A blog by Bill Hess

Running Dog Publications

P.O. Box 872383 Wasilla, Alaska 99687

 

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Wasilla

Wasilla is the place where I have lived for the past 29 years - sort of. The house in which my wife and I raised our family sits here, but I have made my rather odd career as a different sort of photojournalist by continually wandering off to other places to photograph people and gather information, which I have then put together in various publications that have served the Alaska Native Eskimo, Indian and Aleut communities.

Although I did not have a great of free time to devote to this rather strange community, named after a Tanaina Athabascan Indian chief who knew Wasilla in the way that I so impossibly long to, I have still documented it regularly over the past quarter-century plus. In the early days, my Wasilla photographs focused mostly upon my children and the events they participated in - baseball, football, figure skating, hockey, frog catching, fire cracker detonation, Fourth of July parade - that sort of thing. 

In 2002, I purchased my first digital camera and then, whenever I was home, I began to photograph Wasilla upon a daily basis, but not in a conventional way. These were grab shots - whatever caught my eye as I took my many long walks or drove through the town, shooting through the car window at people and scenes that appeared and disappeared before I could even focus and compose in the traditional photographic way.

Thus, the Wasilla portion of this blog will be devoted both to the images that I take as I wander about and those that I have taken in the past. Despite the odd, random, nature of the images, I believe they communicate something powerful about this town that I have never seen expressed anywhere else. 

Wasilla is a sprawling community that has been slapped down hodge-podge upon what was so recently wilderness of the most exquisite beauty. In its design, it is deliberately anti-zoned, anti-planned. In the building of Wasilla, the desire to make a buck has trumped aesthetics and all other considerations. This town, built in the midst of exquisite beauty, has largely become an unsightly, unattractive, mess of urban sprawl. Largely because of this, it often seems to me that Wasilla is a community with no sense of community, a town devoid of town soul.

Yet - Wasilla is my home and if I am lucky it will be until I grow old and die. Despite its horrific failings, it is still made of the stuff of any small city: people; moms and dads, grammas and grampas, teens, children, churches, bars, professionals, laborers, soldiers, missionaries, artists, athletes, geniuses, do-gooders, hoodlums, the wealthy, the homeless, the rational and logical, the slightly insane and the wholly insane - and, yes, as is now obvious to the whole world, politicians, too.

So perhaps, if one were to search hard enough, it might just be possible to find a sense of community here, and a town soul. So, using my skills as a photojournalist and a writer, I hope to do just that. If this place has a sense of community, I will find it. If there is a town soul to Wasilla, I will document it. I won't compete with the newspapers. Hell no! But as time and income allow, it will be fun to wander into the places where the folks described above gather, and then put what I find on this blog.

 

by 300...

Anywhere within a 300 mile radius of Wasilla. This encompasses perhaps the most wild, dramatic, gorgeous, beautiful section of land and sea to be found in any comparable space anywhere on Earth. I can never explore it all, but I will do the best that I can, and will here share what I find and experience with you.  

and then some...

Anywhere else in the world that I happen to get to, such as Point Lay, Alaska; Missoula, Montana; Serenki, Chukotka, Russia; or Bangalore, India. Perhaps even Lagos, Nigeria. I have both a desire and scheme to get me there. It is a long shot. We shall see if I succeed.

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« Sushi birthday party | Main | Kalib, for Grandma Mary down in the Navajo Nation: may his image help speed your recovery »
Sunday
Nov222009

Grandma Mary returns home from hospital, insundry Wasilla scenes, ending with four images of Kalib in the snow

I am pleased to report that, while she must suffer pain and discomfort for a couple of months, Kalib's Grandma Mary has already been discharged from the hospital and has returned home. She suffered a broken sternum and a broken rib, neither of which can be treated. It just takes time.

I've had a number of cracked or broken ribs in my day, and I can tell you, they can be mighty painful but there is nothing you can do but go about your life as best you can and try real hard at night to find a laying position that does not aggravate the situation.

I suspect that the problem is multiplied with a broken sternum.

As for the man who hit her, we have received no word as to whether or not he had been drinking, but he was reported to be driving down the highway at a high rate of speed, pulling a trailer, in and out of traffic as he was in a big hurry to get to wherever he was going before anyone else did.

