This after noon at 3:00 p.m. I had my "outbrief" meeting in the NSF chalet. I told
the NSF station boss about the truly excellent support that I have had for
my project here. Everyone, both NSF and Raytheon, has gone out of their
way to make my stay here both magically inspiring and creatively productive.
Soon it will be time to leave the ice. Tomorrow my recording work will be
complete and I will pack up my guitars and gear to return home as science
cargo on a military aircraft. With my broken ankle, I am just another
accident waiting to happen around the station so it is a good idea for me
to move on. I'll be leaving about a week before my originally planned
departure date.
After the outbrief, Dr. Gillespie in Medical checked my ankle to see how it
was healing. It seems to be healing OK. After I fly home, Dr. Gill will
check it out in a stateside hospital. I've emailed him pix of my x-rays and
he thinks I am likely to heal up just fine.
Ankle Fracture Check
After my Medical visit I stopped by the office of the Antarctic Sun, our
newspaper down here. We get a print version on our dining hall tables at
brunch every Sunday. Check it out. And you can find a great Antarctic Calendar to print out on your color printer. The calendar features my 3rd prize photo from Sun's USAP photo contest.
I walk (or now, lurch, on crutches) past the Sun's office many times each
day. It's between my Crary office and the dining hall. One thing that I have
noticed over the past couple of months is that they are among the folks of
the station who put in the longest hours on the job. They ALWAYS seem to be
in there, working away. Just three folks produce the paper.
Mark at Work
Kristan at the computer
Stan & Melanie
Melanie at work
Last night I had my last gig here in town. The last music that I will play
with my friends here. I got to play with two bands. The first set featured
Coldfinger. Kenda had moved to Pole to work for a few weeks and Jennifer
stepped in as a vocal substitute. I've had a great time playing with Mark,
Bill, and Jay in this band. We all agreed that we sounded our very best this
night.
The last gig
On the case
Makin' the sign
Here are a few movie files of Coldfinger's last night:
*Note: You will need a media player (e.g. RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, etc.) installed on your computer in order to listen/see these clips.
We also tried out a new band for one gig. But we never named the band. We
were lucky to have the fine drummer Michael Toomey in town from Pole and he
kicked Frank Abbatecola, Donnie Love and myself to new heights of musical
excitement.
I'll be home within a couple of weeks, weather and flight equipment
permitting. I will remember this place and the folks here every day for the
rest of my life. I should still have time for a few more adventures before I
depart and I will report them in the next journal entry.
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