Grant Eagar's Blog

Short Story - Hill of Hope - Grant Eagar

 

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The Hill of Hope

Itwas a Friday morning, around 9.  I received a video call; it was mymanager and a lady from human resources. They wanted to speak with me. I felt awrench in my stomach; did I do something wrong? They said something about thecompany going through a restructuring and my position being eliminated; it wasall a bit hazy. I expressed appreciation for the job that I had and wished themthe best. I try to be positive, hoping to create good karma for my next job. Thecall closes, and I realize in 30 minutes my connection to the network is goingto conclude, so I quickly send out a few hasty 'goodbyes, and then theconnection ends. I look at my screen, and the hot project that I had beenstressing over is on my computer. The thought comes to me, this is no longermy concern, and I feel a release of stress as well as the initialadrenaline of a new adventure. After a few minutes, there is also the bitter tasteof the realization that the job had ended. I was not a perfect employee, but Idid my best.

Afew days later, my sister-in-law asks me how I'm holding up. I tell her thatsince I've been through this before, I try to remember how I dealt with it backthen. I felt it was a combination of hard work searching for a job, as well as faithin god's help and optimism in the future. That finding a new job may takea while. I tell her I try to focus on those things I have control over.

 Anothertime when I was unemployed, my wife and I would take a walk every morning. First,we would start the walk with optimism and walk up a hill, talking about some ofthe positive job opportunities that I had. We called it the hill of hope. Wewould turn a corner, then walk down the hill to another corner. By this time,we were less hopeful and occasionally negative, so we would call this thecorner of despair.  I've learned that being of good cheer is hardwork. 

TodayI boxed up my computer, my monitor, and my work cell phone. Dropping it all offat UPS. This seemed to make it all more real. It felt both refreshing andpainful.   Some of the mental demons Itry to avoid are the ‘what could I have done differently’ imp and the ‘maybethey will change their minds’ dragon. It is tough staying away from thesemonsters.

Wearinga new hat every day – A couple of days ago, I was submitted for a position inlet’s say Atlanta, so I figuratively put on my Atlanta Hat. I googled a suburbthat I would like to live in, checked out the cost of rent for apartments, thecost for a room on Craigslist, and the airfares to my local airport. I would becoming home every other weekend. Mentally, all day I went over in my mind repeatedlyhow I would make the situation work. Tomorrow I may be putting on my Dallas hat. This is my process of maintaining hope.

Weall wish we never had to go through unemployment, but a loss of a job is partof most people’s lives. How we deal with it defines us for good or ill. Takinga few risks and trying something new is what makes us happy.   

Poem - Home for Christmas - Jane Collette

I would like to share a poem from my sister Jane Collette
Home for Christmas: by Jane Collette  Link to Picture

Here is a poem, not a very good one, but I mean every word.

 Can you come see me for Christmas; it would be so nice if you could.

 For though you are grown, I still miss you, especially at this time of year.

 I wish you could see our Christmas tree, it smells fragrant and good,

the lights are beautiful, I really wish you could.

 Perhaps, while you’re here we could have a snow ball fight and build a snowman.

When we are good and cold, we could come inside and warmup;

have hot chocolate and toast, like we did long ago.

Then we could watch an old movie and when our day was done;

we could talk of happy times from years gone by and sing some Christmas songs.

Yes, it would do my heart such a lot of good to have you here again.

Please come home for Christmas. I hope to see you then.

Short Story - The Caged Bird Sings - Grant Eagar

 

 

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 To order my books:

 Angelica: The Princess and the Pig  Henry and Sophie: A Steampunk Adventure Sheila the Vampire: Dancing with the Enemy 

Angelicatiptoed down the corridor of the English Castle. The maid stopped in front ofthe Queen’s quarters. A guard stood in front of the closed door. The guard, an overweight,middle-aged man stood at attention. Angelica curtsied and gave him a winningsmile. “Good morning, Lyle, I hope you are well. I noticed that you’re smartlydressed today; I love your colors and noticed you shined your armor brightly.”

He warilyeyed the girl. “You little scamp, that will be enough groveling; now what doyou want?”

“Youwound me; if you must be aware, I have business with the queen, now may Ipass.”

“You’renot going to fool me again. You will not be going inside, the queen specificallytold me to keep you out.”

“Youknow they are deciding my fate. Would you be merciful and crack the door a fewinches so I can hear.” The guard frowned and shook his head. She gave him hermost pathetic look. “If your life was hanging in the balance, wouldn’t you wantto know what was being said? He gave a deep sigh, shrugged, and took a step tothe side. Angelica handed him the chamber pot she had been carrying and ignoredhis scowl. She turned the handle and gently pushed on the door until it openeda few inches.

Therestood the Queen, her daughter Hannah, and two ladies in waiting. The queenregarded the three girls dyed various shades of blue, head to toe. “Hannah, sheis your maid; why do you want me to get involved? I have better things to dowith my time.”

Hannahlooked at her blue hands. “My ladies insisted that I bring this to you. What Isuggested for punishment was not severe enough for them.”

Thequeen sighed and turned to the two ladies-in-waiting. “Considering whatAngelica has done to you; what do you suggest I do with her?”

Louisa,the princess’s first lady gave the monarch a broad smile with her blue lips. “Ithink beheading Angelica would be a good start. I would be willing to carry theax and offer a few chops.”

Angelicawhispered to the guard, “When suggesting punishments for me she always recommendswhipping, beheading is a nice change of pace.”

Claudia,the second lady, said, “I have an even better solution. Boiling in oil, havethe oil slowly heated so she suffers for days if not weeks.”

Thequeen turned to the princess. “And what is the punishment you had suggested?”

The princess grinned. “I have an even worse torture for my maid. Force her to learnto dance. She hates dancing and the dance master is a fiend.”

Themaid whispered to the guard. “It appears the princess is exceptionally hatefulthis morning: forcing me to dance. Normally she takes my side, she must be angryat me for dying her blue. How was I to know she would jump into the tub after herladies-in-waiting had left it? I must plot my revenge better next time. Onceagain, the cold jaws of justice bite my butt before I have an opportunity to enjoya measure of satisfaction.”

Thequeen, a middle-aged monarch with fiery red hair, narrowed her eyes. “You twoare in a vengeful mood today. I’m sorely tempted to do as you suggest, but I’llshow some mercy and limit Angelica’s punishment to three days in the birdcage.Hannah, we no longer have a dance master so your suggestion is not an option.”

Therewere gasps from the ladies-in-waiting and a snort from Angelica. “Who’s there?”asked the queen.

Theguard poked his head inside. “Sorry, Your Majesty, I ah-ah

“Slipped.”Whispered Angelica.

“Iah-ah slipped,” said Lyle.

“Youbetter not be nodding off. You never know what kind of scoundrel will want toenter my chamber.” The queen waved him away.

Louisafrowned. “Is that all? Look at us. We are a joke. We have suffered terribly ather hands I insist you do something more severe.”

“Firstyou will not accept the princess’s judgment and now you choose to question theword of your queen? Do you want to join her in the cage? I would have been moresevere with her, but seeing your bright blue faces made me laugh. If mydaughter wasn’t blue, I would have chalked this up to your just desserts.” Sheturned and took her daughter’s arm, “Hannah, you’re the one who insistedAngelica become your maid. You knew what she was before you asked for her. Whydo you continue to bring me these petty squabbles.”

“Pettysquabbles? Mother, I am blue; what do you suggest I say? I have regretted takingher on as my maid a dozen times. Will this decision follow me around like a badgoose; constantly pecking my behind?”

Thequeen raised an eyebrow. “Hannah, do you want to let her go? I would be happyto oblige.”

Claudia,a plain, black-haired girl of twenty, clasped her hands together. “Yourmajesty, we can get rid of the little viper? That would be delightful.” Shethen turned to Princess Hannah, “Please say yes.”

Theprincess, a seventeen-year-old girl whose hair normally was the color of honey tooka lock of her hair with her blue hand and regarded the different shades ofblue. “Mayhap now would not be a good time to discuss that. I’m in no state ofmind to be making decisions regarding Angelica.”

Louisa,a buck-toothed, mouse-haired girl of nineteen, brightened. “I think lettingthat little pest go is an excellent notion. Let Angelica return to her precioushills and the backward mountain folk. The castle is no place for the likes ofher. Goodness yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes, run her off.”

Angelicawhispered to Lyle, “Normally I discount Louisa’s words, but she is speaking likea wise sage today. A thousand times yes, let me go, I did not volunteer forthis life, it was thrust upon me. I hoped my shenanigans would get me sacked,but so far, no such good fortune. Perhaps the blue dye will do the trick.”

