Wednesday evening, before Andrew and I flew out of Hoonah, I asked Andrew if he would be willing to let me interview him. I wanted his perspective on our Alaskan adventure. He eagerly obliged, and as I set up the video camera, he said with a giggle, “Mom, I feel famous.”
He sat crossed legged in the dining room chair, with his back straight and at the ready. He began immediately by describing a typical day, “Playing, school and sleeping.” He then elaborated, “In Hoonah we spend a lot of time looking out the window, playing in the snow and walking to school.” He admitted that walking to school everyday was like a half and half fraction, “On a rainy day, oh yeah, I wish we had a car, but when it’s sunny," he nodded, " I’m fine with walking.”
I was curious as to what "playing"meant to him. Without a breath, he launched into the many details of his Star Wars Lego creations, “I play with Lego’s all the time.” His feet suddenly hit the ground and quickly left the camera's view. He returned with three Lego models that he built last week. Picking up the black and yellow aircraft and turning it in front of the camera he added factually, “I can make this Anikin’s ship in about two hours, but for someone like you, it would probably take a whole day.” He gave me a side ways glance, making sure I wasn’t offended. He went on to describe the “Spiderwalker” and the “Clone Ship,” and asked me politely to move the camera to get them all in the shot. He then demonstrated the missile launching capacity of the Clone Ship; the tiny bomb grazed the side of the video camera.
I was curious as to what "playing"meant to him. Without a breath, he launched into the many details of his Star Wars Lego creations, “I play with Lego’s all the time.” His feet suddenly hit the ground and quickly left the camera's view. He returned with three Lego models that he built last week. Picking up the black and yellow aircraft and turning it in front of the camera he added factually, “I can make this Anikin’s ship in about two hours, but for someone like you, it would probably take a whole day.” He gave me a side ways glance, making sure I wasn’t offended. He went on to describe the “Spiderwalker” and the “Clone Ship,” and asked me politely to move the camera to get them all in the shot. He then demonstrated the missile launching capacity of the Clone Ship; the tiny bomb grazed the side of the video camera. For fun he also loves snowballs fights…anywhere, anytime and with anybody who is up to the challenge. 
Stealing icicles off the neighbor's roof line and using them as swords and then eating them like a popsicle ranked high on the list of cool things to do. He concluded his fun list with the “how-to’s” of snow fort building. “Building a snow fort with my Dad was great.” (This is this first time that Drew called Steve “Dad.” He does it twice during this interview.) “You need a metal shovel and a pick to hammer away things off the edges. Soft snow is the best so you can shape it over your head and then over night it freezes into solid ice.” Asked what you do in a snow fort he replied, “You know, lie in there and read, oh and load it up with snowballs for your next attack.”
He stopped for a moment, distracted by something outside, “Kitty Patrol,” he said, “lots of cats out there that run around the streets, but let’s get back to the talking about the playing.” Andrew filled me in on the games he played at school with his friends. Ultimate Dodge Ball and Army were his top choices. His classmates were described as being “active,” an important recess requirement for his choice of game playing. I asked Andrew what his most fun subject was inside the classroom. Before I could even finish the question he said, “Math. Math is my favorite. I like the brain challenge it gives me.”
It was obvious that Andrew was not at a loss for excitement in Hoonah, but I wanted to go a little deeper and get a sense of his before Alaska and after Alaska. “I didn’t really want to come to Alaska. It was small. Eight hundred people, and I was leaving my friends and family.” Andrew's first impression of Hoonah didn’t help his apprehension of moving, “When I first got here – whoa, this was one of the messiest town I had ever seen.” He points out the window, “There’s two houses that we can see right now that, in my opinion, should be broken down. Someone would build a better house.” He paused for a second and sympathetically added, “But it is a little hide-out for the kitties…so I guess it’s ok.”
Stealing icicles off the neighbor's roof line and using them as swords and then eating them like a popsicle ranked high on the list of cool things to do. He concluded his fun list with the “how-to’s” of snow fort building. “Building a snow fort with my Dad was great.” (This is this first time that Drew called Steve “Dad.” He does it twice during this interview.) “You need a metal shovel and a pick to hammer away things off the edges. Soft snow is the best so you can shape it over your head and then over night it freezes into solid ice.” Asked what you do in a snow fort he replied, “You know, lie in there and read, oh and load it up with snowballs for your next attack.”He stopped for a moment, distracted by something outside, “Kitty Patrol,” he said, “lots of cats out there that run around the streets, but let’s get back to the talking about the playing.” Andrew filled me in on the games he played at school with his friends. Ultimate Dodge Ball and Army were his top choices. His classmates were described as being “active,” an important recess requirement for his choice of game playing. I asked Andrew what his most fun subject was inside the classroom. Before I could even finish the question he said, “Math. Math is my favorite. I like the brain challenge it gives me.”
