Cold wind blows on the soles of my feet. (Part Deux)

I’m thankful that I racked up enough Gold Points on Bering Air’s frequent flyer program to secure a flight from Selawik to Kivalina - connecting through Kotzebue.  I’m not sure I could have handled another three and a half hour snowmobile ride at fifteen degrees below zero. Yesterday, I comfortably flew back to the Rock at about 11:30 a.m.

It’s good to be home. Feels good to sleep in my own bed. I missed my routine and what has become my normal.

At 40 years old, I’m getting to the point where sleeping on a buddy’s couch for half a dozen nights isn’t as cool as it once was. Please understand that I appreciated every moment of hospitality that my friend and his roommates extended me. I realize that entertaining and feeding another human loses its luster after a couple of days and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Fellowship, bird hunting, leisure reading, TV programs and a change of scenery did me well.

And now I’m back to KIVLS.

“Home”   -    “my own bed”?

It’s hard to imagine that I could ever consider these digs as my own. For a long time I struggled using those words as if they were somehow an insult to my wife and children or the house that I pay a mortgage on in Minnesota.

Rest assured – Pine City is where my True Home is. Where my family lives and loves is where I want to be. But in the meantime, I’ve become accustomed to life on this tiny spit of sand, snow and gravel a hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle. Life 13 feet above sea level and just a smidge short of the 68^th parallel is cold in March. But it’s my new normal.

Today I underestimated my adversarial foe, the wind. Blowing NNE at 24 miles per hour, this was no Spring breeze. I tucked my chin in to my facemask, continuously pulled my knit cap over my chilling ears, and even threw up the hood of my sweatshirt as a last defense. No matter what I tried, the negative nine degree air temperature easily penetrated my not so protective layers with the aid of the piercing winds.  Two miles in to a four mile walk, I pressed on, as the air nipped at the exposed skin that I was sure wasn’t supposed to be exposed.

I persevered and got the heart rate up. The deceptive sunshine and clear skies helped make a difficult journey tolerable. I chuckled at the thought of my wife stowing away winter gear and breaking out her flip-flops while I willingly strolled along doing my best to avoid frostbite.

A lazy Saturday in the Northwest Arctic…not much do to kill the time.  Laundry is done. Bathroom is cleaned. Facebook has been scoured. All is secure in the interwebs. Nothing left to do but Not complain about the weather.

 - K

Pearl Jam – “Let me Sleep – it’s Christmas time.” – 1991 lyrics…

Cold wind blows on the soles of my feet

Heaven knows nothing of me

I'm lost, nowhere to go

Oh when I was a kid, oh how magic it seemed

Oh please let me sleep, it's Christmas time

Flowered winds was where I lived

Thought you burned, not froze for your sins

Oh I'm so tired and cold

Oh when I was a kid, oh how magic it seemed

Oh please let me sleep, it's Christmas time