Our Emerald Isle - Farewell

Farewell

I had wrapped things up with the School District and the University, was all but packed, and could not put off any longer my final rounds of good bys to my students.  I thought about what to say to them, what words of encouragement and wisdom I could impart but nothing seemed to jump out.  I decided that when they were needed the words would come. 

I loaded up the four wheeler convinced my pet raven, Ray the Raven to accompany me and headed off. My first stop would be the Finks.  Luckily they were not home.  I say luckily because I did not want another lecture on me being a heathen no matter how nice they presented it last time.  Besides I assumed that they knew I was leaving the next day.

Jimmy Green was chopping wood in the back of his cabin.  His mother ran out to greet me and hugged me tight.  She said she wanted to thank me for all I had done for her and Jimmy.  Jimmy came from behind the cabin and upon seeing me dropped the load of firewood and also gave me a big hug.  I asked them what their plans were, thinking nothing would be changing, when Jimmy’s mom showed me a letter of acceptance she had received from the University of Missouri, Rolla School of Engineering.  I was shocked and delighted that Jimmy had decided to continue his education in such a way at one of the better schools in Missouri.  I was even more shocked upon examination of the letter to find it was not Jimmy who had been accepted but his mother.  She had been doing all of Jimmy’s class work also and it became apparent she had a gift for math and those skills that are necessary to become an engineer.  I took a little pride in the fact that I might have been helpful.  Jimmy was going to stay in the area and live with Big Bear and be a Shaman in training.  I was not surprised.

My next stop was Eddie Joe.  He informed me that he had joined the Coast Guard through a program that would allow him to go college every other semester with all expenses paid.  He was not sure what he would do after finishing his degree and was toying with the idea of going to OCS and perhaps making a career out of the Coast Guard.  His parents were very proud and I was very pleased.

The Twins, Sally and Sara were next on my list.  They too had decided to go off to school both to the University of Alaska and study Native Anthropology.  However Sally was going to the university at Anchorage and Sara to the one in Fairbanks.  I was sort of surprised because they had never been separated and I was concerned initially how they would take the separation.  But they both said, one finishing the other sentence,  ‘Twins are”, Sally said, “Never far apart.” Finished Sara. 

I asked where Uncle Frank was and about that time he came from around the corner of one of the out buildings.  I started to given him the Caribou Skin map back when he stopped me by holding his hand out like Indians do in the movies to say “How.”  “Keep it, you might need it.” He said.  That is about the longest conversation I had ever had with him.  You don’t turn down a gift from a Native American for it would be an insult so I rolled it back up and decided I would take it to Ireland with me.  One never knows. 

My big concern was Sally Deer.  She was the brightest of all my students but never seemed to come out of her shell, she was just as withdrawn the last time I saw her which was a week ago as she had been the first day I had met her.  I hoped that whoever took my place up here would realize she was a very gifted child and continue to give here what academic and emotional support she needed.  Again to my surprise she ran to me as soon as I dismounted the four wheeler.  She grabbed me around my neck, gave me the hardest hug I had ever received and started crying.  She said she would miss me.  She calmed down and then went on to tell me that she also was going to college next year at the Sheldon Jackson University in southeast Alaska.  She planned to be a teacher and do the same thing I was doing, teach in rural Alaska.  No greater joy can befall a teacher.

We all promised to keep in touch and I will certainly make an effort to do so.

When I arrived back at the cabin there were only two things left for me to do.  I took Ray the Raven down to the dock and told him it was time for him to fly away and find someone else to be his friend.  I told him where I was going and that I had appreciated his companionship, that I would always remember him but he couldn’t go with me.  He cocked his head to one side, flew back to the house, picked up a biscuit off the table and flew east.  I watched him as he went out of sight.

I went inside and asked Bev if she had seen Big Bear.  She said he had stopped by to see if  we were ready to go and to take an inventory of the items we were to leave and to make sure they were clean and in no need of repair.  He told her that our plane would pick us up at 9 o’clock the next morning and our replacement would be on it so the new teacher, a she, could begin preparation for summer school.  He would see us then.

Big Bear showed up about a half hour prior to the plane and sat with Bev and I while we all had our last biscuit and cup of tea together.  He told Bev he hoped that the new lady teacher could make as good a biscuit as she did.

The plane landed, taxied to the dock and a lady and her, I suppose husband, got off the plane.  We were introduced, their gear was off loaded and ours was put on. 

Bev and I had grown very fond of Big Bear and found ourselves feeling a touch nostalgic about leaving.  Bev gave him her Sicilian hug and he and I shook and held each other’s hand a little longer than was customary,  Bev slipped a piece of paper to the lady then we  got on the plane and did not look back.  I asked Bev what was on the paper she had given the new teacher.  “Big Bear’s favorite biscuit recipe.” She said. 

We flew directly to Anchorage and caught Aer Lingus that would fly nonstop to Shannon, Ireland.  As I walked up the ramp of the plane I turned and took one more look at Alaska and wondered if we would ever return.  I mentioned such to Bev.  She said that I had once told her that one should never discount the call of the wild, the lure of the last frontier, or the spell of the Yukon.