It was obvious that Andrew was not at a loss for excitement in Hoonah, but I wanted to go a little deeper and get a sense of his before Alaska and after Alaska. “I didn’t really want to come to Alaska. It was small. Eight hundred people, and I was leaving my friends and family.” Andrew's first impression of Hoonah didn’t help his apprehension of moving, “When I first got here – whoa, this was one of the messiest town I had ever seen.” He points out the window, “There’s two houses that we can see right now that, in my opinion, should be broken down. Someone would build a better house.” He paused for a second and sympathetically added, “But it is a little hide-out for the kitties…so I guess it’s ok.”
Surprisingly, now that Andrew has lived in Hoonah he isn't keen on packing up just yet, “ I would have liked to live here longer – three or four years and then move on,” He paused for a instant and then added with a smile, “move on to Hawaii if I could.”
Was he afraid of anything in Alaska? “ Just bears." he said, "they give me the chills.”
Highlights of his six-and-half months in Alaska were snowball fights, catching a fifty-three pound halibut and, “I liked walking to the Cannery with my mom and dad. That was fun.” (This is the second time he calls Steve “Dad” and the fact that he liked to walk to the Cannery was news to me…every time I wanted to go he would complain, roll his eyes and ask me if we could call somebody for a ride. But like clockwork, once the walk started and he had a snowball in his hand, not another negative word was spoken. )
When he gets back to Medford, he is most excited about seeing his friends and talking his First grade teacher, Mr Blaydon, into letting him join his “Cream Ball” (dodge ball with a twist) P.E. class, “Since I’m bigger, I’ll be on the girls team…they need my help because they usually loose. Plus then I could cream Mr. Blaydon,” he gave a sinister laugh.
When I asked him what he was going to miss about Hoonah, Andrew began to get a little melancholy. He solemnly said, “I am going to miss my friends, everybody I know.”
He became more serious when I inquired if he had learned anything about himself while living in Alaska. “Yes, I have -- that I shouldn’t be afraid to go new places.” Then he addressed me with sweet honesty in his eyes. “I was afraid before I came here. I started crying when I knew we had to move to Hoonah,” he gathered himself in, “Now I am going to cry because I have to leave.”
Looking at him and watching his eyes start to tear up, I let a few moments pass and then told him how proud I was of him. It is true. He made the best out of the cold, the dark, the wet and extreme change of environment. He was the light in the cloudy days. He was a good friend to his classmates, great student and loving son. He shared his enthusiasm and energy with everyone. His curiosity and bravery made our traveling to the last frontier a blessed adventure.
He wiped away his tears. I gave him a big hug, “Mom,” he said, “There are so many things I want to do before we leave Alaska; crabbing, seeing my friends and building another snow fort.” He paused with a innocent smile, “I guess we will have to come back.”
Was he afraid of anything in Alaska? “ Just bears." he said, "they give me the chills.”
Highlights of his six-and-half months in Alaska were snowball fights, catching a fifty-three pound halibut and, “I liked walking to the Cannery with my mom and dad. That was fun.” (This is the second time he calls Steve “Dad” and the fact that he liked to walk to the Cannery was news to me…every time I wanted to go he would complain, roll his eyes and ask me if we could call somebody for a ride. But like clockwork, once the walk started and he had a snowball in his hand, not another negative word was spoken. )When he gets back to Medford, he is most excited about seeing his friends and talking his First grade teacher, Mr Blaydon, into letting him join his “Cream Ball” (dodge ball with a twist) P.E. class, “Since I’m bigger, I’ll be on the girls team…they need my help because they usually loose. Plus then I could cream Mr. Blaydon,” he gave a sinister laugh.
When I asked him what he was going to miss about Hoonah, Andrew began to get a little melancholy. He solemnly said, “I am going to miss my friends, everybody I know.”
He became more serious when I inquired if he had learned anything about himself while living in Alaska. “Yes, I have -- that I shouldn’t be afraid to go new places.” Then he addressed me with sweet honesty in his eyes. “I was afraid before I came here. I started crying when I knew we had to move to Hoonah,” he gathered himself in, “Now I am going to cry because I have to leave.”
Looking at him and watching his eyes start to tear up, I let a few moments pass and then told him how proud I was of him. It is true. He made the best out of the cold, the dark, the wet and extreme change of environment. He was the light in the cloudy days. He was a good friend to his classmates, great student and loving son. He shared his enthusiasm and energy with everyone. His curiosity and bravery made our traveling to the last frontier a blessed adventure.
He wiped away his tears. I gave him a big hug, “Mom,” he said, “There are so many things I want to do before we leave Alaska; crabbing, seeing my friends and building another snow fort.” He paused with a innocent smile, “I guess we will have to come back.”
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