"While in Talkeetna, you're on Talkeetna time" - we were told. It's already proven to be true. When we dropped off the car yesterday, the mechanic told us that he'd have the parts at 4pm and the van would be fixed that evening. We haven't heard from him, so we called. Nobody was there. We called this morning and found out that nobody went to pick the parts up, but today somebody would and the van would be fixed. It's night already and no word. Talkeetna teaches you patience.
The weather was great and we were stunned by the perfectly clear view of McKinley. At the local cemetery a memorial lists names of all climbers who died on its slopes. And there were many. I found it strangely uplifting. They lost their lives doing what they loved.
We've been meeting new people and getting to know better the ones we already know. We learned that many cabin owners who spend their summer vacations here are getting desperate for someone to look after them over the winter season. Winter in Alaska. It sounds tempting. But I don't think we even fully realize the extent of how unprepared we'd be for it.
"Kiedy jestes w Talkeetna, znajdujesz sie w strefie czasowej Talkeetna" - powiedziano nam. Juz zdazylismy sie przekonac, ze to prawda. Kiedy dostarczylismy wczoraj samochod, mechanik powiedzial nam, ze bedzie mial potrzebne czesci o 16. i van bedzie gotowy tego samego dnia. Nie odezwal sie, wiec wieczorem zadzwonilismy. Nikogo nie bylo. Zadzwonilismy rano i okazalo sie, ze nikt po te czesci nie pojechal ale dzisiaj ktos pojedzie i van bedzie naprawiony. Juz noc i nadal ani slychu. Talkeetna uczy cierpliwosci.
Pogoda byla wspaniala i idealnie klarowny widok na McKinley zwalil nas z nog. Na miejscowym cmentarzu pamiatkowa tablica wymienia imiona wszystkich himalaistow, ktorzy stracili na jego zboczach zycie. A bylo ich wielu. W dziwny sposob podniosla mnie ona na duchu. Oni polegli robiac to, co kochali.
Spotykamy nowych ludzi i blizej poznajemy tych, ktorych juz wkroczyli w nasze zycie. Dowiedzielismy sie, ze wlasciciele wielu chat, ktorzy spedzaja tu wakacje, sa zdesperowani aby znalezc ludzi, ktorzy zajeliby sie ich domami w sezonie zimowym. Zima na Alasce. Brzmi kuszaco. Ale mysle, ze nie zdajemy sobie nawet sprawy z tego, do jakiego stopnia bylibysmy na to nieprzygotowani.
You can tell that we've got a lot of time on our hands.
Sami widzicie, ze mamy za duzo wolnego czasu.
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Tyler: Can I ask your name?
Ally: Anonymous.
Tyler: Anonymous? Is that Greek?