The Day I Think I Didn't Meet Tom Bodett - Alaska

After a day of revisiting sites around Anchorage a lady friend of mine and I headed down the coastal highway along Turnagain Arm toward the Kenai Peninsula.  Our first stop was Homer.  We stayed at a place called Land’s End which was just that, resting at the end of a spit about as far south as you could go on the Kenai.  Homer was not much of a place but typical of an Alaskan coastal fishing tourist town.  Land’s End was nice but not fancy although it did have a magnificent deck attached to a quaint little bar overlooking the ocean and scattered islands.  Our room was not ready so we had to wait, and then wait, and then wait some more.  Due to the bar, I was not upset by the wait and watched the fishing boats return to port.  We waited so long, however, that I very graciously requested some sort of reparation and after receiving one, I said my friend needed one, too.  We dined on Oysters Rockefeller that night.  It was the first time I had tasted them and I even liked them.

Now what does all that have to do with Tom Bodett?  As I was standing by the reception desk one of the several times I went to enquire about the room saw several people talking about their trip.  One  guy seemed to be in charge of the group and while he was talking to the receptionist she offered to have his bags taken to his room.  He declined and said he would take care of them. The fellow did not look familiar to me but his voice sounded like I had heard it before.  Later I heard that Tom Bodett of Motel 6 fame, lived in Homer and owned Land's End.  I know now he lived in Homer but I am not sure he owns or owned Land's End and I am not sure it was even he or him, depending on if you come from Homer or Seward.

A friend of mine told me that Mr. Bodett's writings and musings reminded him of mine.  Sort of flattering but not sure of the accuracy.  I would like to have met Mr. Bodett and if you are reading this blog, Tom, I want you to know you are invited to visit my house anytime you want or if one of you readers out there know Tom please pass on the message.  Needless to say I will keep the light on for him.

Deutschland Diary -9

Thursday Sept 26, 1984

We have moved twice more since my last entry.  Schutelburg then to Elsburg.  If some day in the future we all get out a map and try to find these places we wont be able to because I am sure I am not spelling them correctly.

Apparently the war will be over tomorrow around 4 pm.

Following are some character sketches of some of the people I have met here:

Lt Phares.  Young, immature looking but a career soldier.  He is competent and will make a good officer.  He is the type of guy who make you glad the civilians have control of the military.  Regular Army.

Capt. Davis - Worked as my counter part during my off shift. Comes from a military family.  Good officer. Regular Army.

Capt. Spencer- Chemical Officer with little to do.  He gets all the misc. details.  Reservist or Vol Indef.

MSG Rodriquez - Big Mexican from Texas.  Loud mouth.  But not a bad sort.

MSG Barber - The best NCO of the lot.  Laied back but can kick ass if he has to.

LTC Ford -  I knew him from Golden Saber exercise in Texas and a few guard drills.  He is the DIV ARTY XO.  Good man, competent.  Not many of the guard guys like him though. I am one of the few.  I don't think he cares much for guardsman.

LTC Sanders - S3, OK guy.  Don't know much about him.  Jerry worked with him a lot.

Col. Miller - CO. I had no relationship with him at allThere are others of course but when I begin to write there is nothing a whole lot to say.

 Just a bunch of guys thrown together, ships passing in the night, a shared experience but then barely a glimpse and then gone forever.  Such is army life I guess.

The army has some definite problems but it is easy to be critical unless you have tried to coordinate tactics and logistics for 15000 people.  That is just our side.  The other side (the Orange Force) has about the same number.

This exercise if I had to put it one word to describe how I feel about it is Cold.  I have not been worm since I have been here.  I can't wait to get home.

Deutschland Diary - some pictures

Deutschland Diary 8

Wather torcher insturment

24 September in the evening

Being back in camp is not all that fun.  All you have to do is sit around and smoke or sleep.  Seems like some of the guys, especially the career regular types always have something to do but I can never really figure out what it is.

