Last night I showed up on time for the Anchorage to Fairbanks 10:30 p.m. flight. I almost didn’t get my book boxes checked.

It was delayed because the plane that was supposed to transport us hapless individuals was late. I occupied myself by reading horse training manuals.

Pete had set me up for an aisle seat. Never a good idea, particularly when it is, as it was, dark out (well, dusky) and bumpy. Once in the air the pilot said, “there’ll be some bumps going up and coming down. I thought, oh oh.

Sharon and Sean's place

I like being able to focus on the horizon. Instead, I had to attempt to keep from focusing on the guy next to me – bald, lean, had his eyes closed the entire flight. I held tight to the seat most of the way. We descended slowly, through the cloud cover.

My seat mate and I didn’t even talk when the plane landed. Usually, people do this. So I muttered, “cheated death once again,” and this was that.

I, with a bounce in my step, went to the baggage claim area. My friend Sean was there, waiting in his new electric car. He looked like a wild man, what with his full beard and long hair. He reminded me of his father, Bert, who looked much the same.

It was close to 12 p.m. so we both were fairly quiet on the drive to where he and his wife Sharon live. I talked for a long time with Sharon about many things including our respective wretched dental histories. Our strongest commonality is that we both do well on nitrous oxide when at the dentist.

Today is Monday. Sharon took me to Bun on the Run where I met up with Mary Sackinger, who is a long time horse buddy. I was to stay at her place. Soon, the air was filled with talk.

Mary shares a place with her husband Larry. It’s situated on the bank of the Chena River. The river is narrow, slow moving. It is mainly the domain of motorized boats. I think that someday, Mother Nature is going to do some bitch slapping here. Mary and Larry have a front room with large picture windows – I was very tired, so I sat for some time watching the river go by.

In the afternoon, Mary drove to the barn where she keeps Burkni and Stormur. Brenda, her good friend, also keeps her horse, Beaker, there. The horses, being Icelandics, were very glad to see us. We reciprocated by first cleaning their enclosures. Two goats and two horses (Onyx and Gypsy) remained on the other side and supervised our efforts.

Brenda arrived an hour later. We did TTeam work for the next two hours. Theresa arrived shortly thereafter, and we then went for a ride, me riding Burkni. Brenda, Theresa, and I rode on the Koponen’s trails. This was a blast from my past because Pete and I used to be acquaintances of theirs. Furthermore, the trails were very well maintained.

It was a joy, riding Burkni, who is 20, the same age as Raudi. He is very steady eddy, just like Tinni was.

Come evening, I set up my tent in Mary and Larry’s yard. The lawn is soft and grassy. The sky is clear and windless. I’m looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep.

Next: 141. 5/23/23: Tired