November 8, 2013 – Friday

24 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

Brrr, I just rebuilt the fire in the stove. It’s downright cold back here in the living room this morning. Even my computer, with its metal case, is cold. Burn baby burn! (The fire, NOT the computer.)

I started Thursday by taking the usual 5.36 mile walk. Hoofing into a stiff northwesterly wind with snow hitting me in the face, it served as a reminder of the season to come.

The rest of the day was spent reading assignments. I tried working on the solar panels for a bit, but the shop was simply too cold. I’d work for a minute, then blow on my fingers and rub my hands together. That scenario was played out six or eight times before I finally gave up and came back inside. The temperature hovered a few degrees below freezing which isn’t bad. It was the wind that made it seem so much colder. Even in the barn with the door closed, there still seemed to be a breeze. That, coupled with seeing my breath, continually fumbling with and dropping the metal nuts and bolts, causing me to have to put on my magnifiers and crawl around on the floor to find them, and the thought of a warm fire in the house, dictated I make the executive decision that the solar panels could wait to be assembled on a warmer day.

The school district called yesterday. I’m working two-and-a-half days next week. Monday I’m in for the other science person in the high school. On Tuesday, I’m subbing in fourth grade in the morning, fifth grade in the afternoon. This will be the test, the decision-maker, on my feelings for elementary substitute teaching. On Thursday, I’m teaching from eight to noon… junior high English. We’ll see how that goes. 

Though I really don’t want to teach more than two days a week, I’d like to be considered the go-to guy, the utility man, the person the district can count on in the last minute.

Being a go-to guy was how I worked most of my university years in Alaska. I used to remind the Deans not to hesitate to assign me any classes no one else wanted; send me to the furthest reaches where no one else would go. Both were always appreciative they didn’t have to worry about bruising my delicate ego by asking me to teach a class that I might have felt was below me. Ha, I well remember the days, forty years ago, of sitting in a little-kid’s chair, strumming my banjo and teaching kindergarten music. 

Being the utility person has paid off over the years. I’m still teaching for the university.

I just had the thought… it’s possible, even probable, that sometime in the future, I could be teaching a graduate course for the University of Alaska and on the same day, be back to strumming my banjo in a kindergarten music class substitute teaching. Now that's a REAL utility guy! Stay tuned.

Someone inferred that I must have a deep drive and need to teach. I'm not nearly that humble or educationally righteous and my motives aren’t nearly that pure. I simply want to replace the windows in the living room next year, build the shop in the barn, and purchase my trike. Since money doesn’t grow on trees, at least in my world, I’ll get those extras the old-fashioned way. I’ll work for them. 

So other than run the sweeper over the floors and the dust rag over the tops of the furniture, that was my Thursday; comfortably busy if not exciting. Just the way I like them.

Sargie works early today. I’ll be going over to Iron Mountain this afternoon to have supper with Mr. Milligan. Sargie has to work a bit past five so she’ll meet us for supper. I wish I weren’t on this diet. There’ll be no Chinese cuisine for tonight’s supper… I hope. The diet is going well, but I slipped last night by enjoying a bowl of popcorn. It’s back to the straight narrow today. This spare tire that insists on calling my mid section home has got to go.

With a clear sky outside, I’m going to walk my five miles first thing this morning then hopefully, I'll work on the solar panels the rest of the day. Once assembled and mounted, I want to make an insulated wooden box to fit under the living room in which to place the deep cell batteries charged by the solar panels. There’ll be the wiring into the house to run, a place for the inverter inside, etc, etc, etc. Oh, if only you had my life.

After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…