Little Voices
Yup, I hear them. Not all the time, thankfully, but when I do… I hear them loud and clear. They come from the North, calling, begging and pleading with me to come back home. Never know what might set them off. Sometimes it happens after reading some Robert Service. Sometimes its just a light snow on the pines or a chill in the air. Then, all at once, I can see the Northern Lights and feel the bitter bite of the cold. I see the moose along the edge of a willow clump or the mighty herds of caribou moving on the tundra. I can see Mt Sanford and Drum on the horizon, reminding me how small I really am. I can smell the wood smoke and taste the salmon. My mind starts working out all sorts of ways to liquidate stuff and finaince the adventure. Leah hears the Voices too, thankfully we ussaully hear them at different times. Someday we might both hear them on the same day, and not be able talk the other out of it.
This time, its Matt and Sora’s fault. I got to looking through their old posts about moving to their island, and it reminded me of Leah and mines trip to Alaska.
Thanks A lot…….now where did I put them snowshoes……..
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:53 am
I used to hear thoses voices when I lived in so. Calif. I had never lived anywhere else but I always had this urge to drive up Hwy 99 to Oregon. I finally moved to Oregon in 1990 and the voices stopped..Well untill I moved to the mid-west. Thereeeeee Backkkkkkkk :):)
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:03 am
I used to hear those voices about Oregon as well. Now, the voices call me to the Appalachians.
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:16 am
What can I say? The NORTH does NOT call me. The land calls me, but not from up north. Goodness, I can’t even imagine living through New York winters, much less Alaska winters.
But, God bless those who have the constitution to thrive in the frigid regions of the land. Your courage entralls me, even if your vision doesn’t.
September 22nd, 2006 at 9:25 am
I notice that the Grammarian Agrarian cannot even spell “enthralls.” Oh, well.
September 22nd, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Hey Scott,
Having just returned from Alaska, I now understand, at least to a degree, the attraction. Maybe if I were younger the voices you speak of would be stronger and more insistent. But, I have to admit, they are there some times, whispering and prodding.
Usually, I just tell ‘em to pipe down, so I can think. And when I think through all the many obstacles, the voices fall silent. I then shrug and pop open a home-brew and count my blessings… I don’t have land (yet) but that’s really the only thing I don’t have, that I still want. And I am finally content to wait on the Lord, rather then go runnin’ off half-cocked, half-prepared and half-witted. Been there, done that, have the scars to prove it.
Mind you, I can’t tell others what to do.. and the north country is spectacular. I was grinnin’ like a fool the whole time I was up there. Enjoying your blog as always, Scott.
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Wow, an agrarian Northerness. I’m too much of a Hobbit, though, to be called that way (if I can mix my literary allusions).
My husband was stationed in King Salmon for a year on a remote assignment. The three babies and I had to stay in Georgia the year he was gone, but I got to fly up there for a week and a half visit in mid-April. The days were already long, but it snowed while I was there. That’s such a small community that there’s nothing to do
but visit friends and eat and sing and talk all night. It was a wonderful time, and I can certainly understand why some hardy souls would feel that call.