2009 in review - February: Kivgiq - dancers come from across the Arctic; Kalib behind the window

When I arrived in Barrow for Kivgiq, the ambient temperature was in the -40's, and the wind chill, the -70's. I traveled from within the warmth of a jet airplane. Rex Nashookpuk traveled 100 miles on his snowmachine, coming from Wainwright.

I can guarantee you, he did not drive slow. So you can imagine what kind of windchill he experienced.

I doubt that he cared at all.

He just wanted to get to Kivgiq.

I am going to use different pictures than the few that I actually managed to post last February. At that, in the ten months that have since passed, I have so far only found the time to take a close look at a small percentage of my 2009 Kivgiq take and these represent only a tiny smattering of that. I chose them for this, because they were all in one folder and easy to get to.

Now... I know this kid's name... he is from Point Lay and he was three years old... and he was one of the very most popular dancers at the 2009 Kivgiq...

I know his name... it's just not popping up in my head... I want to post this right away...

Well, sooner or later, I will add his name back in.

...It's Elmo,,, Elmo Henry.

The man raising the walrus skull and tusks is Eugene Brower. Many gifts are given at Kivgiq. The man dancing to Eugene's right is his son, Frederick. Frederick shot the walrus and gave his father the skull and tusks.

Isaac Killugvik of Point Hope. Dancing comes natural to him. In his motions, there is power, grace and soul. Despite what I do, by nature I am a very shy person. Isaac gave me a gift and brought me onto the floor and I had no choice but to dance, just he and I, with all eyes focused directly upon us.

But after I started I got a feeling for it and it was fun. Then everybody applauded and shouted and we had to dance an encore. Once again, it was fun.

Come next Kivgiq, I must give Isaac a gift. I know just what it will be. After I give it, I will have to dance again. I am not sure I can do it again.

We will see.

Kivgiq only happens every two years on the average, so I still have more than a year to prepare myself.

Barrow High School Whaler dancers, caught in video.

My sister, Mary Ellen Ahmaogak, whose Wainwright family adopted me.

The Barrow Dancers drum.

Rhea Frankson of Atqasuk, who knows how to make a mask of her own face. She makes everybody laugh.

Elvis Presley passes out gifts.

Steven Kaleak, an active National Guardsman who served in Iraq and expects to soon serve in Afghanistan. He is doing a dance in honor of all veterans and servicemen and women.

Young Tagiugmiut dancers paddle in pursuit of a dance bowhead whale.

Kaktovik does a dance where the men and women switch styles - the women stomping and dancing about energetically, the men standing in one place, feet together, trying to mimic feminine grace.

See the beautiful young woman dancing out front? That is Katheryn Aishanna. Once, when she was a little girl, I was in Kaktovik and was staying in the home of her grandparents. Her aunt and uncle wanted to have a night out, and so they asked me if I would babysit their kids and the others hanging out with them.

Katheryn was one of those kids. She was very mischievous. It was a rowdy and fun evening.

Now she is grown and dances beautifully, with exceptional grace.

Lela Ahgook of Anaktuvuk Pass, who makes beautiful caribou skin masks and has fed me caribou at her table.

Four Wainwright girls. 

Mary Ann Sundown, Yup'ik of Scammon Bay, 93 years old. She danced strong and energetic. Towards the end of her performance, someone spontaneously ran up and dropped some money in front of her.

Soon, everybody was dropping money before her.

Barrow dancers doing Kalukaq.

Back home in Wasilla, I found Kalib in Caleb's arms, looking at me through the backdoor window.

2009 in review - January: we attend Barack Obama's Inaugural, Margie breaks bones, a kind lady puts us up in her elegant guest house

As you can see, January, 2009, got off to a reasonably pleasant start. I was still recovering from my shoulder injury and replacement surgery nearly seven months earlier, but was doing better than the doctor had expected. Margie was Kalib's official babysitter while his parents went off to work.