Lylethrust the chamber pot into Angelica’s hands. “If it had been up to me, youwould have been boiled in blue dye, now off with you.”

 

#

 

The firstday in the cage-

Angelicaadjusted her position on the floor of the birdcage. The four-foot-high, gildedcage was suspended three feet off the ground. It was used to shame those whohad incurred the displeasure of the queen and king. The cages lined a wall inthe courtyard and as people entered the courtyard they would stop and tormentthe captives. This was the third time Angelica had been put in the cage in thepast four months. The sixteen-year-old girl ran her hand through her coal-blackhair and gazed out of the bars with her lavender eyes. Four other cagescontained the unfortunate souls who had offended the royal family; Theyconsisted of the jester who had told an offensive joke about the king’sunusually large backside. The cook had bragged about an extraordinary potatosoup recipe that had made the queen’s stomach sick. A guard who had fallenasleep while on duty, would not have been caught if it had not been for hisloud snoring. The former dance master who didn’t know how to dance. Hisdefense, which was that a dance master doesn’t have to know how to dance, justknow how to teach others how to dance; was not convincing. Since he could do neither. 

Severalvendors sold rotten fruit and vegetables to passersby who threw them at thecages.  Louisa and Claudia, the princess’s ladies-in-waiting, stood a halfdozen yards away behind a railing. They had purchased armfuls of rotten apples,tomatoes, squash, turnips, and rutabagas. They were heaving these at the princess’smaid.

Louisa smirkedand heaved an apple. “You little troll, it’s good to see you getting your justdesserts. Putting blue dye in our soap was unforgivable.”

Angelicareached through the bars, caught the apple, found a spot that was not rotten,and took a bite. She then threw it back at Louisa hitting her in the behind.She laughed. “Is that the best you cows can do? Who taught you how to throw?You should thank me; the dye has vastly improved your complexion. You no longerlook like hairless rats.”

Claudiathrew a rotten turnip at Angelica. “You little demon, this was worse than thetime you put lobsters in our bath, or the time you put worms in our beautycream or the time you put a pig in my bed.” She then heaved a large tomato thatexploded when it hit the cage drenching Angelica with juice. The crowdapplauded and Claudia turned to the vegetable man, “Do you have any moretomatoes, these are quite nice, especially the large soggy ones.”  

Angelicalaughed. “Thanks for reminding me of happy times. Can’t you throw any harder?You couldn’t hit the broad side of Louisa’s behind.” She then turned her backto the throwers and waved her bottom back and forth. This encouraged much morethrowing. If only I had not promised to never use my magic in spite. Thiswould be a wonderful time for some mayhem. Why was I foolish enough to makesuch a promise to Granny? Notice to self, never make another promise.

PrincessHannah walked up, and everyone stopped throwing produce. “Don’t stop peltingthe little weasel on my account.” They resumed their attack on Angelica. Theprincess purchased some rotten butter nut squash from the vendor. She commencedthrowing them at Angelica. Unfortunately for Angelica, the princess’s aim andher throw were much better than her ladies'.

Aftershe had exhausted her store of rotten produce, the princess approached Angelica.She reached through the bars, pinched her maid, and picked a cabbage leaf outof Angelica’s hair. “You’re so much trouble. Will there ever be peace with youaround?”

“I’msorry Princess, I didn’t think you would use Louisa’s soap.”

“Didn’tthink? I’ve heard that refrain before. When do you ever think? Why should I besurprised that you would do such a thing?”

Angelicaoffered her most innocent look. “The thinking or putting dye in their soap?”The princess just frowned and shook her head. Angelica gave her a broad smileand the corners of the princess’s mouth turned up. “That is better, you knowthat was funny, it was all a misunderstanding. I just mixed up their soap withthe dye, they were in similar containers, it was an honest mistake.”

Theprincess rolled her eyes. “The lies just flow off your tongue. So, you havebeen practicing stretching the truth? Do I need to add lying to your list oftransgressions?”

Angelicarubbed some tomato paste off her cheek and regarded her toes. “Ok, ok no needto be hateful. I confess I had had enough of your ladies’ cheekiness, and I wastired of them lording over me. It’s astounding how sweet the two imps can bewhen you’re about and how vicious they are when it’s just me.”

“Afterall you’ve done to those poor girls; you wonder why they treat you ill? You’llget no sympathy from me.”

Angelicaclasped her hands together. “Mayhap you could let me out of the cage a coupleof days early. I’ve learned my lesson well and I’m deeply sorry for the painI’ve caused, though the blue hair does give you a certain exotic charm.”

“Don’teven talk to me about getting out early, if I had my way, you’d be in there fora month.” Hannah’s face took on a pensive look, “there’s talk about releasingyou from your commitment as a maid, that you’re more trouble than you’re worth.I was sorely tempted to sack you.”

Angelicaperked up and pretended she had not been eavesdropping. “Really? You want torelease me?” She had not wanted to be a maid, to begin with, and had onlyagreed to serve the princess after Hannah had asked for her. Unfortunately forAngelica, she had a soft spot for the princess.

Theprincess frowned. “Don’t act so darn happy. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“Atleast you are considering it, that is something. Princess, I would not complainone bit if you let me go; it’s the least of what I deserve. If I were you, Iwould march right up to your mother and tell her Angelica is a bad one, she mustgo.”

“Butyou are not me.” The princess frowned, “At times you are a bad one. I’m sorelytempted, but you’ll not be getting out of your duty so easily. After all youhave done for me; I owe you a debt of gratitude. I will not repay it by lettingyou out of your duty.” She then turned and strode away.

Angelicawatched the princess, and her ladies walk away and grinned as soon as theyturned a corner. What a glorious day, justice is served. It was all worth itto see the ladies’ blue hair, though seeing the princess’s blue hair does causeme pangs of shame. This ongoing war with her ladies is beneath me; I’m betterthan that. I wish there was some way to patch things between us. We grew uptogether in the same parish after all. We were not friends, but acquaintances. Shetook a clump of rotten tomato out of her hair that Claudia had heaved, smelledit, and wrinkled up her nose. Mayhap a bit more revenge is in order. Ifthose two insist on lording over me there will be war. Ugh, what didgranny say, responding to cruelty with mischief does not make the world abetter place.      

 

Short Story - A Second Chance - Grant Eagar

 

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I'm 63 years old and I have done a lot of stupid things. There are manythings I wish I had a second chance to repeat. This is one chance I was givento have a do-over.

 It was the winter of 2010; I was finally let go at Boeing in Salt LakeCity Utah. I had contracted there for three years. For a contractor, it was agood run. I started putting out resumes and got an offer to go work at Boeingin Philadelphia. There were local jobs at Hill Air Force Base that would take afew months and did not pay as well so I passed them up for a well-paying jobout of state. I thought this would only be for a few months and I would find ajob back in Utah. 

We were heavily in debt and felt like we did not have a choice. I ended upspending the better part of the next six years working away from home. Thereason I did not bring the family with me was that we wanted to have stabilityand allow the kids to graduate from high school. We finally tried to sell ourhome and it would not sell. It was all well-meaning. The irony is that we endedup going bankrupt anyway so all the sacrifices were a waste. 

Looking back, I have kicked myself a hundred times. You either live by faithor you live by credit cards. I also felt I should have faced the situation withfaith and either taken the family with me or stayed in Utah and found somethinglocal, even if it took a few months. Like they say hindsight istwenty-twenty. 

Fast forward to 2024, I've been laid off again. This is a chance to finallydo it right. I hold my wife's hand when we pray and our prayer is that I canstay with the family and either find a job here in Las Cruces or be able towork remotely. Being unemployed is super stressful so at first, I was willingto take whatever I could get, but I remembered my promise to myself and when Iprayed I felt the assurance this would happen. I quickly got a job offer out oftown which made us feel much better, but I wondered if the impression I got wasreal. 

I decided to wait and after a month I got a job as a contractor workingremotely for the company that had laid me off. I've found that for many of thethings I wanted to redo, I ended up getting another chance. 

Unfortunately, sometimesI still make the same mistakes again. 😉  

Paper -The Bonds That Tie Us Together -Grant Eagar

 

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In the article “Shylock and the Struggle forClosure” by John Picker, he addresses the Venetian 16th-century socioeconomicparadox. The Jewish population in Venice, Italy resided in a ghetto ostracizedfrom the general public; except for the business district where the Venetiansrelied on Jewish usury to finance their business ventures (174). The Jews werethe venture capitalists of the time. The play titled The Merchant of Veniceby William Shakespeare takes place in this community. A compelling character inthe play is Shylock, a money lender of the Jewish faith. In the play, Antonio,a Christian merchant who is normally well off, is short on funds. He takes outa bizarre loan ‘bond’ with Shylock. The bond states that, if Antonio violatesit, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of his flesh. The concept of a bond isa powerful unifying element in the play. One definition of a bond as defined bythe Merriam-Webster dictionary is a bindingagreement: a covenant.  Thisdiscussion will focus on the image of the ‘bond’ and how it drives the plot ofthe play as a legal agreement, as a facilitator of revenge, and the bond as asocial contract. 

