Jobe's parents come to get him; Kalib loses his spatula - what could take its place? Two beggar boys and a puppy; tomorrow, I return to Kivgiq

In the morning, Jobe's parents called to tell us they were about to leave Anchorage to drive to Wasilla. They suggested that we meet them at IHOP, where they would buy us breakfast.

So, about 45 minutes later, I bundled Jobe up and packed him into his car seat.

Then we were all together in IHOP and it was busy there - as it always is on a Sunday morning.

Jobe was happy to see his parents, alright, but the moment after he exchanged his greetings with them, he wanted to come back to his grandpa.

That's just how it is with Jobe and me.

Kalib, however, was most content to settle down in the loving arms of his mom.

Except that he also wanted to spend time with his dad. 

Jobe did find himself the recipient of some special Mom love, but even then his mind was on grandpa.

We returned home and in a bit Jobe's Uncle Rex showed up. Jobe was glad to see him, but still his thoughts were on grandpa.

Then Dad decided to read a book to Jobe. For a moment, Jobe was interested.

Then he decided he would rather be held by his grandpa than to hear how the story came out. So he pushed away from his dad...

...and came to me, so that I could hold him, which I did. Afterward, I decided that I had better go into my office, so that Jobe could visit other people. Plus, I had to put up yesterday's blog post.

Perhaps one day, Jobe will rebel, as young people do, and grow tired of his old grandpa. Perhaps Jobe will avoid me then, strive not to be seen by his peers with me.

Perhaps not. Perhaps he will be one of those young people who hangs tight with grandpa, no matter what.

He will always know his grandpa loves him. And, whether his rebellion draws him away from me for a time or not, I will know that he loves me, too.

He has already made it manifest. Such love does not just go away, but survives through youthful rebellion.

Plus, maybe before he hits that rebellion we will catch some fish together and cook them over hot coals and then eat them and then, even when he is rebelling, he will sometimes remember such moments fondly.

Jobe - my canoe has been dormant since I shattered my shoulder, but it will soon be time to activate it again.

Maybe Kalib, The Spatula Kid, can cook those fish for us. But it was kind of sad - Kalib came to the house with no spatula. His spatula is lost. No one can find it. His parents tried to give him another, but he would not accept it. It was THAT spatula or no spatula.

So he found a pair of tongs and has been packing those around instead. I understand that he has used them to turn hot dogs over, or maybe it was hamburgers.

He finds the tongs to be good for grabbing many things.

Still, I hope the spatula is soon found.

If it is, will he still want it?

Or will he only want the tongs, now?

Now that he has learned that he can grab things with them.

Just be careful what you grab, Kalib - especially when it comes to human and cat body parts.

When it came time to go, Kalib headed to the car with his parents. Jobe did, too. 

This is the last day of the three day weekend and I have actually managed to rest up a bit. Tomorrow, I will return to my Kivgiq photos.

And this from India: Two beggar boys and a puppy

At one stop, I came upon these boys and this puppy. They were beggar boys, hoping to get a few coins from anyone who would give them. I believe that I have mentioned this before, but I was counseled by a number of sources not to give money to the beggars. I was told that what I could not see on the streets was the Fagan-like scroundrels operating unseen in the background - unscrupulous, cruel individuals who would send young children, mothers, and old people out onto the streets to beg and who would then collect the bulk of their earnings and keep them for themselves.

As to adult beggars who might not be tied into such rings, I was told that most of them were people who could work but who had chosen not to, but to beg instead and I should not encourage them. There are temples all about India where food is gathered in generous quantities and served to the poor, that none are turned away, that those who truly need it can find sustenance at these temples and that those who truly want to help donate to the temples - not the beggars themselves.

Still, it was very hard for me and I did pass on a number coins in India. Even if it should be true that a Fagan-like character was going going to take most of the money I gave to a child or mother of the street, that child or mother's survival is still tied to whether or not he or she is going to bring back enough revenue to stave off the wrath of Fagan.

The fact is, though, that so many people are out begging that one with limited resources himself can only give out so many coins and then he must stop or he will have no more coins for himself.

I have found this to be true in many American cities as well.

The bigger boy wanted me to photograph him with the puppy, but he did not want the little boy to be in the picture.

The little boy was determined to be in the picture.

