Hello. I leave again in the morning for the village of Nanwalek. I am looking forward to talking to folks that I've only just begun to know.
I attended a movie tonight, The Topp Twins, best movie I think I've ever seen. I was so inspired by these twins, lesbians from New Zealand, entertainers who actually helped to change the world in some awe-provoking ways. After the movie a group of women approached me to ask if I were new in town. We chatted and they told me that I'd better form my social group now because when winter comes, well, everyone hibernates. So, I asked if that were an invitation, they laughed, gave me phone numbers and welcomed me to Homer. Aah, the winter holds hope for hot cups of coffee all around.
This weekend I may be attending a conference in Anchorage and am looking forward to finding a place to dance. When I first moved up here, I fretted abit about the isolation potential. The, I realized that wherever I go I meet fantastic people who see my heart and that my gift appears to be the ability to listen to anyone. Translate in American terms: talk to anyone.
I had a great talk with my friend Marianne tonight who throughout our conversation amazed me with her wit. She is quicker on the comeback draw than anyone I have ever met. I informed her that I would not want to take her on in a debate or in any adversarial forum. I totally admire her on the side of right, my side. I would wisely run were we facing off :) She is my constant reminder of two great women who came out of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She still lives there and I've lived around, however, we started out our adventures when we still wore diapers. We don't back down from anything, strong women. And trust me, we had to fight hard in the land of harsh winters, men trying to rule, parents who expected us to be kind and do right when that was so hard on the two of us, falls from the roof of the house, off the sides of cliffs (on skis), on the ice, off from bikes while wearing one roller skate and while figuring out how to toddle home with pee-soaked snow suits. Okay, this would happen because we got too cold or laughed too hard or maybe waited way too long.
All we needed were our bikes, a cheese sandwich and a clear day and we were off. Hours in the woods, on the sides of hills, swimming in Lake Michigan, amazing times outside, riding our tricycles in her basement and always, always being active. We ran, jumped, played, explored and used our imaginations. (That last part not always to good end) What happens in the lives of children who do not have that one friend that will fight to the end for them, defend you even if you're wrong and get you to run off with them, especially if they've done wrong? I learned what fierce, protective love and friendship is all about from that one, wonderful friend. And today, I'm in Alaska and she's referring to me as Eskimo Woman on an adventure most people would try in their 30's, not in their 50's. I think we expect no less from each other.
She doesn't have to leave the Upper Peninsula for adventure. She marches off into the woods at dusk, her dog by her side to find her son who is lost in the snowy woods. She shows the same fierce love for her children that she showed at 6 years old toward her friend and will fight for them to the end. She drives in blizzards to take her family to important appointments and helps out those less fortunate with some interesting outcomes. She, too, can listen or talk to anyone. Nothing stops her. Nothing stops her, nothing. I have realized throughout this writing that to have Marianne believe in me today means as much to me as her belief in me when I was a scrawny kid, when I had to get glasses and when I couldn't keep up with her athletically. She loved me, believed in me and cheered me on then and still does today.
You see, Alaska is not so far away. As Pat in Salem explains to me, prayer goes straight up to God and then beams right down to the person it is intended for. I can close my eyes, see my friends and send them sustaining, pure love. And please know, you are each in my prayers as well. Right on, Marianne. Right on.
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