 

The play Merchant of Venice uses thesymbol of a ‘bond’ as a legal agreement. In the play, Antonio borrows 3000 ducatsfrom Shylock and must pay as agreed or lose a pound of flesh. There are tworeasons why Shylock went into this business arrangement. First, he consideredAntonio a good man, i.e., “sufficient”, a good credit risk. From The NortonShakespeare, edited by Greenblatt and others, “The manis, notwithstanding, sufficient. Three thousand ducats: I think I may take hisbond” (Greenblatt 1.3.22-23). Second, if Antonio didfail to make the payment, then Shylock would be able to exact revenge,

Shylock. [aside] . . . I hate him for he is a Christian,
He lends out money gratis and brings down
The rate of usance here with us in Venice.
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
He hates our sacred nation, cursed be my tribe
If I forgive him (Greenblatt 1.3.36, 38-39, 41-42, 45-46).

 

Herethe bond is similar to a loan. Shylock is publicly saying that he is taking thebond because Antonio is sufficient, but privately, he is hoping he can use thebond as a vehicle for revenge. Portia, the judge, first pleads for mercy forAntonio, and then after Shylock refuses, “Shylock. Mydeeds upon my head! I crave the law, the penalty and forfeit of my bond”(Greenblatt 4.1.204-205). Here he is demanding justice. And Portia then holds Shylock to the letter of the bond: “Portia.Thyself shall see the act; For as thou urgest justice, be assured thou shalthave justice more than thou desir’st” (Greenblatt 4.1.312-314). This dramabetween justice and mercy is one of the most powerful themes of the play. Thereis a sense here that Shylock should not expect any mercy after he refuses tooffer any. 

 

Aside from the legal agreement, the image of a‘bond’ also shows Shylock’s need for revenge. In the past, Antonio hadpracticed antisemitism by mocking, spitting upon, and kicking Shylock. WhenAntonio is unable to pay and is brought before the duke, Shylock repeats, againand again, that his bond must be honored. Soon it becomes clear that it is nothis bond that must be honored but his need for revenge. This is an opportunityfor Shylock to achieve vengeance on Antonio. Shylock’s words when he hears thatAntonio cannot pay what is owed,

Shylock. I’llhave my bond; speak not against my bond.
 I have sworn an oath that I will have mybond.
Thou called’st me dog before thou hadst a cause;
But since I am a dog, beware my fangs (Greenblatt 3.3.4-7).

 

Here Shylock uses the metaphor of a dog andissues the threat, “Beware my fangs”. It becomes evident that the term ‘bond’is equivalent to the word ‘revenge’. This is illustrated when Shylock is offered twelve times what was owedhim to release the bond,

Bassanio. For thy three thousand ducats here is six.

Shylock.Ifevery ducat in six thousand ducats
Were in six parts, and every part a ducat,
I would not draw them. I would have my bond (Greenblatt 4.1.84-87).

 

So, Shylock would not accept 36000 ducats torelease the bond of 3000 ducats. Again, it is apparent that it is not about themoney, but about revenge. The loan was simply the vehicle to achieve vengeance.Because of the way the agreement was written, the hearing before the dukebecomes a public execution rather than a financial resolution. 

 

Thisneed for revenge is facilitated by the bond as a social contract betweenShylock and the city of Venice.  When heis urged to offer mercy by the duke, he reminds the duke of the social contract,

Duke.We all expect a gentle answer, Jew.

Shylock. I havepossessed your grace of what I purpose,
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond.
If you deny it, let the danger light
Upon your charter and your city’s freedom (Greenblatt 4.1.34-39)!

 

Here, Shylock threatens to take matters to ahigher court if his petition is not satisfied. Since Shylock is Jewish, aminority in Venice, and at the mercy of the Christian majority, the social bondhas additional value and meaning to him. The law is set up to protect hisinterests, which he is also using to exact his revenge. In many ways, the playis about the failure of Venetian society to honor the social bond with theJewish community, hence the Jewish ghetto and the antisemitism.  

 

Inconclusion, the play Merchant of Venice uses the image of the bond to helpdrive the plot, generate interest, and provide the stakes between Shylock andAntonio. The several meanings of the symbol of the bond are a legal agreement, revenge, and a social contract. The bondwas used by Shylock to exact revenge upon Antonio and by Portia to exactjustice upon Shylock.

 

 

Works Cited

Greenblatt,Stephen et al. The Norton Shakespeare. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

                        Pg281-335.

Picker, John. “Shylock and the Struggle forClosure.” Judaism, vol. 43, no. 2, Spring1994, p. 174. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.....

Poem - This Old House - Jane Marie Collette

 

This old house

 

A poem, by me Jane Marie Collette

 

 

 

This old house is made of sky and earth and stone.

The great trees have grown up around her, year by year.

The squirrels and mice live on and within her.

She breaths in and out as time goes by and

Happy souls live within, coming and going year after year.

 

The seasons come and go.

In the fall the trees turn gold against the blue sky over her.

Time weaves in and out of moment upon moment.

The North wind comes howling, and the leaves wirl around and around

And the rain comes down and hits her doors and her windows.

The snow piles up on her roof and she weeps from time to time.

Her old bones creak a little more, but still, she goes on and on, she is strong.

 

In the spring the tulips bloom and resurrect the memory of the lady

Who planted them 50 years ago.

The lilac trees grace with elegance her old frame.

The birds return and build their nests again,

As they have done for a hundred years or more.

 

In the summer we try to reclaim the old garden plot from the tall grass

And tenacious weeds, just as many have done before.

On summer evenings we sit on her old porch and listen to the wind chimes,

As we watch the sunset and talk of old times and happy plans ahead.

As we cling to this moment, the stars come out and the crickets begin chirping.

Could we but be in the now a little longer, could we set aside the worries

For those, we love a little more often and just see them?

Enjoy them before they are grown and before they are gone.

The old house reminds us of things unspoken, but always there,

To slow down and treasure the moments,

And hold close to those whom we love most.

 

Asteroid Space Defense System - Grant Eagar

 

     For my English Expository Composition class, I decided to write about something I was interested in so I chose comet and asteroid defense system.  Since the teacher liked it and I got a good grade I thought I would share it.  I have omitted the works cited to keep students from using my paper for their research papers. Have a little pride people and do your own work.

Asteroid and Comet Space Dense System:

Cost Justification

 

     The prospect of a huge asteroid or comet hitting the Earth has always been fascinating in a morbid end-of-the-world sort of way.  The objects we are concerned with are those that have an orbit that comes somewhat close to the Earth and are large, thus they are called Near-Earth-Objects (NEO)s. Some people’s fears of comets and asteroids come from the book of Revelations in the Bible, “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea” (Rev. 8.8). This could be interpreted as an asteroid the size of a mountain hitting the Earth. This is the size of the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs. Another catastrophe is described in verse 10, “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp” (Rev. 8.10). Many have interpreted this to be the description of a comet hitting the Earth.  The fear of comets and asteroids also comes from movies such as Don’t Look Up (asteroid the size of Mount Everest), Armageddon (asteroid the size of Texas), andDeep Impact (monster comet). These fears are valid, given the history of Near-Earth-Objects. It is not all bad; dinosaurs would still rule the Earth if they hadn’t been forced to extinction by a killer asteroid. The dinosaurs could have used a space defense system. The funding for a space defense system should be increased because the consequences of an asteroid or comet hitting the Earth would be catastrophic; there have been numerous near misses, and several viable solutions exist.  

     The current funding for space defense is inadequate. This is illustrated in the Insurance Journal which speaks of existential risk and defines it as the risk of something hitting the Earth that would end all humanity.  This is a real concern since 66 million years ago this happened when an asteroid slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula. The odds are quite low each year, but over time there will be objects that hit the Earth; it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. The current space defense budget is $150 million; this is all that is available to track Near-Earth-Objects and to come up with viable plans to deter asteroids and comets.  Progress has been made legitimizing a space defense program. The idea of providing a defense against unwanted objects used to be the topic of doomsdayers, not a reputable organization such as NASA.  The public has always thought that if they didn’t take this seriously and just put their proverbial head in the sand, they wouldn’t have to worry about it. The reality is that with advances in technology humanity can define their destiny, and not be at the mercy of whatever comes along.  And don’t worry, something will be coming along. It would be a shame to have the capability to do something but lack the foresight. That is part of the basis of the movie Don’t Look Up. How to get an apathetic public to “Look Up”.

