those words said in just that order many times.
Kate grinned. "And your mom?"
"She was just a baby. But Auntie Margaret had a kitten. They took her picture when the plane landed and it was on the front page of the paper."
"What happened to your grandfather?"
"He died before I was born."
"Too bad. Pilots are like fishermen. They tell all the best stories."
Kate made a mark before the one indicating Johnny's birth. "What happened to your grandmother?"
"She's retired. She lives in Tucson, Arizona. We go down to see her every year."
"What did she do before she was retired?"
He straightened up and preened himself a little. "She lived in Charlotte Amalie."
He looked at her, expectant, and she didn't disappoint him. "Charlotte Amalie? Never heard of it. Where is it?"
"On St. Thomas."
Again he waited. Again she played straight man. "Where's St. Thomas?"
"In the Virgin Islands," he said, triumphant.
"The Virgin Islands," she said. "In the Caribbean?" He nodded. "Wow. How did your grandmother get from Alaska to the Caribbean?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. She went there after my grandfather died, I guess. She had a job with the government. She used to send me the greatest presents. One time I got a voodoo doll."
"The kind you stick pins in?" He nodded proudly, and Kate gave an elaborate shudder. "Eek." She gave him a stern look. "Did it work?"
He grinned. "I'll never tell."
She put her hand to the side of his head and shoved. He toppled over into the sand, laughing.
"So," she said, contemplating the time line, "your grandparents, your mother, your aunt and your uncle flew up to Alaska in the fifties. How about your dad? When did he come north?" "Nineteen-seventy," he said at once.
"Oho." Kate made a mark on the time line. "Right after the Prudhoe Bay nine-hundred-million-dollar lease sale. Okay."
"Okay what?"
"Okay, what we got here is a family legend. Look." She pointed at the mark indicating his family's arrival. "Your mother's side of the family came up before Alaska was even a state. In fact, they came up the year of the constitutional convention. The territorial governor, Ernest Gruening, gave the keynote address to the constitutional convention in Fairbanks." She looked at Johnny with a twinkle in her eyes. "In which he compared the territory of Alaska to revolutionary America and the federal government to King George III ."
Johnny brightened. "We've been studying King George III in school. Isn't he the guy that on the day they issued the Declaration of Independence wrote in his diary, "Nothing of importance happened today'?"
"That's the guy. You know what Ernest Gruening said at the convention?"
"No, what?"
Kate pulled in her chin and deepened her voice. "
"Inherent in colonialism is an inferior political status!"
" she thundered. "
"Inherent in colonialism is an inferior economic status!"
" "Wow," he said, awed. He didn't understand all the words but he caught the drift.
"Makes you want to run right down and throw tea in the harbor, doesn't it?" Kate agreed.
"Isn't that, like, you know, treason?"
"That's why we've got a First Amendment, so you can say what you think without getting thrown in jail for it." She returned to the time line.
"So your family was in Alaska almost five years before it's even a state. They might even have landed at Merrill Field, which at that time was still out of town." Kate made a mark for statehood. "In 1964 is the Big One."
"The earthquake?" he said quickly. "Were you born then?"
"I was three. I don't remember it. Of course, we didn't get it as bad in the interior as they did on the coast, anyway. They got the tidal wave.
Whole villages were wiped out on the coast. An entire suburb went in Anchorage." She nodded at the houses on the rise of ground behind the trail. "The next big one, they slide right into Knik Arm."
"Really?"
"Really. Your father's a moron. Promise me you'll never buy a house anywhere on the Coastal Trail. The view won't be worth it, trust
Kate grinned. "And your mom?"
"She was just a baby. But Auntie Margaret had a kitten. They took her picture when the plane landed and it was on the front page of the paper."
"What happened to your grandfather?"
"He died before I was born."
"Too bad. Pilots are like fishermen. They tell all the best stories."
Kate made a mark before the one indicating Johnny's birth. "What happened to your grandmother?"
"She's retired. She lives in Tucson, Arizona. We go down to see her every year."
"What did she do before she was retired?"
He straightened up and preened himself a little. "She lived in Charlotte Amalie."
He looked at her, expectant, and she didn't disappoint him. "Charlotte Amalie? Never heard of it. Where is it?"
"On St. Thomas."
Again he waited. Again she played straight man. "Where's St. Thomas?"
"In the Virgin Islands," he said, triumphant.
"The Virgin Islands," she said. "In the Caribbean?" He nodded. "Wow. How did your grandmother get from Alaska to the Caribbean?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. She went there after my grandfather died, I guess. She had a job with the government. She used to send me the greatest presents. One time I got a voodoo doll."
"The kind you stick pins in?" He nodded proudly, and Kate gave an elaborate shudder. "Eek." She gave him a stern look. "Did it work?"
He grinned. "I'll never tell."
She put her hand to the side of his head and shoved. He toppled over into the sand, laughing.
"So," she said, contemplating the time line, "your grandparents, your mother, your aunt and your uncle flew up to Alaska in the fifties. How about your dad? When did he come north?" "Nineteen-seventy," he said at once.
"Oho." Kate made a mark on the time line. "Right after the Prudhoe Bay nine-hundred-million-dollar lease sale. Okay."
"Okay what?"
"Okay, what we got here is a family legend. Look." She pointed at the mark indicating his family's arrival. "Your mother's side of the family came up before Alaska was even a state. In fact, they came up the year of the constitutional convention. The territorial governor, Ernest Gruening, gave the keynote address to the constitutional convention in Fairbanks." She looked at Johnny with a twinkle in her eyes. "In which he compared the territory of Alaska to revolutionary America and the federal government to King George III ."
Johnny brightened. "We've been studying King George III in school. Isn't he the guy that on the day they issued the Declaration of Independence wrote in his diary, "Nothing of importance happened today'?"
"That's the guy. You know what Ernest Gruening said at the convention?"
"No, what?"
Kate pulled in her chin and deepened her voice. "
"Inherent in colonialism is an inferior political status!"
" she thundered. "
"Inherent in colonialism is an inferior economic status!"
" "Wow," he said, awed. He didn't understand all the words but he caught the drift.
"Makes you want to run right down and throw tea in the harbor, doesn't it?" Kate agreed.
"Isn't that, like, you know, treason?"
"That's why we've got a First Amendment, so you can say what you think without getting thrown in jail for it." She returned to the time line.
"So your family was in Alaska almost five years before it's even a state. They might even have landed at Merrill Field, which at that time was still out of town." Kate made a mark for statehood. "In 1964 is the Big One."
"The earthquake?" he said quickly. "Were you born then?"
"I was three. I don't remember it. Of course, we didn't get it as bad in the interior as they did on the coast, anyway. They got the tidal wave.
Whole villages were wiped out on the coast. An entire suburb went in Anchorage." She nodded at the houses on the rise of ground behind the trail. "The next big one, they slide right into Knik Arm."
"Really?"
"Really. Your father's a moron. Promise me you'll never buy a house anywhere on the Coastal Trail. The view won't be worth it, trust
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