The next morning, he was seen chopping firewood at his house.

At any rate, we are glad that no one was critically injured or killed and are greatly relieved that Grandma Mary is home with her family.

Lavina wants to take Kalib and go down to be with her for Thanksgiving, but, due to the expense and the short time that she would be able to stay, she will probably wait until she can go and stay longer.

I took the above picture of Mary dancing Apache style with Jacob at the celebration following his wedding to Lavina on March 18, 2006, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Now for some random shots about Wasilla - the Talkeetna Mountains in my rearview mirror.

Breakfast at Family Restuarant.

I receive a dog biscuit at the drive-through window to Metro Cafe. The little boy is the son of Carmen and Scott, and he looks just like Scott. Carmen told me his name and I wrote it down in my brain, but now it has been erased.

I had no dog in car with me, but the little boy was anxious to give me a dog biscuit, anyway. So I told him about Muzzy and he gave me one.

Pioneer Peak and the Chugach Mountains, over the Lowe's parking lot. You can't see them from here, because Pioneer Peak blocks the view, but if my airplane still flew and I could put you in it, I would fly you through that little saddle to the right and then you would see that the mountains behind are considerably higher and more dramatic looking.

...just thought you should know.

Sparks flying from the ice-scraping blade of a snowplow as it rolls alongside Wasilla Lake.

Last night, for the first time in what seems like about 42 years, I took Margie to a movie in Eagle River, a little more than half-way to Anchorage and about 35 minutes away.

I had to get gas, first. As I was inserting my credit card, I heard a female voice say, "Hello. I don't know where to put the oil in. Where do I put the oil in."

I thought the voice was directed at me, but it was not. It was this lady and she was talking on her cell phone. I guess she got the info that she needed, because it sure looks like she's putting oil in her car now.

Grandma Mary still can use some good cheer, so I will close this entry with four shots of Kalib that I just took while out walking with him, his dad, Muzzy and my pocket camera. This is Kalib wearing his new snow suit.

He tries to ride Muzzy, but it doesn't work out so well. Muzzy complains and swears. "What the hell do you think I am, a camel?"

I wonder how Muzzy knows about camels?

Kalib treks across Little Lake through a four-wheeler circle.

He checks out the goose decoy.

It is a very nice, warm, day, with the temperature having risen into the mid-20's.

I just hope that's as far as it rises.

I don't trust these El Niño warm up periods.

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Reader Comments (7)

I'm so happy to hear Mary is well enough to leave the hospital. How sore she must be! Wow, a broken sternum and rib? I wish her a speedy and pain-free recovery.

Kalib is soooo adorable in his little snowsuit (said in the highest girly voice ever). What a gorgeous little boy.

November 22, 2009 | Unregistered Commenterangel

So Kalib found his mitts and so did his daddy. But how about you? Still braving that sub-zero stuff without gloves?

November 22, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterWhiteStone

AND...the most important thing...so happy that Gramma Mary is home from the hospital.

November 22, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterWhiteStone

I'm glad Grandma Mary is better, what a horrible accident! And horrible injuries. I hear a broken sternum really hurts. I hope seeing Kalib here cheered her up :)

November 22, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterMikey

So glad that Grandma Mary is home.. Hope her recovery is speedy and as pain free as possible..

November 23, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAsh

Gotta say...that one picture of your hand reaching for the dog biscuit that little Scott the entrepreneur is handing out? Well. The thumbnail looks purplish. As if you're either wearing fingernail polish or perhaps freezing your fingers off because you haven't taken the time to find gloves. Just saying.

November 23, 2009 | Unregistered Commenterdebby

Angel - I could hear that girly squeal all the way from Wasilla. Kalib heard it, too, and he smiled big.

Whitestone - Trust me, when I need to wear gloves, I will wear them. Anyway, it's really warm now. It might even be above freezing. If not, it's close.

That is most important and we are happy.

Mikey - We hear that it did cheer her to see Kalib on the blog.

Thank you, Ash.

Debby - This is what you call imagination working overtime. It's simply a matter of a mix of light sources - the light from inside being highly dominant in yellow, the light outside strong in blue and me settling more towards the indoor light.

November 24, 2009 | Registered CommenterWasilla, Alaska, by 300

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