I believe that I have also noted that in the short time that we were blessed to spend with Soundarya and Anil, who truly did not have that much themselves and would struggle with financial matters up until their deaths, on a number of times I saw one, the other, or both of them step quietly aside to give a coin to a beggar.

That's how my Sandy was - and her husband, too.

Generous people, both.

View images as slide show

From morning cradle board to evening cradle board - my day with Jobe, as seen in 23 images

Jobe in the morning.

Jobe at bedtime. 

Okay, I am going to try an experiment. I doubt that it will succeed very well, as similar experiments that I have done in the past have not, but I will give it a try, anyway. I prepared 23 images for today's post, but, as you can see, there are only two here - the very first image of the series and the very last.

All 23 are in the slideshow, so anyone who wants to see the entire presentation can. I am doing it this way because it is Sunday afternoon, Jobe is still here, his parents are here, his brother Kalib is here, Rex just arrived and Melanie and Charlie are apparently on their way.

So, every minute that I spend working on this blog is a minute that I spend away from my family on a Sunday afternoon when all but one of them are here.

Anyway, this is the basic story that unfolds in the pictures:

Jobe begins the day asleep, but I catch him just as he wakes in the Apache cradleboard - that his grandmother Rose made so lovingly for his Uncle Rex more than three decades ago down in White Mountain Apache country. Of course, Jobe has his own cradle-board, made with equal love by his Aunt LeeAnn just for him, but that board stayed at his home in Anchorage.

For the rest of this very sleepy day - for me, anyway, as I was dog-tired - he adores his grandpa and his grandpa adores him. No matter who he is with or what he is doing, the moment he lays his eyes upon his grandpa, he wants to be with his grandpa. This is true whether I have my camera or not. It's just that in the cases that I do have it, I took no pictures and so cannot show you proof.

When I leave the room, he cries. I cannot show you this, either, because I am out of the room and therefore cannot photograph what goes on inside. This is what Margie has reported to me and she is honest beyond all reason and logic.

At one point, we take a drive. I stop by the Little Su for a self-portrait of Jobe and me - one of three self-portraits of the two of us in the series.

In the evening, I catch him and Caleb on the couch. Caleb is playing war games on the internet with friends from all over. Some of them lose control and swear and cuss and we can hear it when they do. 

Caleb has a picture of an angry Geronimo on his t-shirt and Jobe looks sweet. This, of course, makes me think of what a hard world this sweet baby has been brought into. I wonder what hardships and battles he might face in the future.

To Jobe, although he does not yet know it, Geronimo is not just abstract figure to romanticize, Geronimo is a part of his direct heritage. I am not saying that he has any Geronimo blood in him - it is possible, I don't know - but I am certain that his direct ancestors and Geronimo knew each other. 

Before we moved to Alaska, we lived nine miles from a cave that Geronimo used to hide out from the Army in. The story is much more complicated than just about anyone knows, but m

y friend, Dustinn Craig, son of Vincent Craig, is working on a film that will tell that story. It is a big challenge for him and a hard story to tell because it is one where the US managed to pit Apache against Apache and a truthful telling of the story will cause pain to many. All this may have happened 150 years ago, but in the country where it happened and among the people that it happened to, the wounds remain fresh and deep.

I believe Dustinn is up to the challenge, though. I am glad that this film is being made by an Apache/Navajo filmmaker, one with both talent, curiosity and integrity.

The final three pictures in the series were taken with my iPhone, so that I could text them to Lavina so she and Jake would know that their baby was warm, safe and loved.

View of the full 23 image slideshow of my sleepy Saturday spent with Jobe

Kivgiq, 2011, part 6, day 2a: My Kivgiq work gets interrupted by family and love

Earlier today, I was busily editing day 2 of Kivgiq and I kept seeing the words, "Family" and "love," - just like you see them here, behind the Kaktovik drummers.

There was evidence of "family" and "love" all around - sometimes mixed with a bit of mischief, such as when little Jessie James Bodfish Panik of Wainwright boy went running across the dance stage with a drum stick.

Of course, today when I would look at such pictures, I would think of my own family, especially my own small grandsons, Kalib and Jobe.

I have pretty much been alone all week. On Monday, we got a call from Jacob. Lavina was not feeling well and needed help with the little ones. So Monday afternoon - our anniversary - I drove Margie into town, dropped her off to help with Kalib and Jobe and then turned right around and drove back home to Wasilla.

