Introducing Willie

Nine years ago, on the island of Saipan, in Micronesia, I, Alana Greear had a job. (Thinking about the fact that it has been nine years since I have been gainfully employed outside my home is a bit frightening and is making me laugh, working was so NOT hard...but that is an entirely different story.) I had a job as a teacher. I also had an American friend who had just adopted a darling girl of Yapese heritage named Velarie. This friend asked if while I was at work (because I had a job...hee hee hee) if I would keep an eye on her new daughters brother... Willie. Since I was teaching his grade this was no problem. I'll never forget conversation she and I had, "Alana, he is just so small...he's only 5 and he doesn't speak English very well and times are tough at home."

And then Willie was in my life. Willie and I spent the afternoons together after school. After about a week he asked if his brother could come with us. I said that I would have to ask his mother and so we went to his house. The apartment door was away from the road, down a dirt driveway. She had a rice cooker on a makeshift table in what would be an Arctic entry here. The walls were sparse and unpainted. There was no furniture and the heat in the room was stifling hot. Even with the louvers open there was no breeze. The other two kids were really little. They all had bug bites up their legs. I asked if DeeJay could come with me and Willie and Lucy was so kind. She was so afraid that he would be a bother. "No bother!" I said. "Two boys are a bother!" She assured me. I assured her that it would be no bother. Luckily, Islanders are not good at saying no (too confrontational) and so she relented. That was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

We had terrific adventures driving around the island, swimming in Mel and Marc's pool, going to the beach and then Falcom came along and then we had to move and they needed to stay...

Last year DeeJay moved in with us. We told Lucy and Manuel that since there is no economy in Saipan and no hope for young men like him we would love to have him come here. We thought maybe Willie would come then too, but Willie is very sensitive and shy and was not ready yet to come. We've had a wonderful time with DeeJay, watching him grow into the successful man he is destined to be.

This weekend Willie came. The remaining Paag family has finally given up on Saipan and is now on Guam. The Greears are a family of 6.
Sleeping in the Mel Mobile

We went to Anchorage Friday night when DeeJay got off work. We took the Mel Mobile and the mattress and tents. We stayed at the most disgusting camping area in Alaska, Centennial Park. It's not the park itself that is so bad. It's centrally located and cheap (since hotels this time of year are through the roof). I will say that they have done a lot to improve the park from the days when there were condoms in the shower stalls. I think the problem with the park lies in the people who move in to the park as a permanent housing solution. For instance, this time we had some neighbors with huge dogs (4 of them) the people drank beer until after midnight and the dogs were crying at 4 am. Last year, when we were there, a kid on the playground told Falcom that the hardest part of living in the park was keeping the families 12 cats inside their tent.

We shopped like crazy and just happened to be in Gottschalks right when Miss Alaska USA contestants were putting on a fashion show ("It's all about the scholarships. Scholarships, scholarships, scholarships." They kept saying.) I swear, Falcom has the best Karma ever. His world is like a magic wonderland. Who else could manifest a fashion show into the middle of his day?

We ate lots and lots of junk food in Anchorage. I tried hard not to, but I was swimming up river on that one. There was only one man/woman conversation that went like this, "You said you didn't care where we ate!" "I never thought you'd then pull into McDonalds!" The best diet move I made this weekend was telling the family that we could go to Chucky Cheese but that we would not be eating. There was some dissent among the small children, but we ate lots of fruits and chicken in the car, went in with a coupon for mucho tokens and spent hours playing without having to have one sodium slice. Yea for Mom! (Thankfully I still managed to loose .4 this week.) Can you find Falcom in this picture?

We left C.C. and went to pick up Willie. I was able to convince Vince that going to the airport early was a good idea. Luckily we did as his flight was a half hour early. We all got boarding passes to go through security. Watching Vince unload his pockets to go through security was like a Steve Martin skit. Hence, this weeks poll. We got to the gate at the perfect moment to watch his plane land. DeeJay was so excited. Seeing Willie come through the gate was like magic for my soul. I am so thankful.

The drive home from Anchorage was filled with statements that only someone who had never been off the island could ask. "How many mountains are there?" "Who owns the moose?" "You mean it's not morning? (it was 9:30 at night)." "We have been driving so long and it is still not dark." "Oh my God, (the house) is a palace!".

Some of you may remember how we froze DeeJay the first week he was here by assuming he knew that the shower faucet had hot water. Well, we weren't going to make a mistake like that again! After the first night Willie came upstairs shaking cold. I asked him what happened. He told me it was so cold at night. The next night I went down there and found the bed made exactly as I had made it the first night. "Willie, did you get under the blankets last night?" There I was teaching Willie about blankets.

May the circle, be unbroken...