Proving that travel at any age is how you make it!
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Fly out of here flu
Looking at only three weeks remaining….after the mid point the time slips by quickly. The past two weeks were busy what with bidding adieu to my coworker who headed back to her long suffering husband, 12 year old (thinks she's 22) daughter and 10 year old son. She was not looking forward to the housework which awaited her. They were very much looking forward to her arrival. A number of calls, texts, video chats her final week over various issues that arrive with the developmental age of her youngsters. One afternoon a message said her husband was taking the son for stitches, texted photos and a video chat established that it could be steri stripped back together. Her husband was sourcing paper for a book report (due the next day of course) when she reached him, he sounded exasperated and said "how do you know it needs stitches anyway?" Apparently her son had fallen on his computer but the daughter added that it wasn't just a fall…a buddy of his had tripped him and finished dramatically with "he's too young to have stitches". I gently suggested that leaving (even for a month and with a great husband who works days) gets tougher as their puberty gets closer. I told her I felt the need to wait until the nest was empty before I did the northern gig, the life partner can fend for himself and now that the dog is no longer with us I feel no guilt - cats certainly don't care as long as someone puts food in the dish. I fed her lobster chowder, biscuits and brownies as her farewell supper and she was ecstatic. I gave the leftover chowder to the clerk for her families lunch as I have pretty ready access to lobster and it's not such a luxury for me.
There was a community meeting here to discuss the polar bear population, quotas and management plan and although I toyed with the idea of going, in the end opted out. The clerk gave me the overview the following morning, especially as it related to the hybrids (polargrizz) in the area. Some female polar bears have (for over a decade) mated with grizzlies (not racist as they like brown males a community member in Uluhaktuk said at the last presentation) which moved into the area with climate change. Actually, both populations of bears are pretty mobile as a mother and cubs were found walking down the highway in Deline this week and that's quite south in NWT. The hybrid offspring are studied / reported on by hunters and scientists and the polargrizz and grizzlies seem to live in the NE Banks Island and NW Victoria Island areas. The Inuit are respectful of polar bears but after centuries know what to expect from them, grizzly bears at least in this area are new to them and they are (with good reason) afraid of them. Samples are taken from every bear harvested - fur, meat, fat etc. to be tested for mercury, DNA typing, diseases etc. There are 77 tags in the region for polar bear harvesting and 26 of them issued to Sachs Harbour, so we are clearly polar bear central here. The clerk raised a good point when she asked why the hybrids are issued a polar bear tag as they are only 50% polar bear? Still lots of details to be worked out.
Bureaucracy won the past week as I argued with HR, struggled with the MFU, fought with the computer and attempted to comply with various bureaucratic directives…as we hurtle towards the fiscal year end.
Watching all the photos posted of March Break fun reminds me of past vacations with the kids from the most basic to more elaborate tropical trips. The teacher daughter and son in law have returned from Arizona so I guess the tradition continues. Some great deals on travel this year, whether it's the uncertainty of the North American economy, reduced fuel prices or just overcapacity in the market….consumers are benefiting. The nurse daughter and husband having just bought a house are shopping for a lawnmower…as I gaze out on lots of winter still remaining here and think of not having a lawn at all to mow at home the concept is foreign. Better them than me.
I tried to have a FaceTime chat with the shore captain last Sunday who had returned from the Seafood Show with his annual viral illness and that was a performance I don't wish to repeat. He couldn't get the iPad to work, at one point it was sideways, his head hurt and he actually said 'I don't know how long I'm gonna last' his hearing was worse than ever, lots of sighing and moaning. I got the daughter to dial up with Skype and it was perfectly fine so clearly the operator, but even with a good connection….Clearly not a good call on his part to omit the flu shot this year. The chat today went much smoother except for a few reconnections. I noted that he had shaved for the 'other woman' in his life as the CFIA inspection due this week would require wearing a beard net if not. Ha! Always surprises me to see green and trees out the window when we chat. Texted with the boy captain on his way in from lobstering the other night and he said they'd been getting out about once a week due to weather…been a good year he said which speaks volumes. He'd been avoiding his father's bugs, but felt the plant employees had passed it on to a crew member so the bug was on the boat. sigh.
The entire north has been ill as influenza makes its way across and this community didn't escape it, nor did I although perhaps a milder version due to being immunized. Of course being the solo nurse in community meant I couldn't even use sick time and go to bed (as did the clerk) but had to keep seeing people who weren't as sick as I was and watch them put a cigarette in their face on the way out the door….that dynamic never increases the empathy. Have had the weekend to rest up and feeling much better. Watched a couple of movies, crocheted, read - finished The Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton which was one of those well researched / written books he was famous for. Chased the carpenters working on the other apartments here as they need access to the garage occasionally.
The time change makes for a lighter evening but messes with the head of course. The days are getting longer exponentially up here so we have more than 12 hours of daylight no matter what time it occurs this week. Locals are already discussing spring fishing and looking ahead to goose hunting. It was warm (relatively) here today at -23c and I had to put on my sunglasses to look out the window across the sea ice.
Must get back to watching the media coverage of the Obamas in Cuba - pretty interesting developments as it's been 88 years since a USA president visited that country. And just think….we could be watching a Rolling Stones free concert in Havana next weekend if we'd played our cards right! The times they are a changing.
I leave you with a link to a travel blog by a mature female traveller who is at present in Europe - Travels with the Red Suitcase:
