No Mas Nieve, Por Favor, Gracias

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water."
~Carl Reiner

Bob, one of my students, yes, the same one I lost last fall only to retrieve 5 minutes later as he bopped down the road in a bee line for home with his jacket on upside down. He cracks me up. One of those little guys that you might underestimate if you don't pay close attention to how much he really does know. I'd venture to guess more than most of us. Anyway about 1/2 way through this year, every once in a while he would throw in a: "No, thank you. I'm fine." as his response to my directing him to answer a question or do one thing or another.
Example: Me, "Bob, what is the boy doing?"
(Response should be "The boy is climbing the tree." )
Instead Bob decides he no longer appreciates what I'm trying to teach him and much like one does when passing on the mashed potatoes at dinner he replies, "No, thank you. I'm fine."
Hum, touche, I nod almost in agreement. I have been politely declined. Fortunately for Bob's education's sake declination was not an option.

But I do understand Bob, that's mighty close to how I feel about the snow in Quinhagak lately... just like Bob, I want to say. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

Grace's Traveling Artifacts Exhibit. Grace graciously brought some of her collection of artifacts to school. She has found these over the years around the area. She presented them to the 5th grade explaining what they are and how old they might be according to a village elder who was familiar with the pieces. Truly incredible. She has a re curve bow, arrow heads, knives, netting tools, hatchet blades and other miscellaneous pieces of history. They (the university, I think) are actually doing a pretty big excavation project (during the summers) of the 'old village site' further up the coast. They've found all kinds of things. A few of my colleagues at work help them out in the summer.

NASA OF THE NORTH

We had the annual Rocket Launching in Quinhagak this morning. The 6th graders under the wise supervision of Milt Hooton build a variety of shapes and sizes of rockets then send them sailing into the sky. The production looked a lot like what you would see on the Fourth of July, spectators oooohhhhing and ahhhing heads staring up into the blue yonder with awe. Each rocket returned to our tundra earth with a parachute breaking it's fall.

"This is God's Message:
"If your sins are blood-red,
they'll be snow-white.
If they're red like crimson,
they'll be like wool."
Isaiah 1:18-19