Sitka Found

Another rainy day in Sitka, the three days of sunshine we’d had earlier much more of an exception than I thought it was going to be. Nevertheless, I really am enjoying my time. Even with all fifty shades of gray,  there’s an energy present that keeps feeding me and nourishing me, urging me to write and produce and think and love and be. Sitting at my small, round bar- height table on a matching bar stool, in front of a large window to the south with glimpses of the Sound to the west and east, I write, not wanting to be any place else in the world. In fact I would have made arrangements to stay another two weeks if this cozy two-room apartment had been available. It helps that my son is nearby, with his wife, Beth, and my two grandchildren, Marsh and Nora, wanting to spend time with me. How wonderful is that!  And, then, of course, being on the water in my son’s fishing boat with him at the wheel, forty years of marine experience in his hands and memory. a beautiful thing to behold, he, doing exactly what he wants to do from the beginning. It’s fun to think, too, of how he got to SE Alaska to begin with, enrolling in Sheldon-Jackson College in Sitka out of high school in Vermont. On the stern of the F/V Sunfish, looking back to town, I gasp at the sheer beauty of it, the rugged mountains, still some snow at the peaks, looming up and over, standing guard, just daring anyone, even God, to pull something.

For the first time ever, I was invited to dinner elsewhere without having to put my shoes on to get there. Mary C., the owner of the house, who lives above my apartment, thoughtfully organized a farewell party for Beth who has since departed to visit her mother in Green Bay. A delightful time, full of good food and conversation. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy roasted vegetables which included in this case, egg plant and squash, not to mention red. green and yellow peppers. The meat item was grilled pork loin, tender and succulent. Also a reminder to cook once in a while, such a nice pairing with the vegetables. Nice, as well, to spend time with Mary’s close friends, Phyllis and Jerry. And of course, Nora, Beth and John. It was John who provided the hand-made chocolate syrup to go over the ice cream and sliced fresh strawberries. At another dinner, where I had to put my shoes on to get to, Nora and her partner, Favio, served an excellent Keto Lasagna to me and their young friends, Peter and Alyssa. This occasion is the subject of my poem “Sitka” which you can find under “Poems from Alaska” in the poetry section of this website.

Welcome as well was an acupuncture session with Susan C,, a young mother and seasoned acupuncturist, knowledgable in the ways of ancient Chinese medicine and with a beautiful way of expressing it, bringing me and my old body fully into her field of concern. She then took extra time, a hunk of it, to work on two clogged pores on my back, a separate issue she tackled with patience and care. It’s always wonderful to me when I’m able to have an experience like this, a tactile connection with a young woman like Susan which seems to bring such soothing energy with it, feeling younger for the moment.

While writing in this journal, I had a welcome phone call from my housemate and muse, updating me on the increasingly rewarding and nourishing relationship she’s having with her partner, Brian, and all the three of us have to look forward to over the summer.  I agree, it will be good to get back to yummy Lummi Drive now that I’ve been here, re-energized and nourished by family, friends and Sitka. Let me close-out this entry with a short poem:

On the Edge                        Bob Skeele

Sitka!  Sitka!/ on the edge of things,/ steep mountains at our back,/ the deep Sound before,/ Mount Edgecumbe there, to the west,/ reminding us of nature’s latent power/ and our own./ Kin to nature, too, we make our way,/ feel our way,/ edging to wholeness,/ heaven’s rich land,/ where love dwells/  and where even our shadowed selves find a home.