Poetry Corner
Musher's Wife Blues
I moved to the land of the midnight sun.
Then I married a musher, Oh what have I done!
The old man’s lead dog eats better than me.
After buying the dog food, there’s no money you see.
I married my husband for better or worse.
But worse must be coming or why write this verse.
Three hours for feeding, four hours to run,
He's always so tired there’s no time for fun.
In the summertime we fish from morning to night.
By the time we’re done sliming, I'm just ripe for a fight.
His idea of romance is breeding his dogs.
He keeps graphs and charts and genealogy logs.
His clothes smell like dead fish, his boots rotten meat,
and the smell always lingers when he leaves a seat.
Snaps, Hooks and Harness collars and booties,
and endless days of doggie poo duties.
Just had to have a brand new sprint sled,
but I can't drive the pick up, the battery’s dead.
They are a whole package, the sled dogs and him.
If I wanted a change, the chances are slim.
I said, “I can't take it and I'm gonna go.”
He said, “That's too bad babe, cuz I will miss you so.”
Haiku
Birds, Northward winging,
some, nasty bird flu bringing;
robins come singing.
April rain opens
green door of Spring; fog slinks in
belly to the ground.
The moon roams till dawn
Swept by the withering winds
She hides among pines
Neighbors
Fairbanksan studies leaves, lives affected by tea
February 29, 2008
Tea has taken over Jenny Tse’s life.
Not only did Tse switch from drinking coffee to drinking tea, but she started her own tea business — Sipping Streams — selling teas and tea accessories, teaching a class about tea and staging tea events. In May she will be leading her first tea tour to Guangxi Province in China.
Tse’s interest in tea as more than a relaxing, nourishing drink started a few years ago. After returning home to Fairbanks from Boise State University where she had made the transition from coffee to tea, Tse sat sipping tea and pondering how to relate to her hometown community once again. As she looked around her family’s home she realized her family members were tea drinkers too.
That’s when the dialogue began with her parents.
“They started sharing their experiences of drinking tea when they were younger and growing up in China,” Tse said.
Tea drinking inspired the conversations and excited Tse as she learned more about her parents’ past lives and Chinese culture.
She also noticed that as she drank tea with others, they began sharing stories about drinking tea with grandparents and other inter-generational tea drinking experiences.
Developing community around tea drinking is important to Tse and is one of the reasons she is pursuing her business part-time and is substitute teaching part-time.
Tse’s business name was inspired by a song with the line, “Dip your heart in the stream of life.”
Tse has taken tea classes and continues to study the history and culture of tea around the world. She will be teaching a class on tea in April at the Tanana Valley Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Last summer, Tse visited Guangxi Province in southern China to learn more about tea and the people growing it. On May 11-25 she will be leading a tea tour there. Visit www.sippingstreams.com to learn more.
On the Street
Sunday, May 11 is Mother’s Day. Many people are still hunting for those perfect gifts. Do you have any tips? What has worked well for you in the past?
“ Usually I just call her, but this year I can say Happy Mother’s Day in the newspaper and send it down to her. She’ll be happy.”— Tracey Smith, Student, Fairbanks
“Standard lunch and flowers that’s hard to mess up. Wash her car, especially now, since it’s getting warm.”— Dominic Orr, Mining and engineering student, Fairbanks
Ask a Trooper
May 6, 2008
Question: I live in a subdivision where the rules state that there are to be no four-wheelers or snowmachines on the roads. In reality, both are seasonally on the roads and what concerns me is that it is always children operating them, and they go faster than cars and faster than the posted speed limit. I have seen children so small that they have to ride standing in order to keep themselves on the machine. Can you outline the legalities concerning owning and operating a four-wheeler or snowmachine in the city? What are the legal consequences of breaking subdivision rules, including the speed limit? I am a careful driver, but there are sharp turns in the subdivision roads and the children are too busy having fun tearing around, and they are not very careful. — Carol