The Elder Is Honored
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2005
1
7
52
Trip End
Jan 01, 2006
Barrow,
Alaska,
United States
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
I wanted to go, but it was several miles from the King Eider, and what with my slow hobble-walk, I knew it would take most of my day just to get there on foot. I checked out the tour company that I'd heard about at the airport. It was a 6-hour tour, in a dreaded tour-van. Nope, didn't want that either.
"There's a bus," the sweet young woman at the desk informed me, as I drank my morning lobby-coffee, admired her new baby, and petted the dog, a trembling, big-eyed chihuahua
243 The Big AC
. "The transit station is just a block away."The day was bright and sunny, sweater-temp, so I grabbed my pack and cameras and decided to give that a try. I set off on foot.
Remember the directional signs from yesterday's pictures, the ones pointing to the rest of the world? The transit station was there, a shed offering a restroom and a tiny lobby with a bench and a vending machine. A small bus pulled up just as I arrived, and a young Filipino man jumped out.
"Can I help you maam?" he asked. I explained that I wanted to go to the Heritage Center on the other side of town.
"Oh yes, I go there, please wait a moment and I will take you." He darted inside and headed for the restroom. I waited, enjoying the blue sky, enjoying the sun.
He had a question for me when he returned. "Are you an elder?" It was spoken quietly, with respect, and I wasn't quite sure how to answer.
"Does that mean the same as Senior?" I asked
244 An unbalanced score
. "Yes, I am over 65."He smiled. "Then you do not have to pay! Get in and I will take you where you need to go."
The bus was empty except for the two of us. "My route goes through town," he explained, as he pulled back onto the gravel road. "I'll tell you about the buildings as we go along." He told me his name and asked where I was from. I answered 'Seattle,' and added that I had three grandchildren that were half-Filipino. We discussed Filipino family names. And favorite Filipino foods! Soon we came to a church (I'd seen the steeple as the plane landed yesterday) and he asked what denomination I was. He told me he was Baptist now.
"I don't know what I'm going to do after June 30," he said as we turned the corner on Agvik Street, passing the city administration building. "The funding for the buses runs out then and I'll be out of a job." We talked a little about family life in this far-north little town. "I don't want to leave here," he said. "This is home to me now."
We picked up one passenger, who needed to go to the grocery store
245 Inupiat Heritage Center
. The town's grocery was across the street from the Heritage Center, and as we pulled to the corner and she hopped off, the driver explained "I take a break at 2:20 to 3:30. The Show usually ends at 3 PM. Please stay inside where it is warm until almost 3:30, and then come back to this corner. I will pick you up and take you back to your hotel. I hope you enjoy your visit!"Now I must tell you, I'm a regular bus-commuter, taking the express from home to work and back every day, so I'm well-versed in the Art of the Riding Bus. But this ride blew me away! I've never been treated more courteously, or held in more respect, than on a morning bus in Barrow, Alaska.
I had more to learn about this Elder thing. The pictures continue the story.
