The Darkness

So I am sitting at the firehouse standing in the dark of the room and staring out the window into the darkness of the night. Off to my right is a reflection, from one of the 4 windows in the room, of a blue light. The blue is familiar and so I turn to look and see what it is from. Ding ding the blue color is from the fresh paint, well fresh down here, of the mail dormitory building that also houses the galley, offices and businesses, all 2 of them. The building, number 155, was painted this summer as one of the summer projects. Most people I talked to during the summer really had distain for the blue. I admit I did as well at the time but now as I see it in the light of the night with the light from the outside stairwell shinning onto it I actually like it. It is calming and that is what I need right now. I transition back to my original window to continuing to enjoy the night for a few minutes before I head to bed. Thirty minutes later I finally make my way to my bunk and as I enter my room I see that I have been missing some of the most beautiful horizon that I have seen in year. I look out my bunk room window to see the Royal Society Mountain Range backlit with a layering of colors. Yellow at the bottom followed with a surprising green twice as high as the yellow and topped off with a wonderful and picturesque blue right at the top of the mountain range.

The last time I saw a sunset or sunrise for that matter was many years ago when I was hiking in New Mexico. I know that is something that some people may find hard to believe since I have lived at the foot of one of the best beaches in the world on Cape Cod. But I can honestly tell you that you don’t get the colors over the ocean that you do down here. You still get the layering but it just isn’t the 3 hours that you get down here. Back home you get 20 minutes at best. Now when I was in New Mexico I was hiking and I do have to say that when I was there I saw the most beautiful sunrise and sunset that I could have possibly imagined but down here with the clean air and the 3 hour sunsets it is completely different. The sunsets, and sunrises I would imagine it I was up early enough, start earlier everyday but seem to last all night. Last night’s started at 20h12 (8:12 pm) and it was 23h30 (11:30 pm) when I made it up stairs to my bunk.

I think, besides the length of the sunset, the mountains have a major part in the sunsets. They help to reflect the light in different angles and thus creating different, strike that, more vibrant, long lasting colors that you typically do not see. I have not seen a sunrise down here that could compare to a sunrise over 9,000’+ mountains and over mesa and plateaus. I do look forward to seeing what Mother Nature has in store for us come August after the months of darkness that I have before me.

Stay Frosty
-C
About this posting’s picture,

Well I would think that it is pretty self explanatory but since most people as me about it I will tell you. After Hurricane Katrina I worked down in New Orleans for 9 months. While working there I was assigned many tasks but this one involved checking to make sure that the temporary housing that was being installed was being set up properly. So while working I came up to an intersection and since there was water in the street we were instructed to get out and check to make sure that there was still a road below the water. So I get out and look at the puddle. It was ankle deep and I was able to walk and see thru the whole puddle, so I just back in my car to drive thru it. Well that is when the road gave out. I made it halfway thru the puddle when the road gave out, twice. So I called my buddy who was a few blocks away to come help me. As I am on the phone with him the water starts coming into the car, time to get out! So 5 hours later and 8 feet below the road they finally figure out that at some point the fire hydrant got hit and it was undermining the whole intersection. I made it out by jumping out the window onto the grass which was coincidently when the New Orleans Police rolled up.

Walking to school

So there I am getting ready for work and looking at the gorgeous sunrise shining through my 24” by 48” window, happening before my eyes. The light is coming up over the Royal Society Mountain Range directly outside my window. Through the window I can see the dreadful wind. Normally, the wind is an invisible creature that you have to be involved in to experience but down here and right now it is the mixture of snow, volcanic dust, and rock that show direction as well as speed. However whispery it may be for the time being, it can change to horrifyingly violent with enough force to pick up dumpsters and move them multiple feet. The wind, today, is ever so slow; that is, just enough to put a chill in your bones. Just enough to cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand, but when it blows it likes to wrap around whatever it catches almost like it is creating a whirlpool -- a vortex around its prey. Then, just as fast as it caught you, it is gone. All the snow and dust is lying flat on the ground motionless: waiting, stalking, and thinking of who or what it is going for next.

