Ursa Major

Dateline: Kodiak, AK

They say there’s an equation in Kodiak that goes like this: 1 sunny day erases 3 days of rain (in one’s memory). This may be true, but it hasn’t stopped raining since I arrived here 5 days ago. So, I can’t yet vouch for the theory. By all accounts, though, we’re supposed to have sun this weekend, so at least there’s that.

Not much to report when things are running smoothly. Campers seem happy; counselors seem happy; and this coach is doing much better physically than he was just a few days ago. Peter keeps offering the kids bribes to do impossible tricks. He almost had to buy a cake for a group yesterday, but he lucked out at the last minute.

What else? The daily newspaper seems to always feature some wildlife photo on the front page. Yesterday it was otters. This in spite of the recent appearance of trio of bears in town. I guess no one got their pictures, but apparently one had his way with a car last night. Keep in mind that when I say “bears”, I don’t mean your average black bear from the Midwest. I mean BEARS. BIG bears. “Monsters that eat your head” kind of bears. People can pay hundreds of dollars to take sea planes out into the wilderness to see Kodiak bears, so I’m choosing to regard the visitors as a cost-saving measure. I’ve been here twice, and I’ve yet to see one. I’ll keep you posted.

Speaking of bears, the subject of polar bears came up again the other day. Sandy—the camp organizer—has moved to the end of the Earth (Barrow, AK), where no humans were ever meant to live. It’s polar bear country up there, and she enlightened me on something we “outsiders” (that is, residents of the lower 48) don’t understand. Here’s the thing: despite global warming and the polar bear’s recent endangered status, there are more polar bears than there ever have been. Really. You see it’s easier to generate sympathy for polar bears than protect their environment through other measures. They're political pawns really. Do the ends justify the means? Well, maybe.

If I don’t write again after this weekend, you’ll know what happened. Hint: rent “Grizzly Man.”