Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1994 It’s finally happened. We’ve run out of green chile. The 25 cans of this precious commodity that we packed into every available extra space in the 20 bags, trunks, and suitcases we flew in with to Nome are used up. So now we’re in trouble.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1994 My sons have heard the story of the threatened diphtheria epidemic in Nome nearly 70 years ago. I’ve read them the stories of the cylinder packed with the 300,000 units of serum on the train to Nenana, the great hearts of Balto and Togo, and the courage […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1994 When we first arrived in Nome I picked up the “Historical Walking Tour of Nome, Alaska” brochure down at the Carrie McLain Memorial Museum and oriented my sons to the town with some of the historical locations included. From the Sandspit to the Old Federal Building, we […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1995 Every woman in America has to make some kind of peace with Barbie. The doll with the flaxen blonde hair, anorexic waist, and pink, wrinkle-free plastic skin has become an icon we live and fight with everyday. You don’t have to watch too many TV shows or […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1994 I grew up on a beach in California. I’ve lolled on the pebbles below the cliffs of Dover and watched the Italian Punch and Judy shows on the crowded sands of Salerno. I’ve swum in the Atlantic in Maine and Miami Beach and lived for two years […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1995 There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who write poems for gold; Robert William Service wrote 19 books of verses then died in Monaco 37 years ago; Though he wasn’t a Shakespeare, he captured the feel here And in the ways of […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1995 The public relations woman at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History knew why I was calling as soon as I said where I was from. After all, Nome and Cleveland go together like reindeer steak and eggs. She wouldn’t have dreamed of saying, “You’re from Nome, Alaska? […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1995 It’s catalogue time in Nome. I carry an empty plastic bag when I go down to our post office this time of year because everyday I find in my box a great paper jellyroll of slick enticements to buy. Today I found ordering information for kids’ toys, […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1994 A picture of most Nomeites’ home interiors will reveal stuff stacked all over the place. Maybe it’s because most of our houses and apartments are so small, or we just like to have piles of stuff close by. Or maybe it’s because we don’t just don’t care […]
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1994 I had been looking up at the outcrop on top of Anvil Mountain ever since we arrived in Nome. It really does look like an anvil. Somebody must have carved it and set it up there, right? I’ll bet some miners hauled it up there as a […]