As I make the outer door to my building I pause for a moment to do a mental check of stuff for work. Work sweatshirt? Check. Ball cap? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Writing instrument --pen? Check. Now I am ready to leave. So I reach for the outer door and slowly peer outside to see how hard the wind is blowing. To my surprise it is docile, for the moment. As I am walking down the metal staircase I say, “Self, I hope it doesn’t pick up once I leave the security of the landing.” I am lucky today as the wind is not lurking behind the building waiting or watching me. I am completely free to continue on my long, arduous journey to work.

The morning, this morning, is different from the last few. It reminds me of when I used to walk to the school bus stop, way back when. I always remember walking up the hill by my house, when we lived 4 blocks from the beach, and seeing the sunrise coming up over the marsh on my left where the mix of warm water and cool air created a fog that slowly rolled up the landscape trying to catch me before I made the top of the hill to see the gorgeous ocean on my right. Back in McMurdo I don’t have the luxury of a marsh but I have a snow-covered volcanic rock parking lot affectionately named “Derelict Junction.” I see to my left the wind has indeed picked up a bit. I see a newly created whirlwind coming from the alley between a few of the buildings. The snow and dust create a fog so that I cannot see the person’s face just 50 feet to my left but only the silhouette of their “Big Red” jacket. It is trying to chase me, just like the fog used to on those cool spring and summer mornings back on Cape Cod. It does end up catching me, so to speak. It seems to have lost its momentum right at my feet. The tenaciousness of the wind to find me, get to me, and hold me is futile since I take that fateful step up the stair, effectively putting myself out of its reach. I make a quick left at Gallagher’s and then a quick right behind Medical and I have only 50 feet to go up a snowdrift-covered volcanic rock hill, over some power cords that are keeping our fire apparatus warm and tidy, past four vehicles that I will surely be out to check on in less than an hour, and then to the man door at the fire station.

As I step inside the fire station, I take a minute to think and catch my breath, being as it is -15 degrees out. In the three minutes it took me to get to work this morning, it brought back so many memories of being a kid again: walking around in shorts on a brisk and balmy 40-degree day before school, riding my bicycle in the rain just because the rain was warm, seeing the waves crash on the flooded beach parking lot while there is a hurricane coming up the East Coast.

Who knew that the wind could bring back so many memories?

Stay Frosty
-C

P.S. The picture is a "Sun Dog." It is a rainbow that forms around the sun when there are a lot of ice crystals in the air. They are better seen through polarized lenses, either sunglasses or camera, but with the naked eye you can still see the truly beautiful ones. You just have to work a little hard at it. <(")

I am from the future! (Said with weird computer voice)

Do you know that I like about being down here? That I am from the future! No not like I know the lottery numbers future or Quantum Leap future but from 18 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time. I have the ability to be the first to comment on people’s birthdays or to be late on anything with the excuse of “sorry you were not open when I was trying to call…. from Antarctica.” What I do also like is the fact that the communications equipment can, and in fact did last week, become disabled and give us that isolated feeling. The drawback to this is that I missed my dad’s birthday. I did not actually miss it to be technical, I Facebooked him saying Happy Birthday since I was working, but on his actual birthday the communications equipment decided to take a “union break” and there were no communications, for the laymen town folk anyways.

I called him once the antenna array got fixed but it still wasn’t the same. I know that I have excuses and valid ones at that but I still feel like crap since I missed it and I am the one son that never, usually, misses his birthday. So when I finally did get to call, he completely understood. He completely understands since he spent time in the Air Force in Alaska over the winter, while Mom was in Iceland with the Air Force. But still that was 30 years ago almost and you would think that with all the technology it just wouldn’t happen. His response was something to the effect of “at least it was only down for 18 hours instead of days.” I guess that is the upside to being experienced and being able to look outside the box at stuff.