     The cost of a serious mission would be five to ten times what is spent now. Dr. xxxxxx project lead for the aerospace corporation discusses the cost of a single mission, the amount of mass that must be delivered drives the expense of constructing a kinetic impactor spacecraft. The total mission cost for commercially available rocket service providers could be $1 billion with each launch costing between $270 million and $450 million (3).  A kinetic impactor is simply ramming an asteroid or comet with a spaceship. So, the bigger the object the bigger the spacecraft that must be used to ram it with. It may be prudent to launch ten missions at a killer asteroid or demon comet; if some fail others might succeed. It would be foolish to pin humanity’s survival on a single mission. There is too much that could go wrong.  Also, it would be much better to have tested out and validated numerous approaches. If humanity just had six months like in the movie Don’t Look Up, when they finally figured out what was going on they would be in a mad scramble to find a feasible solution, and like in the movie, it may take several months to get everyone’s attention.

     The consequences of an asteroid hitting the Earth would be terrible. The effects of an asteroid hitting the Earth are discussed by Dr. xxxxx; the chances of larger objects colliding with Earth would be disastrous. In 2015, a 600-meter asteroid whizzed by the planet at a speed of 126,000 km/hr at 480,000 km away. If this item had collided with Earth, the repercussions would have been 7.5 Richter scale earthquakes, severe burns, the collapse of tall buildings, and Tsunami waves up to 37 meters (3).  Most people can’t imagine a 37-meter tsunami surge; it would be like the terrible tsunami that hit Sumatra Indonesia. It is important to point out that a Tsunami is not a single wave but a large body of ocean surge that keeps on coming. This is a likely scenario since 71% of the Earth is oceans. The fireball would be like numerous atomic bombs going off. So, if an asteroid landed off the coast of Los Angeles it would first cover the city with a massive fireball, then terrible earthquakes, and finally a huge tsunami flooding the city. The good news is that the fire would be put out by the tsunami.

     Even if the object just passed through the atmosphere, it would create fireballs that would vaporize cities. XXXX a professor of geology and his associates describes this as an explosion called an airburst event resulting from a comet passing through the atmosphere creating widespread damage such as the Tunguska catastrophe of 1908 (1). This would still cause a fireball and create shockwaves that would level forests and buildings. Again, humanity now has the technology to avert this kind of event; it would be imprudent not to take advantage of it and prevent the calamity.  

     There have been numerous near-misses since thousands of objects are in the near-Earth orbit. From xxxx, the asteroid 2014 J025 passed by Earth in 2014, coming within [1.7 million kilometers] of the globe – a close call by cosmic standards and the closest in almost a decade. J025 was a big one. It could have killed tens of millions of people if it had impacted a densely populated area (1). The significance of the near misses is they are the leap from theory to reality. They can be measured and their speed and size quantified then it is simple physics; something this big going this fast causes this amount of damage. They are also a wake-up call for humanity to understand what is out there and what the consequences of inaction are.

      There are several popular strategies to consider, the first being to impact the asteroid or comet with a spaceship to change its trajectory. This is a viable defense mechanism. Professor xxxxx from Auburn University Department of Aerospace Engineering explained, “The proposed NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission . . . plans to launch spacecraft in March 2021 to target the binary . . . Didymos in October 2022 . . . In this mission, the DART spacecraft will impact the secondary of Didymos” (1). In this test, there is a small asteroid that circles a larger asteroid. In theory, the collision will change the velocity of the smaller asteroid and its orbit around the larger asteroid can be measured and the scientist will be able to determine the effect of the collision. They assume using principles of physics that it will slow a certain amount. In the experiment, they will be able to compare the actual with the theoretical. This is an exciting development since NASA’s going to perform an actual test and from the data received, the science behind changing the course of an asteroid will be advanced. If the threat from a NEO can be determined early enough, possibly several years, the required nudge to change its trajectory would be small.
     Another method of changing the course of a NEO object would be to launch a nuclear warhead to intercept and either destroy a comet or deflect an asteroid is also effective. To explain this xxxx executive director of the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute (GCRI) mentions that using a nuclear deterrent for deflecting an asteroid is both promising and controversial; it is promising given the high amount of energy released in a nuclear explosion it is a very promising deflection technique and humanity could transfer their nuclear weapons into a peaceful end. On the other hand, given the treaties limiting nuclear weapons in space, it is contentious and politically challenging as well.  There are many people against nuclear weapons even for a good cause; they feel the mere existence of nuclear weapons is a danger far worse than any NEO (2428). So, if we discover a NEO has an intercept course with the Earth several years ahead; then it would be prudent to use the DART type approach because a small nudge over several years will have the desired effect, on the other hand, if we have only a few months before the impact then we need to hit the asteroid with something bigger, thus the benefit of the nuclear deflection system. 

     Collecting space rocks and ramming them into an asteroid is another viable solution. This concept is referred to as the Enhanced Kinetic Impactor (EKI). Senior technical engineer xxxxx and associates describe the process:

      1 - Launch. An existing heavy launch vehicle . . .

     2 - Rendezvous with an NEA & collect rocks . . . More than one hundred tons of rocks are collected            from the NEA . . .

     3 - Maneuver. After the rocks are assembled into the EKI, the electric propulsion system begins to           maneuver the EKI away from the original orbit toward the Potentially Hazardous Object (PHA) . . .

     4 - Impact PHA. The EKI is maneuvered to impact the PHA at a high speed. After impact, the PHA             will be farther away from Earth during the close encounter (2).

      It would be harder to create a rocket large enough to send one hundred tons of payload to ram into an asteroid rather than sending up a spacecraft that can lasso small asteroids and ram them into potentially hazardous asteroids or comets when they are far from the Earth. A possible way of capturing the small asteroid would be to release a net that can encircle the asteroid. The downside to this approach is that the scientists would need to know several years ahead of the potential impact on the Earth because the logistics are complicated.

     Don’t bring a butter knife to a knife fight, instead bring a shotgun, a pistol, and maybe a hand grenade. It may be prudent to launch ten missions at a killer asteroid. After considering the DART, Nuclear impact, and Enhanced Kinetic Impact solutions, the importance of a better detection system is obvious. NASA’s efforts to monitor and catalog Near-Earth-Objects are a good start, but they need additional funds if they are going to be effective. Too many Near-Earth-Objects are not detected until they pass close to the Earth. For the well-being of humanity, the planet needs to provide a defense system. With advancing technologies, humanity is no longer at the mercy of the universe but rather humankind has the means to define its future. They just need to have the wisdom and foresight to prepare for that future.

 

 

Happy birthday Lee 03-14-1960 to 05-07-1989

 

 

Life History of Lee Walter Eagar

By his brother Mark Eagar

 

Lee was born: 4th child of Maude VerDawn Gregerson Eagar and Walter Duane Eagar in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 14th, 1960 at LDS hospital He weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.  He was born on his mother’s birthday.  Had brown hair and brown eyes.  His doctor was Doctor Ellsworth. Lee was almost born on the way to the hospital since the LDS hospital is up on a hill there was snow on the roads so the family could not get up the hill. Finally, a police officer in a jeep carried them up to the top of the hill.

Lee went to kindergarten at Davis elementary school when he was 6 years old.  He got lost while camping in southern Utah.  The family looked everywhere for him, finally found him.

The family moved to Sandy when he was 3 years old, then moved to Hurricane, Utah when he was 4.  the family moved to Alaska when he was 5 years old, and spent 1 1/2 years there.  Moved to Vernal, where he started kindergarten at Davis school.  They moved to the other side of Vernal to Naples where he started 1st grade next year.  Moved to Springville, where he went on hikes into the mountains, started 2nd grade. Baptized when he was 8 by Mark Rasmussen in Naples’s second ward.   

He spent the 4th grade in Cloudcroft New Mexico where the family lived on a ranch in the mountains.  His mother and the remaining children moved to Salt Lake City after his father left the family.   They lived in a basement in South Salt Lake provided for by Lee’s Uncle Art (Arthur Gregerson).  A year later Lee’s father Walter Duane Eagar returned and began helping with the family. Experiences in American Fork at Junior High School.  getting me a yearbook and getting it signed because I felt sad, I had not received one.  Went to a wilderness survival camp, which had a major impact on him.  Working out(exercising) each night by himself.  Neurotic habits he struggled with. No one to help him with the same. 