She was loving every minute of it.

And we had a big and exciting trip planned.

That trip was to Washington, DC, to take part in the Inauguaration of President Barack Obama. I don't get a haircut and beard trim for just anyone, but, for the President of the United States, I figured I would do it.

So I went to see Celia and she did a good job.

This picture shocks me (not the one on the wall - that one just frustrates me - but the one of me). I now look more than just one-year older than I did here. That's the kind of year it has been - and it began in January.

Margie, Lisa and I flew to New York, because it was altogether to expensive to fly to Washington, DC. We rented a car for the shockingly low price of $23 a day and drove down. On January 20, I arose at 3:00 AM and rousted Margie and Lisa, to be certain that we would not miss the first train to roll through the Metro subway, scheduled to leave the Friendship Heights station in the Chevy Chase area at 4:20 AM.  We were the guests of Greg and Julie, an extremely nice couple who live across the street from Alice Rogoff, the philanthropist who founded the Alaska House New York,  and closely associated it with the Alaska Native Arts Foundation. She is now publisher of the online news magazine, The Alaska Dispatch.

Right on schedule, we boarded the Metro and found the crowd to be surprisingly light - until we reached the very next station. When the doors opened, people poured in - and they would continue to do so at each stop until no more would fit. It was hot in the train car and I began to sweat. 

The gentleman above joined us at an early stop. He brandished an American flag with an image of Barack Obama emblazoned on it. "I'm so happy!" he sang, joyously, "I'm from Africa, living in America, Africa, living in America, Barack Obama, I'm so happy..."

He sang too of his father, in Sierra Leone, who he wished could be here, in America, to celebrate this wonderful day. "I'm so happy, in America, from Africa. Barack Obama! Africa, America. I'm so happy."

I could detect nothing but happiness, joy and goodwill anywhere. Smiles abounded throughout the car, people of all race and background laughed and mingled with those nearby. There was no tension, not between races, not between individuals; good will abounded.

The day was off to a good start.

We who traveled down in the Metro flowed like rivers of humanity through the concrete channels that lace the earth beneath Washington, D.C. toward the grand confluence where we would soon converge into a sea of two million that would cover the entire National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol.

One river of humanity flows outward through the metro gates.

And then the flow goes up and out of the Metro at L'Enfant Plaza. 

I had managed to get two press passes - one for me and one for Lisa, to be my assistant and help me carry things. I thought this was going to be special and really give us access, but, as it turned out, the passes would allow us to go in and out of any area in the mall at will, and to a little bleacher area set up for photographers and such, but not up to the Capitol steps, where the swearing in would take place.

The bleacher area was not a place I wanted to take photos from and there was no way to move freely about, in and out, out and in, in this packed crowd. So we worked our way into as good a position as we seemed likely to get, staked our ground and there we stayed - for hours upon hours upon hours, in the cold.

And it was cold. Nothing like true Alaska cold, which, dressed as we were, would have killed us in that time, but none-the-less it was a long wait and it could have been unpleasant, but it wasn't. There was too much excitement and everyone around us was happy.

Finally, the President elect and wife Michele walked out. If you have really, really, good eyes, then you can see him right up there on the Capitol steps - but it is a lot easier just to look at the big monitor.

Obama steps up to be sworn in and to deliver his speech.

Yes, it was a joyous crowd.

Lisa listens intently as the man she campaigned so hard for speaks. She worked phone banks, she knocked on many doors. She carried signs. And when he won, she spontaneously went and bought herself a ticket. 

So Margie and I decided to come with her.

Faces in the crowd, as they listen to their new President, Barack Obama, deliver his Inaugural Address.

Lisa cheers for her new President.

Afterward, we found Margie. She was cold, but happy to have been there, to have witnessed history. We spent the next several hours in the mall area, but Lisa had found the on-location offices of MSNBC and did not want to leave.

