Onward to Alaska

There's a lot to be thankful for today, although currently I'm sitting outside of the airport gates where Stevie and Clay are making fort for our night in the Anchorage airport. Apparently, I can't check my bags until 4 hours before the flight, so I'll be up for the next two hours until I can check in. It's 2:45 am in Jackson so my internal clock is wonky, but I'm filled with the odd energy of reflection and desire to talk that hits me when I can't sleep. I'm going to become friends with the ginormous taxidermy grizzly bear in the glass box beside me. Are bears really that big? No wonder my mom is terrified of them. What is the relationship between man an animals? Can it be peaceful? This makes me think of Life of Pi, a thinker and mesmerizing aesthetics. Oh how nice it would be to swim in an ocean right now! But back to Alaska. Could bears and humans peacefully coexist? What role does fear play in danger...between humans and animals and humans with humans.  My good friend told me that her mom put her dads socks and undergarments in her garden overnight to keep the deer away (one can only imagine how funny that must look). The deer can smell that humans eat meat so they keep away. Hmmm. On the plane today from Jackson, the man beside me read a book called Time to Hunt. What might that book be about? I thought about how of course someone from the Republican anti-gun control belt would be reading that book. But I wonder, what about the story drew this reader in. What compelled him to buy the book in the first place? What might the protagonist have been hunting? It sounds like a masculine version of a romance novel.  My father is a hunter. And I often wonder what is the draw for him. The thrill of waiting for a Dow or buck to emerge, calculating from a distance it's age and gender by the body shape and horns. Fixating the barrel of the gun to strike at the exact spot so that the animal won't suffer. Then pow. In an instant, one flick of the finger, ricochets loud sending crows squawking. The animal down or fleeing.  What primitive emotions awaken in this experience, to lure the hunter back again.  My father, as a peaceful man, tells me that he likes to go hunting to sit in nature...taking the time to read, ponder, listen, pray. Seems a bit oxymoronic to me, the peace entertwined with violence. Which leads me to question, what degree of violence is necessary to make the world go round? Hmmm. If I was more proactive, I probably would not eat meat. Sadly not because I have a terribly compassionate heart for chickens on chicken farms. I don't enjoy the taste for starters, and I feel I'm polluting my system with pesticides by eating meat.  Is it really necessary to raise, kill, eat animals in mass?  I'll have to think more on this.

To diverge from these unguided musings, which are quite enjoyable if you have time, following a Joycian stream of consciousness thought trail, but anyway I digress. There have been some moments today that are worth noting.  There are so many things to be thankful for, primarily all have to do with people. My mother making a turkey (oh meat!), cucumber, tomato sandwich before I got on the plane. My brother riding to the airport with me. Then on the plane, I listened to a dad talk with his daughter, probably 5 years old, about the plane. "You should come on all my business trips with me," he said. I think that there may not be anything more beautiful than a father caring for his daughter, and I was delighted to overhear how patiently he answered her questions, how much joy and laughter she expressed at the idea of someday becoming an airplane pilot! And the way he carefully repacked her Dora the Explorer suitcase. I couldn't help but joke, "wow she's got all the necessities there. My Little Pony. Barbie. A stethoscope." You never know when you're gonna play with my little pony. Ya gotta be prepared.  This fathers willingness to joke with me exemplifies the way people interact in the South. We talk with anyone. People are safe. You probably even have mutual friends! I see how my Southern upbringing has formed who I am.

I then met Stevie & Clay in Atlanta, I actually stumbled upon them by surprise and fell into giggles! I feel rejuvenated since spending time at home, and it was nice to see Stevie outside of the context of school.  I'm sooooo thankful to be spending the next few weeks with them!  I very much enjoy interacting with these two, and imagine that the more time we spend together, the goofier we will act.  We met a woman from Mobile and got into a conversation about life and jobs ahd the works. oh the South! then on the plane Clay let me wear his fleece because I was cold. It is so nice to have brothers in Christ. Ladies, whatever your beliefs may be, I would highly recommend that you build friendships with some real Christian boys. Respect and care is edifying.

Two more things to thank God for:

1) time to read. My soul feels nourished by reading.

2) this little kid kept giggling whenever the bags fell out of baggage claim. Oh to find joy like that in all simple things! It's there. We only have to look more closely. Squinting works.

Ahh one more. A family is currently taking a huge family photo. We talked with the dad of this family for awhile. A pastor who used to preach at his church, now preaches in Jackson. That pastor is a family friend. Small world! Well anyway, it's super sweet to see a large family taking a photo!  All laughter and closeness.

And I can't forget how joyful I feel to be finding the mountains. Peace and wonder just rise from the image of mountains. I could sit and never move and be content.  I'm only in the airport, but I love the smell and feel of the air. So fresh and clean. Ya know, people have asked (or maybe I have asked) if you could go back to any time period or be a character in any novel who would you be any why? I think my answer would be that I would be an explorer gallavanting out west! (Of course it's beyond my imagination how difficult that would be, but if I could fare it, yes I would want to live during the Age of Exploration. Colonization days, but do it without oppression).

This brings me to my final point of thankfulness. I'm glad that I'm stuck outside the terminal because it gave me the space to write this blog entry and think about all the little moments that have made this day good : )

Oh by the way, I can't take credit for the idea beyond this blog. I've absolutely been inspired by One Thousands Gifts, which is a woman's tale of the impact of taking time to note the gifts in unexpected places found each day.

So I ended up making friends with the two women working the night shift at Starbucks. Turns out they get bored and will make free samples for people stuck in the abyss like me. Mmm cinnamon dulce latte!! Also some drunk, possibly really sad guy insisted on buying my tea for me.well alright. Free coffee in the am. Righteous.  She also said I look pretty! Well I take that as quite the compliment considering I'm not wearing makeup, have been traveling since 1pm, and always break out when I fly. People are nice. I like people. Maybe I'll just stay in this airport all summer.