In the time since, except for momentarily glimpses of Caleb just before he goes to bed after working his night shift, I have been all alone.

It doesn't bother me to be alone, not when I have all these pictures to sort through and edit. I can just go and go and go without interruption and so I do.

Perhaps too much. Without Margie here to rein me in a bit, I tend not to stop, but to keep going when I should give up and go to bed. I posted last night's blog at 2:04 AM, for example, then stayed right here, at this computer and dabbled with other things until about 4:00 AM.

I did not expect to see Margie until this evening, but, right after lunch, I heard a knock upon my office door. Guess who was here?

This guy, Jobe! Lavina was feeling much better and had driven Margie home.

I'm afraid my work fell apart after that. My picture editing slowed down to almost nothing.

I accomplished very little workwise, but accomplished a bit more "family" and "love" wise.

Kalib came, too, but he had fallen asleep in the car and never woke up. Lavina soon left, taking the sleeping Kalib with her. She left Jobe to spend all or part of the weekend with us - depending on how lonely she gets without him.

And I discovered something else late this afternoon. Monday is a holiday. That makes this a three-day weekend. My readership tends to drop off on weekends - especially three day weekends.

And the truth is, I am very tired. "Exhausted" would be a better word. I pushed myself hard day and night during Kivgiq and I have done the same since my return.

So I decided to take it a little easy this weekend - to get some visiting done with Jobe. I will keep editing my Kivgiq pictures, but I will hold my further Kivgiq posts until the weekend has passed. By then, maybe I will have a better handle on the material that I have.

I will still make little posts through the weekend - maybe on Jobe, or whatever. 

Then, on Tuesday, I will resume my Kivgiq posts. I am not covering a news story anymore anyway. I am now putting out a record of a historical event - but one that I want to share the pictures from, particularly with my friends on the Arctic Slope but also with anyone else who is interested. It's going to take more time than I originally anticiapated, but that's okay.

Maybe I will find some time this weekend to hang out with moose. I found this mom and her two nearly grown calves as I was driving home from my coffee break.

View images as slide show

Kivgiq, 2011, part 5, day 1d: The feast of Kivgiq, followed by a Singspiration night of Gospel singing

Half-an-hour after the dancing ended, it was time for the Feast of Kivgiq. I was walking aimlessly among the tables set up in the gymnasium of Ipalook Elementary School with my camera when Janie Snyder, middle, invited me to sit at this table. So I did. Soon, the blessing was said.

The lady to the left is Ida Alexie, from Bethel. I can't remember her last name. The lady to the right is from Kotzebue and her last name is Booth. I can't remember her first. If anyone gives me her name, I will add it in later.

Then people got in line... and it was a long line, much longer than you see here.

The line filed into the serving area of the cafeteria - on one side, there was standard American fare...

...and on the other, Iñupiaq food, provided by the sea, rivers, land and sky. I got some of both. I enjoyed the Iñupiaq food most, except maybe for the pie. I really loved the pie.

It just happened to be the birthday of Ethel Nungasuk. Not only did she get cake, but she got some extra bags of Iñupiaq food to take home.

Roy and Ida Alexie, from Bethel. Roy insisted that I call him Grandpa, so I did. It made me feel like a young kid again.

Once the feast was done, it was time for the Singspiration to start. I should note that in every village on the Arctic Slope, Wednesday night is Singspiration night.

The Kivgiq singspiration is extra special, because singers and musicians from all across the Arctic come to participate.

Above is Herman Ahsoak, Fred Elavgak, Tom Opie - all of Barrow - and Johnny Nayukok of Atqasuk, in his 80's and still making good music.

The entire congregation joined in for the first hymn, "How Great Thou Art." I've stated this before, but until you have heard this hymn performed by an Iñupiat, Alaska Native, choir or congregation, you haven't really heard it at all. Elvis sang it and he did a good job, but nothing like the Iñupiat.

My mother loved that song, so when she died I made certain it was on her funeral program. My cousin Karen played the organ and she did a beautiful job, but I was so disappointed in the singing! I wanted to hear it as I hear it here.

