Everyone wondered why I went to Alaska. I’d always been the sort of person that did
what was expected of me – I was predictable and dependable, no matter
what. When my mom died, I took over her
responsibilities – looking after my dad and grandmother. And in the interim, I acquired a husband that
turned everything into a competition, and two wonderful kiddos. Then my dad and grandmother died, and my
competitive husband handled both with a stinging lack of emotional sensitivity.
When my mom was in the throes of cancer, I used to come home
from school and plop down on her bed. We
learned more about one another in those after school sessions than we probably
would have if she had never been sick.
She told me that she had always wanted to go to Alaska. I heard this, but didn’t absorb it until I
had made the choice to divorce my emotionally insensitive husband, and had
turned myself inside out to try to maintain a relationship with a second husband
with borderline personality disorder.
“ENOUGH!!” I said,
“Enough trying to please the unpleasable.
Enough of being manipulated out of my money and sense of security. If it’s gone, it’s gone - I’m going to Alaska.” And I did.
My plan was to work at a clinic for which I was handsomely paid to
accumulate a down payment for another house.
Things didn’t start out well. I was given the most difficult cases with
little to no background information. In
time I realized that this clinic was a sham, and I had to leave it. WTF? I
moved to Alaska to rebuild my sense of security, and found that I had to let
even that go, because it wasn’t ethical.
Now it is June of 2011.
I quit the job I moved to AK for, I have leased a fabulous condo for
$1900 a month until December 1st, and I’m lost. My daughter was arriving for a visit soon,
and my son the next month. If not for
these visits, I’m not sure where I’d be right now.
In the interim I took a lot of classes – ABA through the
University of Alaska at Anchorage; Floor Time, and others. By then word had spread that I was unemployed,
and I received many calls and offers, almost daily. None of them felt right. Then, thank God for Alaskan Angels. My friend Megan referred me to two of her
friends, physical therapists, who were starting their own clinic. I would be their first and only speech
therapist.
What an amazing thing – and there are more great stories
there.
Late that fall, of 2011, I realized I needed to go home –
for lots of reasons. But before I did, I
wanted to visit the two places I had vowed to visit before I moved to AK. Sitka and Katmai. I’ve already written about Sitka – this is
the story of my Katmai adventure.
I had some accumulated points on Alaska Air, and I had quit
my job, so it seemed like a great time to go to Katmai. I booked my flight but nothing else, assuming the
Alaskan magic would lead me to lodging and other specifics.
When I arrived at the airport, I was sent, quite literally,
to the basement, where the local flights occurred. There I was with my biking backpack and
weekender ski jacket – and I walked into a tiny lobby filled with men in camo
with huge guns. While they stared at me,
I went up to the ticket gal and asked her what was up. “This is the first weekend of bear hunting
season, honey. Are you are reporter or
something?”
Me: “Uh, no, I’m
a…local. I tourist.”
Her: “Well, then I guess you know that Katmai is closed to
tourists this time of year. They will
pull the bridge next week. I’ll put you
up front by the pilots – if anyone asks, tell them you’re a reporter.”
So, I was on my way in a tiny plane from Anchorage to King
Salmon, AK with no idea what I would find when I landed – other than the usual
Alaskan magic.