Went with me (age 15) when I moved out on my own because of dad's treatment of James. All the things we did together during that time, bought an old trailer, Lee went camping with James, the truck axle broke, moved with James and lee to Lindon, looking for James when he disappeared, school, living in a trailer in Lindon, hurt my legs when trailer fell on them, and Lee was there to help me and comfort me.  going to SLC together to get the windshield fixed.  Worked on the trailer together.  eating, cooking, etc. together. 

Lee and I subsequently (after 4 months on our own) moved back in with Dad (the great reconciliation).  Lee left to go live with mom in SLC.  fights with James, trouble with the police, treatment for mental disorder.  would not take his medication, did not like it. He lived with James in North Salt Lake City for a while. He ran off to California when he was 20? while I was at Utah state university.

He lived on the streets, got beat up, and was robbed in Las Vegas on the way.  He became a homeless person in San Diego and was missing for 6 months.  We prayed for him and fasted for him. Lee was eventually picked up by the police as being catatonic, unable to care for himself, and San Diego’s mental health services contacted Art (Artur Gregerson) who contacted me. I arranged with Art to have Lee flown home.  I went to the airport to pick him up. He was so glad to see us. He was on lots of medication. 

I took him to the doctor the next day, who said he should be committed to a mental hospital in Provo (what did he know??).  I put him in a mental hospital where he was in a locked area, with criminally insane people. This was a bad experience since he was not like them. I took him out on weekends to come to visit with me.  He helped at a gas station and seemed to enjoy that.  I took him driving in an old brown Chevrolet Vega, he wanted to learn to drive so bad, and tried so hard. Grandpa Custer took him sometimes, once he disappeared, had been caught shoplifting, and returned to a mental hospital.  later, released, and lived with James.

We took Lee down to southern Utah for a family reunion in an old ford with Tina and Elizabeth. Lee would not take his medication and became difficult to live with.  Grant took him, and they fought when Lee couldn’t get his cigarettes. Grant was so patient with him.  Lee and Grant got stuck in the mud in my Vega and got the clutch messed up, had to tow it to Leeds to fix it.   Lee rode home with Grant after visiting with everyone.  

David lived with James and Lee for a while and tried to help Lee. Grant lived with them for a while also and tried to help him.  Art and Monty took interest in him and began helping with medication, etc.  Dorothy and Mary had him come and stay with them and mothered him and tried to get help for him from the treatment center there in Midvale.  Mom tried to help him. 

Lee finally moved out and had an apartment of his own because he wanted to take the charge of his own life so badly.  Had James and Mom close, who both loved him and tried to help him.  I took Thanksgiving dinner down to James and mom and Lee one thanksgiving to cheer them up. Had pizza with Lee when we came down with kids another time.

Celebrated his birthday with him and his mother in SLC.  James understood him because of similar struggles and mental illness.  

Lee died on May 7, 1989, in his apartment with his roommate Mike, who was also in a treatment program for mental illness, and who was his friend.  Mike was mad at Lee so he poured a pot of boiling water onto Lee. Lee went to James to get some help but James would not open the door. Lee went back to his apartment and died in the tub. I visited his mother after his death to comfort her and make sure she was o.k.  Lee had temple endowment work been done for him one year later by his father in logan temple? 

My Brain Bleed - Grant Eagar

 

“My Story”

 Sometimes we don’t realize all the sacrifices people make on our behalf. I’d like to tell you the story about my brain bleed. It all started five years ago.  One day after dinner I had a terrible headache and my right arm was numb. I went to the emergency room and they took a cat scan that showed I had a brain bleed. They had to remove part of my skull, about 3” in diameter to relieve the pressure. They replaced the portion of my skull that they had removed, with a plastic piece instead. Slowly after several months I became lucid again.

All through this time, my wife Becky would drive from Tehachapi to Los Angeles (two hours each way) three or four times a week accompanied by my autistic son who was going through a very difficult phase. I had this sense that if I could just hold my wife’s hand, everything would be alright. There was something magical about being connected to her. My brother Mark would fly in from Sacramento once every few weeks and he would read to me from Louis L'Amour western books. My sisters came to visit and my older children came from out of state to visit and helped with my autistic son so my wife could visit more often. People from church came and gave me blessings and fasted and prayed for me.

Finally, I was able to return home; after a year and a half, I was able to go back to work. Looking back, I’m struck by all the love and concern from so many people. Now every day I thank God for the gift of life. It’s not that I want to live forever; I just want to stay and finish my work of loving and serving those who are near and dear to me.

My life in Artic Village - Walter Duane Eagar

This is a history that my dad, Walter Duane Eagar, wrote about our family's experience in Artic Village Alaska in 1965-1966.  Let me know what you think? 

 

My Life in Artic Village Alaska 1965-1966

By Walter Duane Eagar

August 17th, 1929 to June 2nd, 2012

 

THE CALL OF THE WILD

by: Robert Service

Have you gazed on naked grandeur where there's nothing else to gaze on,

Set pieces and drop-curtain scenes galore,

Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the blinding sunsets blazon,

Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar?

Have you swept the visioned valley with the green stream streaking through it,

Searched the Vastness for a something you have lost?

Have you strung your soul to silence? Then for God's sake go and do it;

Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

Have you wandered in the wilderness, the sagebrush desolation,

The bunch-grass levels where the cattle graze?

Have you whistled bits of rag-time at the end of all creation,

And learned to know the desert's little ways?                                                           

Have you camped upon the foothills, have you galloped o'er the ranges,

Have you roamed the arid sun-lands through and through?                                                    

Have you chummed up with the mesa? Do you know its moods and changes?

Then listen to the Wild -- it's calling you.

Have you known the Great White Silence, not a snow-gemmed twig aquiver?

(Eternal truths that shame our soothing lies.)

Have you broken trail on snowshoes? mushed your huskies up the river,

Dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the prize?

Have you marked the map's void spaces, mingled with the mongrel races,

Felt the savage strength of brute in every thew?

And though grim as hell the worst is, can you round it off with curses? Then hearken to the Wild -- it's wanting you.

INTRODUCTION AND SETTING

The ski planes landed us on this frozen river (East Fork of the Chandlar)

As the photo below shows, the village at noon is dark but bathed in moonlight as is so often the case during the Arctic winter’s 24 hours, two months long nights. 

The river is frozen three feet thick with just a little covering of snow over everything and The temperature is minus 30 degrees F. 

The nights were clear most of the time so the stars were very bright and there was a phenomenon called noctilucent clouds and, of course, often the Arora Borealis, with its very spectacular displays. It was like a moving panorama of shifting colors and strange, weird sounds and crackles as the Van Allen Belt interacted with the solar wind. Of course, many strange phenomena do occur here at the magnetic north pole of the earth. In fact, however unexplainable, it felt like I was surrounded by spiritual forces; invisible, but very tangible.                                               

  I would like to continue from here but truth is, our adventure did not begin here; so I must go back to the real beginning of our Arctic experience, back in Hurricane, Utah:

RECAPITULATION (take it from the top)

THE JOURNEY

 In 1964 I was working in Hurricane, Utah as a Special Reading Teacher.  I had been working in this capacity in Salt Lake City and here in Hurricane for about five years.  I was feeling restless and unhappy with my life at that time and felt that I needed a change, to broaden my horizons, so to speak.  

 I decided to check the job placement board at the Brigham Young University     

  There I found an opening for a Principal-Teacher at Arctic Village, Alaska.  I felt that maybe our 49th state might provide what I was seeking.  I applied and was surprised to be accepted for that position, so the adventure began.

To tell the truth, I don’t recall exactly how we all got to Salt Lake City for the first leg of our journey, perhaps it will come back to me.  Anyway, our schedule, worked out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, took us from Salt Lake City to Seattle, Washington where we would get outfitted with what we would need in the way of warm clothing, boots, parkas, and some food supplies.  I believe this took a couple of days to get squared away with what we would need and get it packed for our trip.  

The flight to Alaska took several separate plane trips.  It was a hassle, of course getting our entire family (six children) on and off the plane each time.  You might call that part of the adventure, but not particularly the enjoyable part.  

We first landed in Juneau, Alaska where we had a layover for a day and night as I recall.  I remember the people there were so friendly like they had known you all their lives.  It wasn’t particularly frigid temperatures there so we didn’t have to don our Arctic weather gear.  When we embarked again it was in a small prop-driven plane bound for Whitehorse, Canada.  There after an hour or two, we were on our way again to Fairbanks, Alaska in an Airforce plane that we shared with a basketball team heading for a game in Fairbanks.  It was a bit of a cool and turbulent flight at low altitude so no oxygen or pressure adjustment was needed. Fortunately, it was a rather short flight. The boys in the team were quite rowdy but friendly and humorous.                                                                            

In Fairbanks, the Superintendent for the Yukon Flats School District met us and quickly put us on two Cessna 180s bound for our destination: Arctic Village.  It took two planes to carry all of us plus our supplies and gear, including my 300 Savage deer rifle, hunting knife, cartridges, and even archery set with eight hunting arrows and snowshoes. I had shot a deer with a bow and arrow during an archery hunt in Southern Utah so was confident that I could do the same to bag a caribou.  How I was disillusioned there is another story.