Well, there is a much bigger story involving this song, my mother and the Iñupiat choir. I've told only a small piece of it. One day, perhaps not until after I succeed at starting my online electronic magazine, I will tell the full story.

Maybe I will make that story the first story that I tell in my magazine.

Don't be surprised if you read it and cry.

Rex Okakok and Wesley Aiken, father of my friend, Larry Aiken, sing "How Great Thou Art." When Kivgiq was restored in 1988, Rex was the force that spearheaded the research and organization of it.

Barrow started the group singing, and there was laughter, too.

Mayor Itta, his wife Elsie and a good number of his extended family, including his mother, Molly, sang several gospel songs.

Gospel singers from Tikigaq - Point Hope.

Jonathan Aiken, Jr. 

Whyborn Nungasuk of Atqasuk plays his harmonica. Once, when I was hanging out in Atqasuk, Whyborn invited me over for fresh caribou. He told me how one time a year or so earlier, he had been out hunting, had done well and was coming home with his four wheeler and wagon packed with caribou.

He had a little accident and the four wheeler flipped in a pool of water, trapping him beneath it, pushing him down into the water. The four wheeler was so heavily laden with caribou that he could not budge it. It was going to crush and drown him and he was helpless to get out from under it.

So he called out to Jesus. Then he told me he felt what he is certain was the hands of Jesus take hold of that four wheeler and help pull it off of him.

Gospel singers from Wainwright.

Margaret Opie, her granddaughter Makku, Josiah Patokak and Darlene Matumeak join other members of the Suurimaaŋitchuat Dancers in singing a hymn in memory of the late Warren Matumeak - the Atiŋa Jesus,"  was composed by Warren himself. Suurimaaŋitchuat also sang Warren's arrangement of "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus."

Barrow High School singers.

Kaktovik singers. At any Singspiration, people are reminded of loved ones lost and there is comfort to be found in the tears that are shed.

At this last Kivgiq Singspiration, those who shed tears in memory of loved ones lost included me as well.

Kaktovik.

Baby Alfred Leon Tukle, in the crowd.

Katheryn Aishanna, Kaktovik.

Anaktuvuk Pass.

Lela Ahgook and Rachel Riley of Anaktuvuk Pass.

Nuiqsut.

Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Andrew Gordon, Aklavik, Northwest Territories. 

This guy can sing! And he gets everybody going.

And hey - here' something... I have been listening to Hank Williams on my iPhone headphones as I have been working on this - a mix of Gospel, barroom, broken hearts and country in general.

Guess what song just came on?

Praise the Lord, I Saw the Light!

Hank Williams!

I think he would have enjoyed Singspiration. He would have joined in, too.

And that ends it for me tonight. It's after 2:00 AM. I better stop so that I can do some Facebooking and send an email or two out before I go to bed and start working with my Kivgiq photos all over again.

More Kivgiq to come.

Lots more!

View images as slide show

Kivgiq, 2011, part 4, day 1c: the Barrow groups perform dances of welcome

Please note: The slide show contains 20 additional images not included in the post. Plus, depending on the size of the reader's screen, the images appear substantial larger in the slide show.

In the afternoon of the first day, after Point Lay had been honored to open the dancing, the four Barrow dance groups each took their turn to dance a welcome to all the visitors who had come to their town. For the most part, they performed "fun dances," where everyone is invited to join in and dance just for the enjoyment of it.

The Barrow Dancers did open with some motion dancing, in which stories are told through hand, foot and body motions.

Here, a group of dancers, led by Joe Sage, tell the story of a successful whale hunt. Here, Joe has spotted a bowhead whale. Soon that whale will be harpooned and a prayer will be offered for it.

Unless you came here yesterday and at first found a post with no pictures or working links to the slide show, please feel free to skip the italicized paragraphs altogether. Please just move right on to the remaining dance photos.

For any readers who may have come here yesterday and found a post with no pictures, but only a long, inexplicable column of words explaining images that could not be seen, I must apologize.

Here is what happened:

After spending a good many hours editing, processing, placing and writing, I did in fact create a complete blog post. All the pictures were there. I then took a rolling coffee break in my Ford Escape. It was my intent to come home from that break and promptly put up the previous post focused on Point Lay winning the race, lighting the lamp and conducting the first dance.

