North to Alaska - Bird Man

Well the Bird Man is getting married today.  The ceremony will take place on the banks of Big Lake about 20 miles from our cabin as the ravens fly.  In fact my pet raven will guide us there, but that is the bulk of another story.

I have only known the Bird Man for about two weeks, but up here you seem to make fast friend fast and from what I have observed keep them for a long time.  We met purely by accident one day when I took one of the not so traveled trails back to our cabin after visiting the Finks one Friday.  All trails for some reason end up at our cabin.  A fact I discovered after studying the animal skin map made for me by Uncle Frank.

I had grown tired of taking the same rout to the different places the students lived and thought since it was early I would try a new trail and see if all roads go where the map says.  As I was coming around the bend of the trail I had selected that afternoon I came across a cabin nestled against the back drop of some ferns.  There was smoke coming from the chimney so I knew someone was home and being a sociable person I decided to stop and say hello.

As I was approaching the door it suddenly opened and before me was a straggly looking bearded man whose first words were, “You must be the new teacher.  Would you like a cup to tea?”  We sat down at his table in the one room cabin and he poured me a cup.

He introduced himself as Arnie and said he wondered when I would stumble across his place given the fact that I was using, he had heard, the animal skin map Uncle Frank had provided.  It has always amazed me how word gets around up here.  I asked him why I had not met him at the Tribal Feast and he said it was because he did not go.  “I don’t usually attend such events.  Nothing against them I might add but I like my solitude for the most part but don’t mind people stopping by now and then.  Glad to finally meet you.” 

Well for a guy who likes his solitude he certainly talked my ear off for the next hour and did not mind at all him telling me where he came from, why he lived where he did and what he did for a living.

Arnie is a professional Dioramast. He did admit that he wasn’t sure that was even a word but that is what he called himself.  He then explained to me what a Dioramast was.  He contracted with small museums, schools, towns, and any other organization that wanted life like replicas of their animal mascots or for natural displays.  If a group called themselves the Neosho Wolverines or a museum wanted to depict a realistic scene from the north, or what ever the reason , he would catch and “stuff” whatever was wanted..  “Oh, you are a taxidermist.” I said.  He bristled at the term.  “No,” he corrected me, “ I might do what you might call taxidermy work, but I go a step further.  Not only do I prepare the animal for display I provide a detailed drawing of the back drop and instructions on how to make it so the organization can place my work in a setting that resembles the habitat of the animal.”  He brought out and set before me some very detailed sketches and written instructions on his latest project along with a beautiful colored painting of what the finished product would look like wherever it was to be displayed.   He had to limit his animals of course to those that only lived in Alaska he pointed out. 

He had many requests from all over the world oddly enough, more than he could keep up with so instead of the high ticket items like bears, moose, and caribou he has had to limit his creations to birds.  Birds were much easier to pack and ship.  “You ever had to figure out how to ship a full size caribou to Odessa, Texas?” he said sort of chuckling.  That is when I began to notice that along the wall ceiling line there were birds galore perched upon twigs, branches, and small logs getting ready to swoop down and snatch the biscuits he had set out a minute ago.  “I specialize in Birds and their natural habitats now only.  That is why most people around here call me the Bird Man.”

Arnie came to Alaska several years ago for the same reasons many do.  He wanted the adventure of doing something out of the ordinary, relished solitude mostly, as we all do till we have it, and had no immediate family he had to keep in touch with.  As our discussion progressed it soon became clear that he was also escaping a broken heart, or at least trying to.

He started telling me about the love of his life that had not worked out and for years he had thought about her, all most obsessed about her from time to time.  But eventually his obsession and thoughts of his lost love grew fainter and fainter and now and then he would realize that he had not thought of her in days, then weeks, and then even a month or two would go by with out a thought of the loss.

He then quite happily pulled out a letter and said, "But that was then and this is now and now is always better than then."  He said he had received a litter about six months ago from the lady and it was a nice friendly letter.  How she managed to track him down he was not certain but at this point he really didn’t care.  One letter developed into another and through their correspondence both realized how foolish they had been to let time slip away for reasons that were now unclear to both.

One day he decided enough was enough and four wheeled down to the school district central office, where he mailed most of his birds and drawings from, called her on the phone and asked her to marry him.  She said yes. 

She would be arriving at his cabin tomorrow he said and their wedding was planned for the following Saturday.  He said he didn’t want to be rude but he had a lot of work to do to get the cabin straightened up and needed to shave, “I remember she really didn’t like men with beards, but I think she will like my mustache.”  I took the cue and left, but not before accepting an invite to the nuptials.

Bev and I are looking forward to the event.  We both wonder what the bride and groom will be wearing and what the theme and backdrop of the proceedings will be.  Big Bear will preside over the event and I suspect many will be in attendance.  Although both Arnie and Alice, the bride’s name, are in their sixties I suspect that they will have a long and enjoyable life together.  How romantic.