fires has arrived on the Alaskan Tundra!
My wife received the promotional copies of Through Many Fires a few days ago and forwarded some of them to me in Eek, Alaska, for signing. The books arrived today on the mail plane and someone brought them over to the school.
Read MoreA picture of me along with authors like Shakespeare, Poe, and Twain and book covers from Harry Potter and The Hunger Games alongside my book, Final Duty, brought a smile to my face.
Read MoreYesterday I flew back to the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Eek.
This will be my seventh year teaching in this remote Alaskan village. Getting to Eek starts with a flight to Anchorage, but that is only the beginning. From there you catch an Alaskan Airlines flight to Bethel, about 400 miles west of Anchorage on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one of the largest river deltas in the world.
Read MoreUnfortunately, art is one of those classes that we don’t often offer at Eek School.
We wish we could offer art more often, but reading, Writing and Math take priority and art teachers willing to come to the bush Alaska are hard to find. That doesn’t mean that our students are any less artistic. Art is very much a part of the Yup’ik culture. I wish the students would do more with traditional themes, but for some reason they often like to draw me.
Read MoreThe temperature was -20 as we waited for the plane to arrive in Eek.
That was last Thursday. The plane arrived on time, thankfully, for the flight to Bethel, Alaska. I stayed the night in Bethel and then caught the morning flight to Anchorage and another plane to Seattle. My youngest son was at the airport to pick me up for the hour and a half drive home. It was a long trip, but thankfully, I arrived home safely late on Friday.
Read MoreHalloween was again a big day here in the village. I think every student between the ages of 5 and 18 went trick or treating and visited my house. There were people both younger and older that knocked on my door, and even a few people I didn’t know—and that’s hard to imagine for a village of fewer than 200 people.
Read MoreI’ve known many students who have the daily chore of hauling water to their home or taking the honey bucket to the dump. The first year I taught here I lived in a classroom at the end of the school. The school is one of the few buildings in the village that has running water. Unfortunately, to get to the school restroom, I had to go out one door of the building and back in through another door. I was always afraid I’d walk out some night, forgetting my keys, and freeze to death.
Read MoreLast year my wife and I were preparing to haul the trash out to the village dump when one of our friends said they had seen bear tracks at the dump. So warned, we drove the ATV out to the dump with a trailer full of trash keeping our eyes open for any movement.
Read MoreFinally, I spun around intent on giving him a picture he would remember.
Carlton was ready and took the shot.
My expression has garnered many laughs around the school. My fellow teacher, Dirk, titled it, “Kyle – The Bear,” when he sent me a copy.
Read More
