Labor and Summer Days . . .

Sparrevohn, Alaska June 2024

A few days ago I sat in the Weather Observation Station looking out on a seemingly tranquil wilderness. While conducting my airfield inspection that morning, I drove past piles of scat, evidence of brown bear milling close to camp. The sky was streaked white and blue, the mountains carpeted green and bird song floated in through the open window.

I dispatched weather observations to the pilot flying in food supplies. I heard engines drone off in the distance; an indication the plane was close. And I watched as it flew into view, land and kick up a cloud of dust on the strip. I observed from my perch and listened over the radio to the goings on at the apron as my colleagues unloaded the plane. I disseminated one last weather obs prior to the planes departure, waited by the radio another 15 minutes and then headed back to the “house” where the real work of my 12 hour shift ensued.

When I began my tenure, nearly four years ago, the responsibility of disseminating weather observations to pilots terrified me. I felt inadequate to the task and the weight of the responsibility, if things turned adverse, was almost paralyzing. Now, I look forward to this aspect of the job.

Today the airfield is abuzz with activity. My senses are heightened with the awareness others rely on my observations for their decision making as to whether or not it is safe for them to land.

Beginnings carry a sense of trepidation, the unknown . . . insecurities. Familiarity develops more of a confidence, practice produces an element of peace. One experience builds upon another which in turn develops skills.

My humble beginning in the workforce started in the strawberry fields in Oregon. My grade school friend Cindy, her older brother Scott and I’d board a bus in the early AM. We’d sit hours in the scorching dirt picking berries under an unrelenting sun; quite the task for kiddos. And our reward? Fifty cents per flat. Our employment was short lived, however, as Scott incited a strawberry fight. Cindy, too, took up arms and dismissal followed their lack of interpersonal skills. Back at their home, Scott and Cindy received spankings for their errors in judgment and I was sent back to my family. I confess, though I felt sorry over their discipline, I was grateful to them both for putting an end to our berry picking careers.

I eventually took up baby-sitting and from there I graduated to a daycare center where I prepared snacks and put toothpaste on little’s toothbrushes. I raked and weeded and pruned and planted and painted and washed windows and scrubbed walls and I scraped gum and glue off of a school’s desks one summer. As a teen, I served fast food at Herfy’s Burgers and Taco Bell.

When I caught the eye of a college boy, who was working as a carnie with the Rose Festival during his summer break, he whisked me off to Alaska where I added commercial fishing and construction to my resume. In-between raising our family and helping manage our businesses, I eked out a college degree. And after years of outdoor labor, I transitioned to desk-jockey positions where I resolved insurance claims and managed an office. There are smatterings of smaller jobs that filled the spaces. Today, I commute by air where I work in remote locations around the state of Alaska.

Unlike many I know, linear is not a part of my story. My aspirations toward teaching and writing and developing my art into something marketable met with a myriad of twists and turns. But . . . when my best laid plans were left no option but to cede to life circumstances, the unexpected and the unknown worked to shape the life I live.

Extracting the precious from the worthless is a mindset I discovered is worth honing. Being open to opportunities, that appear outside the scope of my goals, often present me with unforeseen good fortune. I've learned that at some point I must let go of my grumblings and allow gratitude to shape my heart’s desires. And as I've powered through fears in the face of uncertainties, sometimes one nano step at a time, I've awakened to my abilities and I've learned that, with faith, I am capable of tackling life’s challenges.

Take heart when life ushers in difficulties knowing that inside of you is a strength yet to be discovered. Life is gloriously messy . . . to reach the glory, often we must muddle our way through the mess.                                                         
​                           Remember, life is good, I’m cheering for you.