It's In the Bag

I've spent the past two years going to two school board meetings a month. If they'd ever asked for my opinion, I could have told them that it was one too many meetings a month. Now that I'm back in Alaska, where they do it the right way, there is only one meeting a month...with a twist. Because of our location, we go to different villages throughout the year for the meetings. Today's meeting was in Wainwright, which is a short hop from Barrow on a small plane. There's no frisking by TSA for these flights and certainly no flight attendants. And make sure you are mechanically inclined or you never will get that seat belt fastened; it's every woman for herself! Of course there is the handy briefing card to help you figure it out...

I continue to be amazed by my fortune. Who gets to have these experiences? See these sights? It is just beautiful and tickles my funny bone all at the same time. I'll get to the funny bone tickling in a minute.

First, you must know that while we are at the school, we are treated to lunch, along with the kids, by a fabulous kitchen staff. But wait, there's more! We also get to partake in the community dinner, held in honor of the visit by the school board. Much like the community potluck in Barrow last month, this dinner is well-attended; a chance to mingle with community members and enjoy their company. During this part of the evening, I was treated to a fabulous Iñupiaq language lesson. My tutor attempted to teach me three words (which is two too many in my infancy with these new sounds). I did get one, though...quaq. You'll need to cogitate on quaq while I finish the story.

After dinner, we headed back to the airport. Are you picturing a runway with a building in which you wait for the plane? What were you thinking? Nope, we just drive onto the tarmac and watch the plane arrive. A special treat, on this plane...groceries for the store. I just had to memorialize the delivery truck. Okay, you may be laughing at this, but think about it...what better vehicle than this to make this trip now and in the coming -50˚F weather?

Another benefit of the trip...many of the folks with me who have relatives in Wainwright have had a brief chance to visit with their family. Turns out this is prime hunting season and we are taking some of the spoils of the hunt with us on the plane back to Barrow. It's a bag of quaq! If you look closely, you can see the foot of the quaq peeking out of the opening in the black bag. This gives you a whole new visual of the phrase, "I just bagged a quaq", doesn't it? Now you really are wondering what quaq is, aren't you?