One thing I forgot to mention about this weekend.  We met a spy, or perhaps an official spy.  It seems like there is some sort of program or agreement between the east and west that the other side can follow troop movements around.  Meaning we can send people over to watch them and they (Russians) send people over to watch us.  They are supposed to be in uniform and can even use our PX.

Thomas was our intelligence officer and took his job seriously.  He was always looking for spooks, cautioning us on what we said and when we said it.  He noticed in the guesthouse Saturday that there was this one guy who kept circling around trying to talk to a lot of our group.  He mentioned this to Ollie and Rolf.  Ollie and Rolf went over and talked to the guy, didn't particularly like what they heard I guess and took him out side never to be heard of or mentioned again, at least by us.   Probably the guy was just interested in what we Americans thought of being stationed in Germany etc.  Sort of like I might want to do if I found myself surrounded by a bunch of Russian soldiers.  I'd ask a lot of questions also, still would, but I would keep a closer look out for the KGB I guess.

Ollie is a tall slender guy who has an extra long fingernail on his little finger, wears an earring while off duty, has a faint blond beard, and light red hair.  He speaks excellent English.  His two grandfathers were reported missing on the Eastern Front during WWII fighting the Russians.  He says "they were lost on the field of honor."

Rolf is about 5'10" and heavy set.  He drinks beer for breakfast.  He is a little older than Ollie, about 27, seems to have an eye for the black women soldiers, and looks the very part of a Gestapo Agent.  He looks at his assignment as a vacation.  His English is not real good but better than my German.  We communicate with sign and symbols.  His Grandfathers fought against the Americans, one of the view Germans who didn't fight the Russians if you would believe what the locals tell you.  One lived to a ripe old age and was in the regular German Army Rolf says and his other Grandfather was a pilot and shot down over France and died.

Sort of strange now I guess.  We are all friends.  With just the spans of a few years we could have been trying to kill each other right now.  I am not the first one to see the ironic situation.  Rolf did communicate to me one time though, that he thought his country was getting a little too leftest leaning and with the people like the Red Brigade running around that perhaps "we need (then he would hold up his thumb and index finger and shape like a C)  just a little bit of Hitler."  He is probably not alone in his thinking, there or in the US.

Deutschland Diary 7, part 3

That night I met Jerry's in-laws and we all had dinner within the walled city.  I had sourbraten, red cabbage, and round mashed potatoes that were made in to a ball naturally.

The next morning Ollie, Rolf, Thomas and I went to a castle.  It was owned by a relative of the Queen of England.  We also toured a car museum.  For lunch I had Pepper Schnitzel  We then went bact ot our camp site and got ready to move out again.

Deutschland Diary 7, continued

I wish you all could have gone on the walk with me.  I wont go into a lot of detail about the town, but there is a book around somewhere that describes it pretty well and of course there is always the encyclopedia.  I did see a church that was built around 1300.  Many shops, guesthouses, meat markets, and cafes.

I spent most of the morning alone.  About noon I ran into Wakeman and Thomas and we had lunch together.  We had pizza and jaggershcnetzel (pork bread and smothered with a brown gravy and mushrooms.  The pizza had an egg sunny side up right in the middle and each slice had a different solo ingredient.

Later Wakeman and I ate in a cafe and had some sort of coffee with whip cream and an alcohol of some sort.  We also ate something that looked like funnel cakes but rolled into a ball - it did not taste as good however - also and apple sort of pastry followed by a cherry cheese cake.  I know it sounds like a lot. 

 

...Two things I want to comment on now.  You have undoubtedly put the Christmas ornaments on the tree year after year, the ones I bought in Germany.  I bought those at a Christmas Store.  It is a huge place that sells nothing but Christmas stuff.  It is a very impressive place.  Since Christmas has always bee special to your mother and I and of course by all of you - I thought it only appropriate that I bring back ornaments to a go along with the ones we have gathered over the years.

The other thing:  When you are in a foreign country you have a tendency to ask people "do you speak English?"  Most must have some knowledge because they almost invariably ask you to speak slower.