So finally, about 8:00 PM, Margie and I boarded the train back to Friendship Heights and left Lisa on her own. This scared me a little bit, but she is an adult, after all. By now, we had bags full of souvenirs.

Between my cameras and our bags of souvenirs, including Lisa's, our hands were full as we stepped off the Metro train at Friendship Heights and rode the escalator to the surface.

We then stepped into the outside air, waited for the light to turn green and then stepped into the crosswalk. Margie walked right beside me as we crossed but then, just as I was about to step up onto the curb, she vanished. Then I heard a whimper. I turned, and found her lying in the gutter.

I went to help her up, but she could not get up - her pain was too great. Yet, she insisted that she was not badly hurt and would soon be okay.

Some passers by waved down a police car, and the officers quickly summoned an ambulance and a team of paramedics.

But Margie refused to get into the ambulance, or to let the paramedics do anything more than help her to her feet. Once standing, she could not move. The pain in her left knee and right wrist was too great. Still, she would not get into the ambulance.

I had parked the rental car about two blocks away. I went and got it, came back, picked her up and drove her to the hospital myself. There, we learned that she had fractured both her right knee and her left wrist.

We put in a long and miserable night - especially for Margie.

In the light of the day, I went back to check out the crack that had tripped her. This is it.

Please note that the wheels of the little red car are both inside the crosswalk. So is the crack. I remain angry about this. There are many poor neighborhoods in the Washington, DC, area, but this isn't one of them. They should have repaired this crack long before it reached this state.

In the daytime, I doubt that she would have tripped. But in the night, tired, after a long, long, day, cold, carrying bags of souvenirs, that crack got her.

And her life has never been the same since. She has not worked a day or earned even one single a dollar. She was part time, so there was no Workers Comp or unemployment for her (just as there was none for me as a self-employed freelance photographer after I got hurt). Worst of all, she has not been able to care for little Kalib as she had imagined she would.

For a brief moment, I thought about taking legal action, but then we just moved on with life instead.

Alice Rogoff had hosted Barrow's Suurimmaanitchuat Iñupiat Eskimo dancers in her guest house. Now, she moved us in and told us to stay for as long as we needed.

I do not know what we would have done if she had not done so. Days would pass before Margie could even think of moving out of this room - let alone traveling. 

Alice Rogoff - I can never thank you enough.

And what a guest house it was!

When finally we decided to leave, we knew Margie could not handle the long trip back to Alaska without a break. So we drove back to New York and then flew to Salt Lake City, where my sister, Mary Ann, at right, picked us up and took us to her house.

It had been a miserable flight. Margie could not get into the airplane restrooms, nor could she fit her leg under the seat in front of her. Before we left New York, I had to take her into a ladies room. It was embarrassing, but I had no choice. The ladies room was crowded, too, and the ladies looked at me strangely, but once they figured out was going on, they were cool with it.

And here she is, at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, after we got home. Today, as she limped and hobbled slowly about, I asked her if she was still glad she went to the Inaugural. 

"Yes," she said. 

Little Kalib had to enroll in day care. But he enjoys it there.

You can find my original coverage of the Inaugural here.  I ended that coverage with a statement that included these paragraphs:

True, as the situation grows worse, I suspect that even many who now cheer him will grow impatient and will issue their own harsh criticisms of the man they helped elect. Perhaps I will, myself.

Obviously, none of us can yet know how well our new President will handle the many crisis that he inherited and he will undoubtedly make some bad mistakes. For this, he will be loudly condemned.

Yet, it is my personal belief that, right now, the United States of America is in need of a leader the likes of which we have not seen at least since World War II. A great leader. As Colin Powell said, a transformational leader. One who can not only inspire us but convince us to make the kinds of sacrifice that we modern day Americans do not like to make.

Considering the challenges, without such a leader, it seems unlikely that United States will continue as the great power that it has been since World War II. Looking at all of our national leaders, in all parties, I do not see the potential of such a leader except in one individual: our new President, Barack Obama. I do believe he has that potential. Whether the potential will be fulfilled, I do not know. 

