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June 23, 2008
Sad Days Ahead
I have been reluctant to say it, but as we approach the eleventh hour, I feel it only fair to give you a few days to prepare for the sober fact that I will be leaving you very soon. On Thursday evening, Robbi, Alden, Iggy, and I will board the first of four flights that will carry us from our fair coast to the barren Alaska tundra. Once there, we will don rubber suits and engage in a family-run commercial fishing enterprise. For those of you who do not know, for more than three decades, Robbi's family has traveled each summer to Coffee Point, a non-town on the bluffs overlooking Bristol Bay on the Alaskan Peninsula, to harvest sockeye salmon by the tens of thousands of pounds.
I've documented the process here. Have a look. It's pretty neat.
In any case, even though it's hot and horrible here in Maryland, Seiko called the other day to let us know that it was 35 and snowing in Coffee Point. She was very concerned that we bring proper attire for her grandchild, and so Robbi went online and ordered a full-blown snowsuit for Alden.
Alden didn't like the snowsuit. She didn't even pretend to like it.
Although the thing seems enormous, it is so full of stuffing and comfort that the interior was just about Alden-sized. Try as she might, however, she wasn't able to move the arms.
It's pretty much a baby straight jacket with the added benefit of warmth.
Later on, we relaxed in the bed, and she seemed to have found her happy place again.
The smiles are more regular now, and they are starting to feel less arbitrary. She is consistently amused by bookshelves of any variety. Something about them strikes her as endlessly funny. Ceiling fans have also become a reliable source of levity.
Mom and Dean have been visiting for the past few days.
We took Alden for a walk by the water to see the Schooner Sultana.
Dean, who is an ER doc, spent most of his time with the baby teaching her some of the more erudite aspects of emergency medicine.
She was an attentive student, engaged and clearly interested in the material. She fared miserably on the pop quiz, but Dean vows not to give up on her yet.
Mom and Dean have continued southward to Fort Bragg, where my brother Alex is currently awaiting the start of his Special Forces training. He survived the gauntlet known as Selection, and has been chosen to move forward with the training.
Robbi and I have been busy binding Volume 15, which will be ready to send out just before we leave town on Thursday. Which brings us back to the point at hand. Come Thursday, things are likely to change in Barnstorming land. At least for a while. Alaska lacks roads, electricity, and public water supply, let alone a reliable internet connection.
Last summer I was able to catch a stray signal from a nearby cannery from time to time by parking my four-wheeler behind a sand dune and holding my computer at a very specific angle. Perhaps this will once more be possible. But perhaps not.
If, in the weeks ahead, you find the blog not updated as frequently as you would like, I ask to to understand my predicament, to be patient, and to look fondly toward the trove of new Alaska pictures that will be posted upon my return in late July.
Additionally, I invite you to return to this post as often as you care, if only to look fondly at this photo of a moment that might well be my favorite moment of parenthood to date.
Posted by bogenamp at June 23, 2008 12:13 AM