I stayed at the Ramada Inn last night. I had a huge bed that took up most of the room. Outside the window I could see multi-colored lights, blurred because it was raining so hard. I was happy, glad to have gotten home safely. As many have now told me, it isn’t a good idea at all to fly on small planes in the winter in Alaska.

One of these individuals was a woman I met at last year’s Science of Reading Conference. Her name is Debbie. She picked me up this morning at the Ramada Inn and gave me a lift to the conference center. It was an altogether too short ride. I talked to her for some time during the morning portion of the conference. She was one of those individuals who affirmed that winter travel to small villages is not that safe.

Sarah and Alys in CTR with Hrimmi and Raudi

She also told me about her considering going to St, Mary’s, across the big pond, by snow machine. She said she did not feel right about it. Well, shortly thereafter, she found out that two snowmachines with four people went through the ice and were no more.

This made me think of waiting for the plane to Bethel to come in, sitting there in the company truck and thinking that getting on that plane was not a good idea. The runway was iced over, it was foggy, it was raining and snowing, and it was windy.

I made it to Bethel okay and to Anchorage okay. Then in short order, I was talking with conference goers about our books to the village project. It is now all just a blur, so many faces, so little time. But I got names and email addresses in my notebook, and so I will figure out a schedule and most likely head to Nome.

I got invited to the Science of Reading symposium in May, and there I will give a half-hour presentation. I have already begun thinking about what I will talk about – I am going to call my talk, what does giving away books have to do with literacy? I will talk about the importance of ownership, and what happens when you put a book into a child’s hand, one that they can then call their own.

I talked with old friends and new. My old riding buddy Sarah Gotshall was there; she was wearing her teaching hat. She showed me a video of her riding Libby, her four-year-old mare. I hope in the near future I will ride with her. Finding the horse/book balance, I realize it is going to be an enormous heave ho.

Next: 27. 1/27/25: A Day at Home