I still hold to this statement and continue to believe the above words to be true.

Please note: A separate entry, titled Today in Wasilla, was posted 20 minutes prior to this one.

Today in Wasilla: I see great beauty in the sky; a raven passes over me; a snowmachine shoots past; I hear, "North, to Alaska!"

I took my walk late this morning, shortly after the sun rose. I looked up and saw great beauty in the sky.

Further along, a raven passed over me.

As I walked, I heard the loud whine of a snow machine, being throttled nearly to the red line - maybe even over. Worried that I might be in its path, I turned and saw that it was still about a block-and-a-half away, coming extremely fast, but had gone onto Seldon Street.

I hurriedly pulled out my new pocket camera and turned it on, barely in time to get this one frame before it shot past and disappeared.

I mean, this snow machine was going fast. Sixty, at the very least. I think maybe faster than that.

A bit after noon, I was in my car when "North! To Alaska!" came on the radio, sung by Johnny Horton. I am listening to it at this very moment, as I wait at the stop sign for this truck to pass.

I can't sing worth a damn - but damn! I am singing, anyway.

"North! To Alaska!"

Yeah, baby! That's right.

And God, I love it!

Don't get offended - I'm not taking the Lord's name in vain. I'm thanking Him. Or Her. Whatever you wish to believe.

I don't know.

I'm just damned thankful, that's all.

Please note: Today begins my review by month of 2009. January will go up 20 minutes after this post.

Kalib blows out his own candle to become a "terrible two" - 2009 in review will begin tomorrow

I shot this about 3:25 PM, on the Parks Highway as Margie and I headed to Anchorage for Kalib's second birthday party. If we were on true solar time, this is what it would like at 2:30, but we are not. When we first arrived in Alaska, the state spanned four time zones - just like the Lower 48.

That makes sense, because if you lay the map of Alaska over one of the Lower 48, the Southeast panhandle is in Florida, the Aleutians reach to the California coast and Barrow is not far from Chicago.

There was a movement going on at that time to move the capitol to Willow, just north of here and one of the arguments was that Juneau was just too far away from much of Alaska, in time as well as in miles. Government workers in Juneau would be home eating dinner when Alaskans further west where it was mid-afternoon wanted to call them.

So, with the exception of Attu Island, which has been restricted to the US Navy since World War II, the entire state was crammed into one time zone.

The good news, of course, is that the days are getting longer now.

On the bad side, the weather right now is horribly warm - mid 30's here in Wasilla, just a little cooler in Anchorage. A warm mass of air moved up here from Hawaii and our cold air headed south, into the midwest. I just hope it doesn't get any warmer than it already is and that a cold front moves in, soon.

I hated this kind of winter weather.

Just about anytime a hard cold snap hits down there, it is because it got warm up here and the cold air had to go somewhere.

We found Kalib planted firmly on his little Spiderman throne, watching the animated film, Ice Age, for about the 90th time. He was riveted and did not want to be distracted by anything.

Out in the kitchen, his mom was breaking eggs to make a cake.

Yesterday, I mentioned Rex's buddy, Eddie, who now lives in Seattle but who grew up with Rex here in Wasilla. This is he. He was telling me about his new business venture, which I will not detail here, save to say that in the last few weeks he has sold product worth far more money than I have ever come close to dealing with.

To do so, he had to run up enormous debts, so he is holding his breath right now.

We used to go watch him and Rex play Youth League football together, and drop them off here and there to go fishing. Sometimes, they would go on long canoe trips.

Eddie served two years as a Mormon missionary and the letters he wrote were brilliant, like Mark Twain. Irreverent, like Mark Twain, too.

That may not be the kind of writing you would expect from a Mormon missionary, but it was the kind of writing he did.

But, like me, he doesn't really follow any particular religion anymore.

