It would seem to go against my many generational Florida nativeness that I prefer cooler weather, except that I was born in the fall (in NORTHERN Florida) and when I was about three months old, we, (my mother and I, my father had been there since July the previous year), moved to Sitka, Alaska. Alaska was still a territory. (Statehood happened on January 3, 1959.)
This is the house we lived in:
We arrived on one of these:
 |
| Float plane |
Someone told my mother small babies do not get air sick, so she didn't take a change of clothes for me. Turns out that person was wrong.
She missed her connecting plane in Chicago, (she may have been trying to make me presentable), but a kind porter helped her get on the next flight. I cannot imagine her flying from Florida to Alaska by herself with a three month old baby. The only other time she'd been out of the state was to go to Tennessee.
My father was on the CGC (Coast Guard Cutter) Sorrel, which meant he was out to sea often. My mother was so bored, (okay, that's my take), she ironed dishtowels, bed linens, and...my diapers.
Anyway, that's why I like colder weather better. It's what I knew first.
Here's more Sitka pictures, taken by my mother.
I have always wanted to visit Alaska but don't think I am tough enough to handle the winters there. I never tire of looking at pictures of that beautiful country.
ReplyDeleteA Steamy Heat Worshipper, Wu! Remember, the sun ruins our complexions (a thing my mother told me that has been validated by science). But fall is coming, you are right . . .
ReplyDeleteAnon CP