  

Again, referring to the photo above you may observe that Arctic Village at noonday in February (still in the grip of Arctic night) had plenty of light to greet our arrival!   This was due to the reflecting snow and the bright moonlight, but it was early springtime when we landed there and the sun had been returning since the middle of January (three minutes per day) heralding the beginning of the “Midnight-Sun.”     

REACHING OUR DESTINATION

The Superintendent had accompanied us there and when we all disembarked it was quite a heartwarming experience to be greeted by all the native people who were so excited to have us come to their village.

We landed the ski planes on the frozen Chandler River where the ice had frozen about three feet thick and everything was covered with a thin mantle of snow.                                                                                     

The Superintendent, Mrs. Thomas, took us to the school where we were shown our quarters and facilities then introduced us to our helpers: Christian Tritt, Custodian, mechanic, and technician. 

(To provide electricity for the school we had a diesel generator which was kept running constantly except for occasional maintenance.)

Mrs. Thomas then introduced us to some of the ladies who would help with the school lunch and coordinate and communicate with the townspeople.

 The second photo below is of a much older time but like the one we experienced and will give some idea of the log cabin construction as seen in this old Episcopal Church which was still in use when we were there in 1964.

Episcopal Church picture

TRAGIC ACCIDENT

About two weeks into our settling in at Arctic Village our Superintendent returned to pack up and haul out the previous teacher’s goods that he had left behind. They consisted mostly of foodstuff and some clothing.  She loaded lots of canned goods onto the little Cessna and prepared to fly back to Fairbanks.  I told her I thought the plane was somewhat overloaded, but what did I know?  Anyway, there was a tragedy as she and her pilot were both killed trying to climb over the pass.  It seems their wings iced up and they didn’t have enough lift to clear the mountain.  I always felt I should have been more insistent about my apprehension about the plane being overloaded.  I should have insisted that she leave part of the canned goods there even if I had to purchase them from the previous teacher.

That was a sad beginning for us and certainly for the village people who knew and respected both for their years of service and help.

                

                                              

 

 Above My wife: VerDawn Hickman

Jessie Dawn holding Allison, Lee, Mark, Grant, David, and me, holding the fish.

                                                                      

James holding David and Jessie holding  Allison

We organized our living space with beds for the kids and us.  Then we set up the kitchen with what food and utensils were on hand.  We also arranged our small bathroom with what supplies were available.

The classroom was one large room with windows on two sides and lit by fluorescent lighting.  There were ample tables and chairs with some small desks.  There was one large chalkboard and some audio-visual equipment like a 16 mm. movie projector, a slide projector a record player, and a reel-to-reel tape recorder.  There was an abundance of text and workbooks, notebooks, writing paper, and pencils.

I organized the classroom so that the older students could help the younger ones while I worked with reading group instruction etc.  In this way, learning activities were provided and ongoing for each age group.  

My children of school age were also enrolled.  They were: James, Jessie, Mark, and Lee.  I think David was later part of the Head Start group.  

The village people were actively involved in our activities and were a great help.  Some of the women helped prepare snacks and school lunches for the students.  We had an abundance of USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) food supplies.  There was flour, beans, rice, raisins in large boxes, butter salted in barrels of brine, and cans of yams and peanut butter.  So, along with what the people could provide from their hunting and fishing on occasion, there was plenty of food to work with and to contribute when preparing for potlatches and other village activities such as birthdays, Christmas parties, etc. 

                                                                                  

BIRTH OF ALLISON REBECCA

A couple of months into our Arctic Village experience it came time for our next child to be born, so anticipating the event I sent my wife (VerDawn) to Fairbanks to stay with members of our Church (LDS) about a week before she expected to deliver the child.   She gave birth on schedule to a baby girl whom we named Allison Rebecca Eagar. Born April 6, 1965.   The village people made quite a fuss over a new baby born in their village.  After a time, I became worried about Allison because her head seemed to be somewhat deformed.  For this reason, I took her to Fairbanks to have a doctor see if her development was normal.  This was a flight that necessitated a stop in Fort Yukon and so while we were in the lodge there a native lady noticed the baby did not have anything covering her hands as they stuck out of her little parka suit.  Anyway, she took the little suit and sewed up the sleeves so her hands would be protected.  

We proceeded to Fairbanks where the doctor assured me that there was nothing wrong with the baby’s development.  The next day we returned to Arctic village again using the mail plane.

ABOUT THE PEOPLE

Evidence from archaeological investigations indicates that the Arctic Village area may have been settled as early as 4500 BC.[4] Around 500 AD the Athabascan-speaking Gwich’in people (often called Neets'aii Gwich'in or “those who dwell to the north”)[4] came into the area with seasonal hunting and fishing camps. About 1900. the village became a permanent settlement. 

These people were a branch of the widespread Athabascan Indian Culture.  They were closely related to the Navajo and Apache cultures of the Southwest.  This was particularly apparent in their language and physical appearance.  They lived in small log cabins and heated their homes with the stunted spruce trees which grew there in the Arctic.  This necessitated their having and using dog teams and sleds to haul wood, water, and meat home to the village.  

Their way of life depended heavily upon the caribou and fishing and trapping also.  In the summer they caught fish with regular fishing poles

                                                                                                                                                                                   

FISHING THROUGH THE ICE

  In winter they fished through the ice.  This was accomplished by chopping a hole about two feet in diameter down to near the water level then punching a smaller hole through to the water below.  When they did this the water would spurt up like a fountain for a time until the pressure was equalized. 

When they had a hole through the ice they would “jig” to attract and catch fish (mostly Arctic Grayling).  They used conventional spinners and lures like daredevils and mepths lures which they would bait with a piece of white jaw meat from a fish they had caught.  They would catch mostly grayling (much like trout) but occasionally also a lingcod or pike. 

 I enjoyed going out with them to catch fish for my own family.  It was an exciting activity for me as I have always enjoyed fishing.  Whenever I caught a fish and pulled it up onto the ice I would throw it down and it would freeze like a piece of firewood.  When I got ready to go home, I just stacked them up in my arms and took them home to clean and cook.  Grayling was a very good fish. They were very fat and with no scales to speak of it was easy to clean and cook them.

FIRST CARIBOU HUNT

Whenever I could I accompanied the men out to hunt the caribou which were never very far from the village.  This also helped to feed my family and was a great sport for me.  I had a 300 Savage deer rifle which was very effective for bringing down a caribou.  The Indians laughed at me calling me “John Wayne” because I would wear my cartridge belt full of bullets around my parka.

On one occasion I went with them out to the frozen lake to hunt. There was a sizable herd of caribou milling around so we shot several animals, (about four as I recall).   Then cleaned and skinned them.  I was amazed that they could do this with their bare hands because it was about 30 degrees below zero.  If you spit it would freeze before it reached the ground and your nose hairs would be stiff and tickling.  Anyway, they would warm their hands every little while inside the carcass and in that way be able to get the job done.  

Before leaving the animals, they had butchered they would cover the remaining meat up with the hides of the animals so the crows or ravens would not mess on them to ruin the meat.                                                                                                     

On this occasion, they got ready to leave when to their surprise one of the cow caribou was still lying there unharmed but asleep.  I told them not to shoot her but to let her get up and move off with the rest of the herd which she did.  It seems that the caribou make a loud cracking sound with their ankle bones when they walk so, often they are not even spooked by the loud gunfire.

                                                                                                     

THE CARTRIDGE WOULD FIRE

On another occasion, I was asked by old George Tritt if I would go with him out to the edge of the village where he had seen some caribou recently.  It seems that he was out of ammunition and so needed my help which I was very glad to offer him.  Anyway, we went out about a half-mile from the village, and, sure enough, there was a small herd of caribou quietly moving along.  We came up to a small ravine where we could look across without disturbing them.  George told me to choose a fat cow and bring her down and we would then butcher her and carry as much meat as we could back to the village. 

 I sighted in on the animal we had selected and squeezed the trigger but to my annoyance, nothing happened.  It was just too cold and the firing pin would not move fast enough to fire the cartridge.  Well, George knew how to fix that, so I took the bolt out and we heated it over a little fire we made with dry spruce limbs.  Upon sliding it back in I took aim again and this time it fired and the animal fell.  I had shot it through the heart.  

