Summer and a New School

It has been forever since I wrote here. A lot has happened in my live and emotionally.

My sister disowned me a year ago July.  It devastated me and I mourned it like a death for a year. In April, I sent her a birthday present. She let me know she was serious by not opening it, immediately relabeling it, and returned it to me. I’ve accepted that I am dead to her. Thank god the rest of the family doesn’t feel the same way.

This last July I went to my 50^th class reunion. Ginger Baim and O’Della Morrisey  joined me for one of the evenings. Ginger told me, “People weren’t very nice to you and you never seemed to notice.” You know, I was aware that the “in crowd” never accepted me. There were moments that it bothered me but it did not define me. I found friends that accepted me for who I am, Ginger and Dee were two of them. After graduation, I remember spending time with one of the old in crowd and him commenting about how he didn’t realize how cool I was. The thing was—I hadn’t changed. He was the one that had broadened his scope of friends. It was a grand weekend. I really enjoyed talking with everyone and catching up. I am looking forward to the next one.

Most of the summer was spent packing and moving everything to the North Pole house. Renee and a friend stayed for three weeks to keep an eye on things. Then another friend and ex-student took over the house sitting. Randy was supposed to have moved in by the first of August and he is still in Anchorage at the end of the month. He is still doing repairs on the 4-plex, which I have up for sale. It hasn’t sold in two months and I have it listed at my minimum price. I may have to drop it again. At the very least, I’ve got to get the apartment Randy is living in rented, so I can set money aside for more repairs to both the 4-plex and Persinger house.

I’ve been told I don’t have to tear up the hardwood floors to put radiant heat in the house. That is something I’d like to accomplish next summer.  I’ll have to remove all the old baseboard piping and start extending the walls in by 2 inches. I’d start with the living room. Extend the walls and refinish the wood floors will make the living room habitable. That’s my goal for next summer.

This winter I’m working in Nightmute on Nelson Island. It is a larger school and is under construction. Look at the aerial view. This is an older picture. Between the school and the road  and down the  entire right side of the building, between the  school and my  house, is all construction. It has turned the road into a mud pit. I  have the best team. Laura has been here 20+ years, married and raised her family here. She is our special education teacher. Carrie (K-2) returned for her second year, as did Katelyn (3-5). Paul came to teach LA/Social Studies after spending fourteen months bicycling around Europe. Richard came out of retirement for the third time to teach Math/Science. Paul says he is a real live Forest Gump. He’s run six marathons—four of them in Boston.; taught at West Point; dined  with President Kennedy & Jackie; taught at a prison; and more. He’s 77 and still going like the Energizer Bunny.

I brought my daughter, Renee, out with me in hopes that she would get her diploma before she aged out of the public school system. She decides to go for her GED and not live in the village. It became obvious it was time to let her go. She needs to no longer depend on us to support her. Both she and Cody need to find a job and start paying rent or find some friends to share an apartment.

Aerial View of  Nightmute