Ok so about the picture. It was taken while the C-17 is taxying in after landing. It is currently blowing 8-10 knots and -8 degrees not including wind chill. It is the wonderful Natasha, my personnel photographer (one of anyways), right before she is going to board that plane to leave the ice for traveling fun in New Zealand. It is funny sitting on the runway while we are standing by for aircraft fire protection and watching everyone take pictures of the plane and then hearing them say “I wish there was a sign here to make this picture better.” When there is and all they have to do is look for the 2 4x4 beams sticking out of the snow with the sign attached. But they don’t and very few people ask us to takes pictures of them while we are on standby. So they don’t get this wonderful shot that Rob got of us two.

Well anyways, I am supposed to be doing something besides typing right now so I have to jam out of here.

Stay Frosty
-C

Shenanigans! In Phil McCully Speak "Wa Waa WAAAAA!"

So the winter season is unofficially officially here. Now if I were to rewind to August 2009 I would think that that statement make absolutely no sense. But after being here on ice for the last 191 days it makes complete sense. What I mean is that officially the winter season starts after the last flight leaves. But this year we have an extended season. So instead of the last flight being on the 20th of Feb 2010 it is on the 5th of March 2010. Not a huge deal but with all the winter-over personnel being on station they keep acting like winter is here. And so I digress back to the topic of shenanigans and thus the topic of this post. While at the wonderfully beautiful and desolate South Pole there were many interesting people that I met and interacted with. On of them is a Ms. Shelby Handlin. She was, not necessarily the head of but a good portion of, the activities committee. So they would plan things like bingo, and trivia and what not. So since the fire department couldn’t necessarily play completely, due to flight coming day and night, the games we would attend and play but usually not finish. Now working at the South Pole there are some very smart people. It ranges from astrophysicist to rocket scientist to PhD students to engineers to well everything you would find to make a town run. The trivia was very popular since beer was given out as prizes for each round. But since 60% of the station has 1 bachelor degree at least it was difficult for some to have fun at trivia. Well one night the star finally aligned and we were able to do trivia. But not just as participants, we were the ones that made the questions. It was so fun that night at trivia and towards the end Ms. Shelby Handlin shows up which is an absolute surprise to the regulars at trivia since it was always “past her bedtime.” Now at this point everyone that is playing trivia is laughing and dancing and having a grand old time, so much different then the usual trivia night. You see when we put of the fliers to announce that the fire department was running trivia we put “make sure you brush up on” US international policy, foreign made cars, US history prior to 1844 and Costa Rica. Those are the real topics that we put but they will suffice for the point of this blog. We had about 15 people come up to us and say “you really want those topics for trivia?” and our response was “do you really think that we know that shit either. Make sure you bring plenty of beer it is going to be fun.” Well the word got around to the 40% of the station with 1 bachelor degree or less so when everyone got to trivia they were prepared for a good time, well a good time commenced. We had 140 possible points and out of the 8 teams the ones that were doing the best were the 40 %ers by a landslide, like 120ish points to 50ish. So I was the 3 of 4 to give my questions.

Sorry I got off topic, so Shelby walks in and everyone cheers. With a little banter back and forth, between all 6 of the firefighters and her, the topic comes up that I, actually Danielle and I, will be leaving in 5 days and that “our time is limited now so we should make the most out of it.” Now you throw in my "glorious smile" my stunning physique and a joking wink and Blam-O! Right there in the middle of the galley in front of 40ish people that are on there way to being “3 sheets to the wind” Shelby, not to be out done, drops to her knee and proposes to me. Then of course Megan, who could possibly be the female version of me and who was coincdently on the microphone, announces it to everyone and the cheers begin.... again. Now I know you all are thinking “that is a funny story but unless the galley is outside what is the point of the story?” Well this picture is of her “actually breaking my heart and ‘demanding’ a divorce” on the day that I was leaving, well supposed to leave. I was lucky to get a 3 day furlough extending my time at the South Pole to the 30th of December 2009. The picture was thought to be lost but it mysteriously appeared on my Facebook and I just couldn’t let the story go untold.

So now that it is out there, everyone can enjoy it. I do enjoy it immensely when I remember the shenanigans of the night. It really is a highlight of my wonderful time at the South Pole.

Stay Frosty
-C