Now, at this point, I don’t think I could stand to shoot any animal.  It was a different situation then as the caribou meat and hides were essential to their way of life and probably still are. We packed as much meat as we could back to be shared by the village.  He was planning on coming back with a dog team to bring in the rest of it. 

 In this natural deep freeze, nothing would spoil as long as the predators and ravens were kept from disturbing it.  George gave me a good-sized chunk of meat which I took home and prepared a feast for my family.  Below:  A typical dog team and sled ready: Mush! Mush!         

                                                                                                                

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

My daily routine as Principal-teacher was to first stand by on the radio to advise the mail plane or whoever might be flying to Arctic Village how the weather conditions were there:  Cloud height (ceiling) wind conditions or storms etc.

Next, I would make sure the classroom was clean and warm.  This done I would review my lesson plans and layout the books and supplies needed for each age group.  When the ladies came from the village to prepare the snacks or food to be served to the students, I would help them find the supplies and cooking utensils they might need.

During the times when I had a teacher aide or helper, I would brief them on the planned activities and schedule of instruction for the day. Thus, the school year moved right along and we had several visiting teams from Fairbanks who came to do dental check-ups and to do dental work needed by the students as well as doing what was needed for the parents and village people as well.

Because there had been several cases of tuberculosis a team came out to do testing and to take the ones infected back to the hospital for treatment.  I think I may have been mildly infected then because a few years later when given a tuberculin test I reacted positively.  An X-ray showed a tiny bit of damage but later-on in life whenever I had the test again it was always negative.  

This was the era of various programs instituted by President Kennedy such as Head start and the job corps and youth corps.  We had a young man from New York who came out to volunteer in the youth corps. I don’t know exactly what his assignment was, but he was very amiable and had a wonderful sense of humor.  He was not interested in the hunting or fishing opportunities, being from the “big city” I guess.

SHOWING ARMY TRAINING FILMS

I found out that I had free access to all the “war movies” or training films that were made during the Second World War so all I had to do was order them and they were shipped out to me.  Almost every week I would get a new batch of them and show them for the people to enjoy. Besides being entertaining they had a great deal of educational value.  They provided educational and cultural learning experiences for the folks in Arctic Village.  Many had been so isolated and sheltered all of their lives from places, people, and events of the outside world, so to speak.  Now things have changed almost unbelievably due to the oil pipeline and all that came with it.  They are almost cosmopolitan now by contrast.  

POTLATCHES AND DANCES

With the isolation that the winter “deep freeze” brought the village settled in for a long period of relative inactivity and perhaps boredom.  This was alleviated however by many potlatches and celebrations.  These were held in the school, of course, so we did not miss any of the activities.  There were plenty of refreshments except for alcoholic beverages as they were outlawed in the village, but there were cakes, cookies, and a lot of good meat cooked in a number of ways.  

The village band consisted of a fiddle player and a guitar player who also kept up a steady rhythm by stomping his foot.  The music had been passed down from the days of the French Fur traders and was a lot like Irish jigs and reels.  The village folks vied with each other with or without partners to do some fancy stepping.  They even got me onto the floor occasionally to jig around a bit but without a partner.  I don’t know why that was unless it was pure shyness on both of our parts.      

THE BIG FREEZE

With this winter came the coldest weather on record.  Our school water systems all got frozen and even a team of maintenance workers from Fairbanks could not restore them during that 60 plus degrees below zero time.

We had to use an out-house style toilet and hand carry all the water we used in and out.  As you may well imagine this was a most difficult time for our family, but life goes on and the school was never closed either. The situations remained like that until the Spring-time thaw enabled another crew to come and completely rebuild the water systems and insulate them against such a freeze-up in the future.

REMOVING MITTENS – ALMOST FATAL

During that winter I had a close call with what could have meant a life-threatening experience.  One day, feeling restless, I decided to take a hike up the frozen river for a mile or two.  It was a bright, frosty day and when I say frosty I mean it was, like forty below, anyway that didn’t bother me as I was swaddled in my cold-weather gear complete with huge beaver fur mittens, mukluks (boots), and warm parka with a fur hood.  I felt warm enough, even a bit too warm to the extent that my glasses were steaming up. I thought I better take them off so I can see better, but to do so I had to remove my mittens.  That was almost a fatal mistake because once my mittens were off my hands almost froze to where I could not move my fingers.  I was beginning to panic and to feel a lot of pain.  It immobilized me to the extent that I almost fainted and needed to lean against a small spruce for support.  I don’t remember just how I managed to slide my hands and arms back into those mittens.  Perhaps using my teeth and one hand at a time to guide the other hand into the mittens.  One problem was that they were too tight-fitting, so it was a real struggle and all the while my hands were feezing more and more. I finally succeeded in getting them back on and, as you can well imagine, headed back to the village immediately.

                                                                                             

ASSIGNMENT HEADSTART

When Springtime fully arrived with almost continuous sunlight, I was given the assignment to go to the Alaska College, near Fairbanks to attend a seminar.  It was in preparation for setting up a Head Start program as part of our school offering for the community.  I attended this seminar and learned various techniques for preparing the preschoolers with readiness activities such as self-awareness, rhythm and movement exercises, English language experience, etc. to prepare them to adjust more successfully when they were later taught to read and write and speak English.   My roommate, there was a Navajo man who was also a teacher and had been educated at Chemawa, Oregon a boarding school for the more advanced Indian students from all tribes who were served by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools.  I enjoyed visiting with him and perhaps formed a desire to teach Navajo children because of his acquaintance.  Which, of course, I did much later on in my teaching career.  

There was one experience I had that stands out in my memory.  You must remember that this was the time of the midnight sun, so it was daylight all the time.  Anyway, I had taken a nap as I supposed in the afternoon and awoke thinking it was time for our dinner or evening meal so I went down to the cafeteria to see if I had missed it and was surprised to discover that it was not evening but the next morning and I had missed not only dinner the night before but breakfast as well.  At least that is the way I remember it now and I may have it the other way around for all I can tell at this time.     

Old John Lake Picture

FIRST TRIP TO OLD JOHN LAKE

During that summer I made a trip with the Indians up over the mountain to Old John Lake. A sizable body of water about four miles wide and some eight miles long.  We took our bedding and supplies packed on dogs and proceeded up to the top of the nearby mountain called Shenjic.  At that place, we found the tent and supplies the Indians always kept set up there as a place to watch for the caribou herds moving through the country.  There was a brass telescope and cooking utensils, some staple food supplies, and blankets. 

 We left that area and came to an outlook or vantage point looking down towards Old John Lake.  Here we were met by some people from Norway who were hiking across to Canada.  They were fascinated by a small herd of caribou that were crossing beneath us at not a great distance.                                                                                             

The man from Norway asked me if I could shoot a caribou so we could share it and have camp meat for our journey.  I aimed at a young bull and brought him down but they were disappointed that I didn’t shoot the big bull with an impressive set of antlers. 

Anyway, we butchered the animal and carried what meat we wanted back up to the tent meaning to retrieve it on our way back to the village the next day.  We then proceeded to the shore of Old John Lake and cooked some meat and rested for a while. 

Then we got into this leaky old boat and headed across the lake.  We stopped at a point where the fishing was good and caught lots of big arctic char. They were like Dolly Vardan trout.  They had a flattish head and some whiskers like a catfish.  We also caught some lingcod and pike.  

With as many fish as we could carry, we set out for our destination to make camp for the night.  The Indians made a fire and cooked some of the fish by threading a willow up through them and leaning the willow over the fire or coals to cook.   I noticed that they didn’t bother to clean them or cut off their heads like I was used to doing.  It seemed like a natural way to cook them and they tasted delicious. 

We rolled out the bedding and I immediately sensed that it was going to be a very cold night.   To keep warm I heated a couple of stones in the fire and tucked them into the bottom of my makeshift sleeping bag.  That turned out to be a horrible mistake because my sheets started to smoke and catch on fire.  I quickly rolled the stones out and after they cooled for a while I put them back in wrapped in a sheet.  This time they were fine and I slept relatively WARM.

 It seemed odd to me that the Indians chopped the green cottonwood trees for our fire and they burned very well despite being green, 

ASSIGNMENT - CACHE

The next morning, we proceeded to do what we had come over there to do which was to make caches.  One for each of them and they insisted that I construct one for myself as well.  A cache was a platform tied in place high enough up between three trees that were close together.                                                                                         

Our purpose was to be able to place necessary items for survival there secured by a tarp and placed high enough that the animals could not get to it. At each cache site, we placed cards encased in plastic designating whose cache it was.  The main purpose of this exercise was to secure the lake and its vicinity for the exclusive use of the Indians.  This was deemed necessary due to the incursion of guides with floatplanes that would bring game hunters and fishermen to that spot and spoil it for the natives.    

