Halloween Festivals

Talloofa (Samoan for Hello). I only put the phonetic spelling because the Samoan spelling has so many vowels I can't remember how to say it.

Pamyua (Inupiaq) for Rejoice or Sing. My vocabulary is growing. I hope yours is too.

Well, another beautiful week in paradise. I am now just like most locals. I have studded snow tires on my Volvo. I am ready. I told my fellow teachers now that I have them on it is guaranteed not to snow until mid-November. The pool is up to $400 for the first snow fall on the ground. I have entered twice hoping to double my chances. We shall see. I have Oct 10 (nope it passed already) and I have November 15. That may be a winner. I hope everyone is doing well.

First, I am sure it made Memphis news that Ft. Richards and Elmendorf Air Bases are going to join and be a bigger and stronger unit. So this week we have been blessed with air show rehearsals. I am not sure what they are for but at recess we stand and watch the formations. It is pretty neat since they are only about 3 miles away and we have a great view. I don't have recess duty but I find myself wandering out there when I hear the jets. They are loud and they look so close together.

You may not know this but Saturday was the "official" Christmas Light sale! You heard me correctly. Christmas lights. I, of course, made an off-hand comment about how I am boycotting purchasing any Christmas stuff until at least after Halloween. I walked away from the cutest snowman and you all know how much I love snowmen!!! Anyhow, the teachers all gave me a scornful look and said I had to get the paper so I would know what's going on. I am too cheap - I will let them keep me abreast of what I need to do and where I need to get it!! So why was Saturday the official Christmas Light sale. Well if the Alaskans wait until December to put up Christmas lights they will be 3-5 feet in snow and can't hang them on the gutters. So the weekend before Halloween (when the weather is nice) is the day most people put their Christmas lights out. I did not purchase any because I don't want to break my boycott. I will purchase them and decorate my porch once Halloween is over. It isn't like they are going to fine me like in Halle Plantation!

Saturday was also the Halloween Festivals at most of the schools in Anchorage. Up in Alaska there is usually snow on the ground for Halloween so they have found a wonderful solution to Trick-or-treating. The city of Anchorage hosts a HUGE trick-or-treat event at the convention center. You have to purchase tickets and you get to stay 2 hours. Then the next shift of kids and families are allowed to enter. They host about 10,000 people every year. This was created because there is usually snow on Halloween and the kids don't get to show off their costumes - just their snow gear. So they have a wonderful alternative to door to door trick-or-treating and the kids get to show off their costume. In addition to the Halloween Town in Anchorage, each school (elementary - High School) host fun games, food, face painting, rides (on tractors or trucks with hay) and cake walks. Cake walks are the big draw. They pay so many tickets to enter to win a cake. Do they know they can buy one at the store for less money than the festival tickets? I know, I know, it is a fund raiser for the PTA but this cake walk thing has me baffled. One little girl, Lika, won her cake shortly after the festival started. She clutched that cake so tightly so it would not be misplaced I am sure that after 3 hours of fun and games, the frosting was moosh and the cake was gooey. So my pictures are from both of my schools. I attended Susitnas for 3 hours and then went to Airport Heights for 3 more hours. I fibbed a bit. Every teacher was suppose to be volunteer for the whipped cream pie in the face booth. I told each school I did it at the other school. No way was I getting whipped cream in my face. I wouldn't waste it like that. I would put it all over my jello or pound cake! So the pictures are my kiddos from both schools. They are cutest little ones! The little girl in the wheel chair is one of my autistic children (Zoey). She looked cute in her costume. The fireman - yep a little boy - is cute but I called him a fire girl. His hair is long and curly. You would think by now I wouldn't make that mistake but I did!! The father was quick to correct me. By the way, the dad was bald. Go figure. Do you notice how "into" it the whole family gets. Parents dressed up as much as the kiddos. The fishing game was interesting. I should have known the fishing game was popular. I love the quilt that was made just for this event. The children have a fishing pole and they throw it in the river to catch a fish. Someone sits behind the quilt and loads up their fishing pole with a goodie. cute. Next is Mike, my principal at Airport Hgts, and the secretary, Deb. They just rinsed the whipped cream out of their hair and face. The gentleman in purple is Ben Elbow. Yep, you read that correctly. He is a northern native. He is the PE teacher. Then there is Emily as Mrs. Frizzle. You all remember Emily from our Juneau trip. She was out of school for 8 school days. She had the flu badly. She is back and teaching and having fun dressed up. The lady in the pink hair is Ms Karen, kindergarten teacher, who I play bunko with each month. The lady getting her face painted in my other principal, Kim. She is originally from Florida. She says she doesn't miss Florida because Alaska is so much prettier. The two boys enjoying the cotton candy are one of my favorite families. Their mom is expecting number 5. ALL BOYS!!!! Then another teacher, 5th grade, and some of her students. It was a fun night. I will tell you it is a big fund raiser. I sold tickets at each school for an hour and I can see why the PTA does this fun event. Apparently there is a winter carnival which is more fun. I hear it involves snow cones (using the snow from outside), sled racing, and snowball fights. I can't wait.