I was standing in front of a 1300 year old Church when this guy came up to me and asked me loudly if I spoke English.  I looked at him and said "Ya, speak slower please." He started speaking slower and louder and asked me "WHERE IS THE CHRISTMAS STORE?."  After he completed the word store, I looked at him in a puzzled manner, rubbed my chin, and then in a quick Midwestern accent told him.  We both laughed about the incident.

...continued

Deutschland Diary 7

 Sunday 23 September 1984

Thursday and Friday were uneventful.  Friday evening and the rest of the weekend made the trip almost worth while.  Our weekend excursion started out like the rest of our time in  Germany - confusing.  The 25 of us were to meet at the Div Arty TOC which was at my location.  We were supposed to leave around 1800 but since we wanted to make sure everyone was accounted for we did not leave until 1900 and even then we were short 3 people.  Two were accounted for and would show up at our destination.  I was sent out with the Polezie to get the third one.  We went 30K and ran into a road block consisting a helicopter that they were taking apart and mounting on a truck and got stuck in several other locations before we found where Jack Stewart was supposed to me.  He had already left.

We headed to Rothenburg along dark and winding roads through a misting rain in the mountains of Bavaria During our trip Ollie and Rolf turned on their flashing blue lights and siren and weaved in and out of traffic.  It was an experience I wont soon forget.

We arrived in Rothenburg about 9:30 pm.  We drove thru the old Walled City and eventually fond the motel or guesthouse.  I checked into my room and joined the others in the dining room.  I had Cordanblue, peas and French fries.  About 10:30 I went with the rest of the guys to a German bar.  It was a typical place, one which you think a German bar would look like. Old wood paneling, rustic looking place.  There was a lot of singing and dancing.  Jerry got the chicken dance going.  Most were good sports about it, other Germans just sighed when it started.  I guess it would be like someone go to the states and start doing the twist.

The next morning I got up at 5 am and had strong black coffee, hard roles, cheese, and meat.  The breakfast came with the room.

I then started about doing one of the most enjoyable things as it turned out in my life - walking around the streets of  Rothenburg.   

.....continued

Bear Quest - Alaska

My Quest to See a Bear:


The first two years I lived in Hooper Bay next to the Bering Sea there were no bears around there and hardly any other type of animals that were not connected to the sea in one way or another.  Hooper Bay was to far south for Polar Bears, but someone claimed they had seen tracks a year or so ago -probably a village legend. .

The third year I was located in Pitka’s Point along the Yukon River and the students would tell me stories about bear encounters.  I had to take the trash to the dump one afternoon in the school truck and noticed that there were a bunch of dead fish lying out on a platform.  I figured that if there were bears in the area they would smell the fish and eat a tasty meal.  I discussed the plan with my principal and was given permission to use the truck that evening.  The locals had told me that the bears come out just at sun set, so 10 PM would be a good time to be at the dump.  I arrived about 9:30, got into a position to see the fish fairly well and I waited, and waited, and waited some more. It got pitch dark, around 11:30 but still no bears.  I decided I had waited long enough.  I turned over the ignition on the truck, and nothing.  I tried again, and nothing. It would have been an easy mile and half walk back to Pitka’s Point but I thought if I started walking in the middle of night it would be my luck to come upon a bear with only my clothing to protect me and not a truck cab.  I tried one more time to start the truck and the engine cranked over to my great relief.  I never purposely went looking for a bear again and in fact avoided those places where I thought one might be. I was almost successful.  But that is another story.

Church Incident-Buckland, Alaska

Church Incident - Buckland


                  The last six weeks of my stay in Alaska I was transferred to Buckland to fill the slot of a teacher who had to leave for medical reasons.  I had no TV so I had to fill my evenings with watching movies at school or just about anything to keep from going crazy.  The teachers that were there had already established their relationships and for some reason did not seem to bother trying to welcome a stranger.  I found this little church that had Wednesday and of course Sunday meetings so I started attending.  The congregation was non denominational as far as I could tell and consisted mainly of people giving testimonies.  I learned a lot about the wages of sin and forgiveness in this little Eskimo Village. 