         

OLD JOHN LAKE

With our mission accomplished at Old John Lake, we headed back across the lake to Arctic Village.  The weather had gotten cold and rainy and there was a stiff wind blowing against us as we tried to row back across the lake.  The boat was leaking so badly that one of us had to bail water out continuously.                                                                                                         

We took turns on the oars. One on each oar so we could maximize our power to combat the force of the wind.  After what seemed like two hours, we reached the cabin on the far side of the Lake and found to our comfort that the Norwegians had left some packages of instant coffee and hot chocolate.  

After a rest and some refreshment, we continued back to the village.  My stint at the oars had injured my forearm to the extent that it became increasingly painful.  At length when it didn’t get better, I made a trip into Fairbanks on the mail plane and went to see a doctor.  I had torn and irritated the nerves in the muscle sheath and that was stopping the healing process.  

The doctor. gave me some cortisone shots in the injured area and I returned to Arctic Village by way of Fort Yukon.  In a week or so I was able to feel relief and was able to use my arm again.

TENT DESTROYED BY RAMPAGING GRIZZLY BEAR AT OLD JOHN LAKE

 Attempt to go to old john lake alone-tent destroyed by rampaging grizzly bear – night alone on “bear mountain”

I had another adventure in connection with the tent on the mountain.  Becoming restless again I decided to go back to Old John Lake by myself and thought I could camp in the tent on the mountain that I mentioned before. Unfortunately, when I reached the tent I beheld to my horror that a grizzly bear had ransacked it.

 I suppose he smelled some of the meat we had left hanging there.  To sum it up, he had destroyed that tent completely.  So, there was no place for me to stay out of the weather.  There was nothing else for me to do but head back to the village. 

 I attempted to return home but kept falling into the muskeg and swamp water and was getting very wet and cold.  On top of that, it began to rain, so there I was without any shelter and unable to reach the village.  I could see the lights from the school and even hear the generator running but it may as well have been on the other side of the moon.  I realized that I had to give up and take shelter the best I could and perhaps make a small fire to keep warm.  

Stumbling around a while more I discovered a large spruce tree that had been blown over by the wind and under the root base was a small cavity that would accommodate me.  I built a small fire and tried to dry myself and sleep.  I must have drifted off for the next thing I remember was looking down to the school and realizing that it was already morning.  After some more time stumbling along but not finding a trail, I reached the village and was so happy to be back in the bosom of my family. I might just mention also that during the night I heard some loons crying to each other but not knowing what made that awful noise I just prayed that it wasn’t the bear or some wolves prowling around.                                                                  

LITTLE DAVID – ALMOST SCALPED

About this same time my son David had a bad accident and I had to rush him into Fairbanks.   He and his older brother were having a tussle on the upper bunk of their bunk beds and David fell off landing headfirst on a sharp metal edge of a trunk. The fall had torn his scalp back exposing the skull bone for a space of about three inches.  My wife was horrified but I was able to get on the radio and contact an air force plane flying in the vicinity.  He agreed to land on our narrow airstrip and we hustled him and his mother (VerDawn) down to meet the plane.

All went well there and the Dr. was able to reattach his scalp so that there left almost no scar or sign of the injury.   

MY WIFE’S STAY IN FAIRBANKS FOR DENTAL WORK

In the Autumn time, my wife (VerDawn) began to complain about so much toothache that it became almost unbearable.  I decided to send her into Fairbanks to stay with some of our LDS Church members again and arrange for her dental work to be done. She stayed over there for about a week and returned with a set of dentures, so the end of her toothaches.  

 A FOOLISH ATTEMPT ON SNOW SHOWS TO FOLLOW A HERD OF CARIBOU

It is funny what strange things we do on the spur of the moment which has very serious consequences.  I had carried with me up to Arctic Village my archery set of six hunting-tipped arrows and a very strong bow.  The arrows fit into a plastic holder that clipped onto the bow so I didn’t have to carry them in a quiver.  My intent on this beautiful early spring day was to see if I could get close enough to a herd of caribou to shoot one.  The snow was that crystalline blue characteristic of that time of year when the snow turns into individual ice crystals.  Well, I crept up as close as I could to the caribou but they, wise as they were, kept just out of reach even though I expended all my arrows in the vain hope that I could arch one over and hit a caribou.  I was wearing snowshoes and that was a bad idea because I had no experience walking very far in them.  Now with my exertion from chasing the caribou, I began to be in real trouble.  It was due to my legs (calves and thighs) going into spasms.                                                                                               

At length, I could not walk at all and fell back into a snowbank to rest and massage my leg muscles.  After about a half-hour or more I was able to restore function to my muscles sufficient to hobble back to the village.  But you can see what a precarious situation I would have been in had I not been able to get back on my feet.  

 I was so independent and sure of myself that it didn’t seem important to me to tell anyone where I was going.  I cannot believe now how foolish I was then.  

It’s like the old saying: “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”  That’s been my story for so much of my life and perhaps I only survived because I had a very patient, long-suffering angel watching over me. 

HELPING MY MAINTENANCE MAN (CHRISTIAN TRITT) OBTAIN A SNOWMOBILE

My Maintenance man, Christian was very interested in trying to obtain a snowmobile for his use and to help the village.  I looked into the possibility of getting a grant from the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) to enable him to have one delivered out to him in Arctic Village.  Much to our joy, my appeal was granted and within a couple of weeks, Christian was the proud owner of a snowmobile.

REASON FOR ESTABLISHING A PERMANENT SETTLEMENT

Becoming a permanent settlement was necessary to obtain a school for the village. For this reason, the people had to give up their migrations following the caribou and they became a settled community enabling them to have a church (Episcopal) and a school for their children.

 Life was never the same for them after that because with stores and mail planes bringing in supplies also came white sugar for their tea and candy for their children.  Consequently, when I came on the scene most of the young adults had lost their front teeth to decay and didn’t look like young people anymore.  Before this time when the people lived on fish, caribou, and wild berries, etc. there was practically no incidence of tooth decay.

To cut short my narrative I will just conclude by saying that the time came when it became too difficult for us as a family to continue our Arctic Adventure.  We left the Arctic much the way we came first by an air force transport then by jet airlines from Fairbanks home to Utah

I have to say in praise of my wife (VerDawn) that she served her mission up there very well.  She was endowed with the spirit of Elijah, so to speak and couldn’t rest until she had compiled a genealogy or family group record for as many of the native people who would work with her in this endeavor.  When we returned to Utah, she presented it to the Church Genealogical Department and it became part of their voluminous archive of information.  

She bore up under the tribulations and my foolish behavior at times and was a good mother to our seven children and was always kind and good to the native people and enjoyed associating with them.          

 

Poems About Alaska

Old Mary Gilbert of Arctic Village

By: Walter Duane Eagar

Old Mary was failing

She would not last

Another winter ooh! So cold!

Hers had been the good life

As Neets’aii gwitch’in

But now so fast

Body and mind within

Had grown so old!

No regret or ever now complain

About the weather or the pain

Children with grandchildren

Played around her knees

Sleeping and waking she would often ask:

Whose are all of these?

At times she would appear

To wake from pleasant dreams

And ask about her husband

Gone out now with his teams

She asked again

as in that long time past

Did he bring the unborn caribou calf?

To nourish me at last?

She had followed him

Over all this land, they say

And bore him children

Along the way.

Though some – too frail

Had sadly passed away.

Old Mary died in the winter of 1966

And slept until the spring – in a room

By the chapel.

 

Remembering Old John Tritt

by Walter Duane Eagar

Tough as a boiled owl

Just a boyhood expression

But old John was this tough and more

How many nights he had slept in the snow?

With only his caribou robe for cover

He was a proud Gwitch’in

Neets’aii Gwitch’ in Kutchin

He knew this land from the Yukon Flats

To the mushers of Nome

From the mountains of the Shenjic

To the peaks of Denali

It was rumored he had once been

A witch Doctor or Shaman

And could appear or disappear at will

He bragged about this harsh land

That held no mystery or fear for him

Wife or companion he had no need

Just didn’t hang around that long

Until now!

He was slowing down and

Felt the cold

Gone was his desire

For Yukon gold

Now found comfort for his pain

Aging joints cried out

With every shower of rain

Coming home at last

Sought shelter from the blast

And comfort with his kin

Seeing, listening, yes! we’ll remember him.

I’m sure Old John is gone now and sleeps among all the ones he loved.