I lived in a place with a good climate and it bored the hell out of me.
--John Steinbeck
I took the ferry back to Alaska and arrived in town on New Year Eve after having two weeks off around Christmas. Like in August, the my boat came into Ketchikan on a cold, rainy Sunday morning. This time, however, the rain came sideways and Michele was with me to take it all in. Although our arrival, together, in Ketchikan represented for me a new season, having endured a long physical separation from her; she might not have been in a state of mind to appreciate the moment. At the time she was still recovering from the ride up.
The ferry happened upon a gulf storm on the way up and my wife enjoys a rocky boat ride about as much as I like airline travel. At one point I was mimicking the karate kid's crane stance in the shower trying to recovery my ancestral sea legs while Michele was laid out in the bunk on Dramamine. I tried to explain to her that she would have really enjoyed the ferry ride when I came up in August. The look she gave me implied that my intentions, timing, and delivery need reconciling. Michele did fare better on the ferry ride than our cat, Tank, who wasn't quite as successful in keeping his lunch digested.
Tank has made his adjustment to life in Alaska. In fact it's much the same for him as life in Seattle. He eats and sleeps all day, occasionally chasing a lint 'monster' here and there. Now that we are under the same roof again, Tank and I have resumed our war over who is the alpha male of the Johnson household. This conflict is carried out every night in the Battle for the Comfy Chair.
Tank isn't the only one making life adjustments. Michele is pregnant and we are expecting in the middle of July. So far every indication shows it to be a healthy pregnancy. Your prayers on the matter are much appreciated. The baby-on-the-way hasn't slowed Michele too much though. Michele has just passed her nursing exam and is now a Registered Nurse and is lining up work at the local hospital, she has also filled up our evenings schedule with dinners and get-togethers with new friends. I've lived in Ketchikan five months and have a blog, my wife has a posse after a week...and opposites continue to attract.As for the project, we've reached the halfway point between the last cruise ship of '06 season and the first ship of '07 season. Although I haven't yet heard the first horn blast off in the distance, the contractor is quickening their pace. The current task is to nail a platform dock to the side of an underwater cliff seven days-a-week. So in eight hours my new day will begin much the same as it has the last three weeks: check the weather report, suit up in my sweater, Carhartt jacket, and rain gear; fill up my thermos with coffee and Mexican hot chocolate, and descend the 128 stairs from my comfy chair to the Alaska waterfront.
Weather tomorrow: highs around 35 F, lows around 33 F, winds from the southeast, chance of rain 100%.
There are now THREE things guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and rain tomorrow in Ketchikan.