One evening towards the end of the service a lady came in and said we all had to stay in side because Sally was shooting at Freddy again.  I had no idea who Sally and Freddy were but everyone else just looked at each other with knowing sad nods and sat down.  After about 30 minutes a lady stood up, instructed all of us to get into a circle and hold hands.  She then commenced a prayer  asking God if it was OK for us to go home now.  I didn’t hear a reply but she said,  “Ok, everything is alright we can leave now.”  I got back to my abode alright so she must have had a better communication link than I.    As an aside, the next day I saw an Alaskan Trooper in town.  He said he had just flown in to see what was happening between Sally and Freddy this time.  He said it wasn’t any big deal he guessed.  “She is always shooting at him but always missed.

Caribou-Alaska

Caribou Hind Quarter– Noatak.

One day in the early fall a knock came to the door.  My roommate, Eric, answered it and it was Michael.  A local Eskimo man in his very early twenties.  He asked if he could borrow $20 from each of us for gasoline to put in his four wheeler because the caribou were crossing down stream on the Noatak River.  He needed to get there.  I had loaned money before to villagers and seldom had it returned so I wasn’t to hep on the idea.  Eric on the other had, being just a little older than Michael, said he thought we would get the money back.  I came up with a better idea.  Since we had not bought any meat yet from Kotzebue (large village to the south right on the Arctic Circle) I said why don’t we take some caribou meat in exchange.  I thought we might be more likely to get some meat than cash.  How much meat Eric and I decided would be left up to Michael.  Two days went buy and no Michael, meat, or money.  I was already to chalk up another lesson learned.  Two more days passed.  Eric and I came back to our apartment at about the same time after school and there, leaning against our door was a hind quarter of a caribou.  The whole hind quarter.  I asked Eric how we went about skinning and cutting the meat from the bone and he was as lost as I was.  We did not have the right sort of knives and it seemed like it took hours de-boning the quarter section.  I am sure we left a lot on the bone.   We borrowed a meat grinder form the school to ground what we had cut into one pound bundles, and put all in the freezer feeling pretty smug about having enough meat to last the winter (along with some salmon given us.)   The only problem was that  I found out that I did not like caribou meat.  I had to mix many spices and seasonings before cooking and douse it a lot with catsup and other condiments to make it palatable. 

Deutschland Diary 6

Monday 17

The "war" has been delayed for 24 hours because of the mud.  It is raining and cold.  It would be very pleasant if we were normal tourist, dry, worm, and able to eat normal food.  It is a very boring experience so far.  The anxiety is gone and now it is a matter of marking time. 

In Ellensberg there is a flax tower close to us.  That is where they sat up anti aircraft guns during WW II.  Now it has been converted to a water tower.

I miss you all and the U.S. more than I did anyway.  I'll be glad when this is over.

Wed 19

Yesterday was dull.  I only pulled my 12 hour shift and then went to bed.  This morning I got a ride into town with Oliver, one of the Polizie who accompanies us so we don't screw up traffic.  I went to the rest room and a small grocery store.  Mailed some cards, called home.  It was nice to talk to you all, wish Darren and Meghan had been awake.  I will call again Saturday.

We move again tonight some place north.

I have met many people here but I am not really friends with any of them.  I have made what I think are close friends with the two German Polizie  Oliver and Roth.  Roth is a heavy set blond guy who has a crooked nose.  Oliver is then and has a beard.  He has an extra long finger nail on his little fingers and wares a earring while not on duty.  Both of them have eyes on the black female troops.

While waiting for the phone the other day I met another German couple who new some English.  They are eager to talk to us.  I am beginning to feel like I am in Germany finally.  love you all.

Noatak, Alaska

This picture was taken in 1917 near Noatak, Alaska.   I lived in Noatak for over a year.

Hooper Bay, Alaska