That handsome guy riding his bike is David. He rode 150 miles for Muscular Dystrophy research. His Medtronic team (24 total) did well. The mid-south bikers (about 700 of them) raised over half a million dollars for MS. They rode 75 miles from Memphis to Tunica, Mississippi. Spent the night and rode back. Unfortunately, a lady from Medtronic and her husband were in an accident. No one knows if they were hit by a car or their tires tangled or hit bad pavement, but they ended up in the hospital in serious condition. She was already riding with a broken jaw from hang gliding a few weeks earlier. She is back to work and looking well according to David. I am so proud of his effort and can't wait for him to enter the Iron man contest next. You know, bike, run and swim. I bet with some of your encouragement he would do it. Oh wait, that would have to be the other Iron man contest. Drive, chip and putt on the golf course!!!

So now let me tell you a bit about our daylight. It is getting less and less each week. I sure miss August! I called David on my way to work one morning, 7:30 am Alaska time, and told him it was dark and the moon was at 12 noon position. Strange. I thought it would be getting dark from the sunset side not the sunrise side. So I go to work in dark time. Not much different from Memphis after we turn our clocks back. I frequently drove to my school in Memphis in the dark. The big difference is the sun came up at 7:30 am in Memphis. In Alaska, the sun is rising at about 8:15 and I can already see it creeping towards 8:30 am. I am told that it will probably be 10 am by the time Christmas break rolls around. I guess that is why every classroom has two sets of lights. They think of everything up here. I wondered why there are two light switches. I have been turning on only one set of ceiling lights. I am told that my the end of November I will be turning on both sets to keep it lighter in the classroom. This is a way to avoid SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I have placed my order for a SAD light for my house. But here is what is strange. I drive home at 4:30 - 5:00 pm and the sun is bright and shining on the mountains so beautifully. Gosh I have such a majestic view! I watch my gorgeous sunsets about 7:30 pm now. Again, I am told I will be seeing dark time about 4:30 pm by Christmas break. Remember, Dec 21 is the shortest day of the year and then it starts getting lighter each day. June 21 is the Summer Solstice where above the Artic Circle they get 24 hours of day light for months. Anchorage, Juneau, Nome, Fairbanks and south (Ketchikan) get about 20 hours of day light. Then in the winter, above the Artic circle they are in 24 hours of dark time. So I guess I am glad I will be in Memphis for the two weeks of real darkness up here.

Now let me tell you about our weekly earth quakes. Yes, you heard me correctly. I use to tell Jenna that she would fall into the Pacific Ocean living in San Francisco. Well, I guess I have to eat crow. Anchorage and Alaska have earth quakes all the time. Most of the teachers keep the Earthquake monitors on their computer desktop everyday. Alaska sits on the Pacific Rim where the slabs of the Earth's crusts slides spasmodically beneath and alongside the continents. The largest, yes LARGEST, earthquake to hit the USA was in Anchorage in 1964 (9.2 magnitude). So I have been talking to the science teacher a lot about the earth quakes. I feel them more than I would like to. The first time I felt one I didn't know what was happening except my bedside lamp was shaking off the night stand and the bed was trembling. At first, I thought a truck went down my street but there was no truck. It was an earth quake. It registered about 3.1. at 4:30 in the morning. Just two hours ago Anchorage had one that measured 2.9. it was 77 miles ESE of Anchorage. I guess I am hooked like the rest of the locals. I check the earthquake monitor every couple of days just to gauge how big the tremors are and if I felt them. You can hear the earthquakes in the mountain valley before you can feel the shaking. The sound is a loud crack and then you feel tremors. I guess I am glad I live at the foot of the mountain. I will keep this in mind.
I have started my month countdown until David, Tyler and Jensina arrive for Thanksgiving in Anchorage. I bet that was the last place they thought they would be spending Thanksgiving a few months ago. I tell them I am unpredictable and just when they thought they had me figured out I put myself in Alaska. Isn't that just wonderful?
I hope all of you have plenty of trick-or-treaters visit your houses next weekend. We have parent/teacher conferences this week. We teach 1/2 day and conference 1/2 day for 4 days. I am sure the "gang" will be ready for WooWhoo Friday celebration after talking to parents all week.

Until next blog. Take care.

Sheryl the Nanook of the North.