I kind of freaked out when I saw Melanie standing on this stool. That's what happens when you fall off a chair, shatter your shoulder, get it replaced and then realize you are never, ever, going to get quite back to where you were.

"Dad," she chided me, "at least this isn't on wheels."

Just then, a big "pop!" sounded beneath her. She gingerly climbed down.

Charlie and Rex eat their salad and mac and cheese. Kalib is still watching movies, but has switched to his other favorite, Cars.

Caleb went out to feed Kalib, just to make certain that he got to eat part of his own birthday dinner. Do you see why I refer to this little chair as Kalib's throne?

He did not want to leave the TV, but the cake finally lured him in. Anyone who has been with this blog for the past few months has seen Kalib helping to blow out other people's candles, but this one is just for him.

He blows it out.

And then he eats cake and ice cream. Sometimes, his dad is a bit over-indulgent.

Chock full of new calories, Kalib then went on a maddening spree, sprinting back and forth between the kitchen and the living room.

He received many gifts, but the most impressive was this T-Rex from his parents. This T-Rex walks. It opens its jaws and roars - as it is doing here.

Kalib is a little worried.

Kalib studied the T-Rex closely and bravely, but he could not be persuaded to touch it.

Let there be no doubt - Lisa came to celebrate, too.

For the remainder of the year, I will do a review of 2009. I won't call it "the best of" just "a review of." I will use some pictures that have already appeared here, and some  that, for one reason or another - usually lack of time - didn't.

As I do, I will also include something from the current day.

Christmas Day: It's gone now, but I remain stuffed and full, blessed with wealth, even in tight times

The preparations had been going on for quite awhile by now, but I had not been ambitious enough to take a picture. After Margie baked these cookies, Charlie did some artistic decorating. Lisa was amused.

Out in the living room, the good black cat Jim stepped into the shadow to eat tinsel and study the gifts that waited under the tree.

Charlie takes a picture of his cookie artwork as Melanie, Lavina and Margie keep on cooking.

As I take a picture of Charlie's artwork, Jacob reaches in to begin destroying it.

Kalib is impatient and tugs at his mom. No, they did not stay here last night. They drove out in their pajamas.

Many gifts were given. Lavina gave Jacob a new electric razor.

I gave Lisa a framed picture of her buddy, Juniper.

Margie gave me the pig. I gave her the salt and pepper shakers. We were both very pleased.

And here is a camera that Margie and I gave to Rex. He is going to Seattle next week to hang out with his buddy and he will need to take some pictures.

Charlie with a little, cast-iron, bird that I gave him.

Caleb got some tires with snow studs for his bike.

Kalib opens up a gift from his Uncle Caleb. Uncle Caleb was born with a magnificent artistic talent, but he has never come around to harnessing it. A good uncle teaches his nephew, so maybe they can help each other.

Charlie blessed the food. It was an unconventional blessing, but he said he was glad to be part of this family. We are glad, too. I took no more dinner pictures after this, because I was too busy eating.

Kalib feeds turkey to his buddy, Royce.

Later, we came back to the table to eat pie and fruit goup.

As good as it was to be together, to exchange gifts and to eat, the day still came pierced by a huge hole. If it is a little hard to read at this size, the words on Rex's shirt say, "Table for one."

It is still a big and painful mystery to all of us why Stephanie up and walked out, but she did and there is nothing to be done about it. Rex has asked us all to think of her kindly and lovingly.

Rex left first, to go meet his buddy, Eddie, who now lives in Seattle but is also in Wasilla to visit his family.

I never stepped outside today. Just before they all left, I laid down upon the couch and was soon covered by a cat blanket. I normally step out onto the porch to wave goodbye to everybody as they leave, but I was too sleepy and these cats felt too good.

So, one by one, the departers came to the couch to give me a hug, then they all went out the door and drove away. I stayed put on the couch for a very long time.

Guess what? Kalib turns two December 26 - hey! That's today! - so, after we get some sleep, we will all gather together again.