Page 75 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

The first week of June brought warmer temperatures, but as the moist air from the south
passed over our chilly Alaskan waters, the moisture condensed into fog and a dark low
overcast. Visibilities were frequently down to 1/16 mile; consequently, planes couldn’t
land to deliver mail or pick it up. I walked by the mail room and saw tall stacks of
letters waiting for delivery. Most of the snow had melted and the grassy tundra was
turning green. By June 28, the sun had only been out 8 hours since the beginning of the
month.

Finally, the sun broke through and we saw a beautiful blue sky, but there were streaks
of steam rising from the wet landscape. I found a place under the northern cliff that was
sheltered from the light breeze. Although the temperature was in the upper 40s, the
intense sunlight made it feel like it was near 70. When I went back to the barracks, I
was red like a lobster. A couple of days later, my skin peeled and many of the guys who
had worked outside were all red-faced.

On July 2, this island that had been cloaked in fog for nearly a month suddenly burst
forth in beautiful colors. There were mainly purple flowers and yellow flowers that
decorated the deep green tundra, a sight that could almost match Alaska’s rival,
Hawaii. I loved to walk close to the Bering Sea shore and watch the large waves crash
against the rocky shoreline. Once I spotted a seal resting on a boulder. He looked like a
dog with a fishtail!

On the evening of July 2, we had a very good U.S.O. (United Service Organization)
show performance by a man who played the guitar and harmonica at the same time. We
cheered him back for about ten songs. Usually, I don’t like the shows too much because
of their raw jokes, but this was the best one I had seen yet.

One of the airmen never cussed or drank before he came to Shemya, but while here he
had a tendency to take up bad habits from anyone he associated with. After a while, he
was reassigned, we corresponded with each other. He wrote that he was surprised that I
took a liking to him while he was here. As a result, he told me that his knowing me got
him to stop drinking and start going to church every Sunday. I had never talked to him
that much, but he just watched me and noticed the things I did and didn’t do.

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