Posts

Striking Willie

  1-18-2023 Striking Willie… well not actually hitting him! As you show biz folks know the night a show closes, and the actors have taken their bows a process called “strike” begins immediately. The process involves taking the set down and storing it, putting costumes and props away and generally clearing the stage for the next show. That’s what is happening right now at Williams Field but in our case what starts the process is when the last airplane for the season departs. That has just happened, and the clock has started ticking. There’s much to do and little time to do it. The planes to take everyone home are already scheduled and nothing but the weather will stop them from coming. The “take me home” airplanes all arrive and depart from our other airport, Phoenix. Williams field only takes aircraft with skis. Literally every structure in “Willy Town” is on skis and they will all be towed to a snow area nearby where they will be clustered together, much like circling the wagon in the
Post a Comment
Read more

Cold, Colder, Coldest

  2-16-2023 Cold, Colder, Coldest…It’s cold today and the wind is blowing hard. The sky is overcast, the wind chill is below zero. I think this is happening so when we get back to Christchurch we go “ahhhhhh, that’s nice”. I forgot to tell you yesterday, when that last C-130 left the South Pole yesterday that will be the final physical contact with the outside world for the winter over folks until mid-October 2023. I wonder what that feels like. I don’t want to find out! Another small cruise ship pulled up by Hut Point this morning. They offloaded passengers on a Zodiac. You could see them hiking up arrival heights. I can tell you if it’s cold in town, it’s brutal up on the hills at arrival heights.   I did a dry run on packing my suitcase this morning and everything fit. Yay! I think I’ll just leave it packed for the trip home.
Post a Comment
Read more

Firsts and Lasts

  2-15-2023   Firsts and Lasts…Yesterday I talked to the last helicopter to fly this season and today I’m talking to the last LC-130 flying to the South Pole. Yesterday was the last day of the summer season at the South Pole and today is the first day of the winter season at the South Pole. Yesterday was the last working day for three of our controllers and today they will be the first to head for home. Tomorrow the last ship of the season will arrive. This is a funny feeling but I’m so full of energy that I feel like a twenty-year-old again (mostly mental energy). I had the chance to say goodbye to our three departing controllers yesterday and as Shakespeare said (I think it was him) “parting is such sweet sorrow”. We will miss them. An interesting note: probably the two people I found some friendship with here are Chris and Heather which are our children’s names. As I noted in an earlier blog Chris is from the same area, I grew up in, so I hope to meet up with he and his wife this su
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy Valentine's Day!

  2-14-2023   Happy Valentines Day… The day for being with your loved ones is with us again. Unfortunately, I’m not with my special loved one today but I hope she knows how much I love her and that this mad adventure never would have happened without her love and support. Love is in the air here at McMurdo. There were paper hearts hanging from the ceiling at the galley this morning with loving notes and thoughts. Love and kindness, we just can’t get enough of that. Notes of love also appeared on the bulletin board on highway 1. Of course, the super bowl was on everyone’s minds and TV’s yesterday. The bad thing is we don’t get the commercials! Bummer. It’s the best part of the game.
Post a Comment
Read more

National Geographic Cruise Ship

  2-13-2023 Abuzz… The town is abuzz with excited chatter about leaving and moving on to the next chapter in life. It’s fun to eavesdrop on conversations. They are exactly opposite of the talk I heard in Christchurch on the way to McMurdo last fall. It’s interesting how we are always ready for a new beginning in whatever form that may take. I freely admit I’m excited to be going home as well. Today begins my last week of work and all-things-being-equal I’ll be on a plane home a week from today. On the way to the bus stop this morning I noticed a small cruise ship positioned behind the Coast Guard Ice Breaker. It said National Geographic on the side. I didn’t even know National Geographic had a cruise ship!
Post a Comment
Read more

Endings

  2-12-2023   Endings…..From the moment we are born life is a series of beginnings. We begin to breath, we begin to eat, talk, walk go to school…you get the idea. All those beginnings lead somewhere. Some lead us to places we planned to go, and others lead us to places we would never have dreamed of when we took the first step. As we get older, we “begin” to experience endings. We end relationships, we end school, we end our work life we experience the end of life. Many times, endings have a sad connotation some are happy but the one thing all endings have in common are memories. I’ve heard when people have near death experiences, they see their lives flash before their eyes. I don’t know if that’s true or not (and I’m not in a hurry to find out either) but I went for a long walk today and I had a chance to reflect on memories of so many endings in my life. I am so grateful to all the people who have shared my path with me even the ones who made life a little difficult. They all are wo
Post a Comment
Read more

My Dorm Room

  2-11-2023   I thought you might like to see my living arrangements here at McMurdo. I have a twin size bed (very comfortable mattress) with a sink at the end of it that I share with my roommate. There are 2 drawers under the bed and 3 more drawers (about the size of standard filing cabinets) in the locker. The locker has hanging space with a shelf above for storage. Nothing is allowed on top of the lockers because we can’t block the sprinkler system. We share a bathroom/shower with the room next door. All in all the room is about the size of a “normal” hotel room. Very similar to most college dorm rooms. Certainly, tight but doable. If the shifts work out right, you get some privacy if not you get to know your roommate very well. My roommate Mark is a weatherman. He, like me,  works  rotating shifts. The good news is he doesn ’ t snore and when we were in the room together, we share some good conversation and laughs.   I saw the moon over arrival heights this morning. It’s the first
Post a Comment
Read more