However, there is a Squarespace ap in my iPhone that allows me to work on my blog right on the phone (although the feature does not work in Barrow or anywhere on the Slope). I had just upgraded that ap Monday evening. A feature in it had changed and so I had contacted Squarespace support and they had informed me how to deal with that change.

It is tedious ap to work with and for the most part I avoid it, but, after I picked up my coffee, a comment came in. I pulled into the Carr's parking lot to approve it. 

That comment let me know that I had made a mistake in my text. To correct it, I needed to replace one word with another and that is all. So I did, using the Squarespace ap on my iPhone.

I then wandered about, sipping my coffee, studying the scenery and observing ravens. I had forgot to bring my camera, so I could not take any pictures.

After I returned home, I found some Facebook messages from readers informing me that they were not seeing any pictures on my post, and that the links I had placed to the slide show did not work.

So I returned to my page, which was still up on my computer. It looked fine. I clicked the links to the slide show. They worked perfectly. So I thought something must be awry with my readers' browzers.

Then I started getting emails making the same complaint.

It then occurred to me that the page complete with photographs that I was looking at had not been refreshed since before I took my coffee break. So I refreshed it. All the photos disappeared. All the links vanished. Only words were left.

So I contacted Squarespace support. Oh, they casually informed me, there is a bug in the new ap and if you use the ap to do anything with text, it will remove all your photos and break all your links.

SQUARESPACE!!!!!!!

If there new ap upgrade destroys posts, one would think they would inform those who have upgraded not to use it - especially since I had got their help on another matter just the day before.

I suppose it would take a little and effort for someone on their staff to inform their customers that the new ap could wipe out their work and they do not consider that time and effort to be worth it. They would rather waste the time and effort of their customers.

So I had to rebuild that post all over again. This meant that my post was up for at least two hours with no pictures and all links broken.

Afterward, I was so exasperated and exhausted (I have yet to get rested up after the big push to cover Kivgiq) that I did not post the race/lamp/first dance until just after midnight.

The Barrow Dancers perform.

Judge Michael Jeffries first came to Barrow approximately 30 years ago, as a young attorney working, if I recall correctly, for Alaska Legal Services. He was a vegetarian at the time, but he had to eat and he also found that in a place such as Barrow, it is hard to do anything in the outdoors and still stay warm if one sticks to a vegetarian.

So he began Iñupiaq food, including whale. And then he began to dance, and the Barrow dancers took him in. He learned to motion dance. Long ago, he became a popular dancer and remains so today.

Herman Ahsoak, a popular dancer, took a break from Kivgiq for awhile, but now he is back. It was good to see Herman dance again.

The Barrow Dancers!

In my post yesterday morning, I included a picture from the grand entry that showed two of the granddaughters of Warren Matumeak, Karmen and her cousin Allana Nageak, leading Suurimaaŋitchuat onto the dance floor. Now two of his granddaughters dance beside that photo as Suurimaaŋitchuat hosts a fun dance.

In the photo, Warren dances with his niece, Mae Ahgeak, who he saw as a daughter and who saw him as a father, and with his daughter Darlene Matumeak-Kagak.

Karmen is the older of the two cousins - by 24 hours!

Suurimaaŋitchuat fun dance. 

The dance ends in hugs.

Nuvugmiut Dancers perform a motion dance.

Fannie Akpik of Nuvugmiut. The members of this dance group all come from families that once lived at Nuvug, or Point Barrow, where many still keep cabins and spend time duck hunting and fishing.

Nuvugmiut drummers.

Georgia Fischer of Nuvugmiut. Georgia is the daughter of Bun Bun Fischer and Mabel Kaleak.

The last dance group to perform in the afternoon of the first day was Taġiuġmiut. They invited members of the King Island Dancers to come onto the floor and do a fun dance.

Taġiuġmiut dance leaders Vernon and Isabelle Elavgak join in the fun dance.

Young Taġiuġmiut drummers.

Taġiuġmiut.

Jo Jo Brower dances with husband Arnold Jr. in a fun dance.

Next would be the feast of Kivgiq, followed by the Wednesday night Singspiration perfomance of Gospel music. It is now 7:15 PM. I will take a little break, eat, do whatever, and see if I can post the feast and Singspiration by midnight, or shortly thereafter.

To see these, plus 20 more images from Wednesday afternoon, as a slide show, please click here.