Typical Homer

Our fall has been pretty routine with the kids' schedules and afterschool activities.  The ship has been around a lot more this fall, partly because of the way the schedule works and partly because government sequestration means no money for fuel to go anywhere.  For a year now, I've been compiling a mental list of things that are funny and/or uniquely Homer.  I fear if I don't write this down, I might forget some of it in a few years.  Warning this will be long and will lack photos.

Generous Spirit
The community has a very generous spirit and way of recycling the local dollar through a variety of fundraisers.  It is not uncommon to see a spaghetti dinner to raise money to cover the medical bills for your neighbor.  The singer Jewel is from Homer, and she raised money to attend a private music school by having a concert with her dad at the High School 20 years ago.  This fall, our gym had a 24 hour fitness event to raise money for a young mother and member who passed away unexpectedly.  Gym members raised $10,000 for the family.  Since Homer has only 5,000 residents, the money donated is amazing.  People gave money to go work out at 3 in the morning.
There is a community wide event called Share the Spirit to coordinate food and gift donations for Christmas  (Side Note: There is not a lot of Happy Holidays here.  Even in the schools, it's pretty much assumed that everyone celebrates Christmas.).  For the past two years, we have enlisted the support of other Coast Guard families to adopt a local family.  When I went to drop off the gifts last year, I was blown away by the generosity of the town.  The entire high school commons was a full of food and there were hallways devoted to the adopt-a-family donations...bikes, sleds, and gifts galore not to mention the traditional holiday dinner.  Anyone can just show up in the morning ready to help sort, wrap, and organize the donations.  In an effort to be more hands on, I signed up Kate's Girl Scout troop to wrap gifts this year.  Admittedly, they were not the nicest looking gifts, but the girls enjoyed helping and seeing the whole process.  Earlier in the fall, the girls decorated the tags with gift requests that would hang from trees in the local stores.

Hitchiking
Hitchhiking in Alaska is still en vogue.  Since there is one road in and out of town, there are often people standing, hoping to catch a ride.  East End Road runs out the back of town and about 20 miles up toward to head of the bay.  Many people hitch in and out of town that way as well.  Summertime finds college students and hippies hitchhiking all over the state or just from one end of town to another.  For a small town, we have quite a few taxis as many people here live without a car.  Brian has dabbled in picking up hitchhikers, but I have not.  It's not even the fear of murderers so much as it is the smell of patchouli and body odor.  I considered picking up some young girls on a trip home from Seward once.  It was before we bought movie players for the car, and I figured their stories would be a hoot for me, and I could ask them to entertain the kids.  In the end I feared they would stink too much, and they did have a lot of bags (and most likely a guitar). 

Kate, tired of hanging with me last summer, asks to thumb a ride home

Equally as popular, but a little more high brow than hitchhiking, is using the local radio's Ride Line.  Several times a day, in conjunction with the Bushlines, you can either call in that you need a ride (almost always to/from Anchorage) or that you are offering a ride.  The messages left are read on air and sound like this:
"Someone is offering a ride to Anchorage this Tuesday. Two seats available and looking to share the usuals" 
OR
"A ride is needed from Anchorage for one person this Friday.  Will share the usuals."
I've always wondered what the usuals are.  Obviously fuel costs, but why plural?  I wouldn't be surprised if it was fuel and pleasant conversation. 

Communication
So, the Bushlines are offered 3 times a day and they precede the Ride Lines.  Bushlines are messages of 25 words of less that will be read on air.  They are used to communicate with people who have radio, but no phone or internet.  Messages sound like this:
"Thank you John & Leigh for the awesome moose sausage.  See you next spring.  Love, Buttercup."
"Don, please call when you can.  Your mother is ill.  Rose"
"Gigi and Frank. We miss you.  Please come by for a visit and we can share some mead.   We'll  leave the light on for you."  (Okay I just put that in because Tom Bodett is from Homer and may even still live around the block from us.)
It seems to me there are many more Bushlines in the summer when people are living in cabins across the bay and up toward the head of the bay.  But people here do communicate differently.  The newspaper and the radio play a huge role in getting out information.  If you want to know what's going on in town, you need to hit the bulletin board at Two Sister's Bakery or K-Bay coffee, buy one of the two local papers and read the What's Happening Around Town section.  This is sometimes the only way to hear about events in town.  In just over a year, all four of us have either been photographed or quoted in the paper.  See Kate's best photos below.

Another one of our favorite radio shows is the Tradio.  Actually I'm pretty sure it's called the Flea Market now, but I prefer Tradio.  People call in to buy and sell stuff.  It's like Craigslist for those without internet (or crazy people).  Calls sounds like this:
"I have a whale bone scrimshaw piece, real nice, with ET on it and I'm asking $150.  My number is 299-3458"  This guy is for real.  He calls in all the time, and yes he is talking about the extraterrestrial from 1982.
"I am looking for studded tires, size P2015/70R, for my 1999 Subaru Forrester.  Call 435-8761"
"I have 50 pounds of moose meat, slightly freezer burned, that I would like to give to someone if they have some fish to give to me."  You see now how this works as you're not allowed to sell or even trade certain items.
I called in one day looking to buy a play structure for our yard with no luck.  I'm afraid to think how many times Brian might have called in to buy and sell.  I prefer not to ask, so long as he didn't buy the gently used composting toilet I heard about the other day.


Money
As a town full of small businesses, it's no surprise that it's difficult to use your American Express.  A few of our favorite spots, The Bagel Shop and K-Bay Coffee, didn't take any credit cards for a while until they were a more firmly established business.  I found myself unable to pay and very embarrassed one morning.   I ordered a pound of coffee ground up, I selected a few bakery items, and poured myself a cup of coffee to go.  It should go without saying that in Homer, you are encouraged to bring your own coffee mug from home when getting a coffee to go whether at a drive thru, the farmers market, or a more typical coffee shop.  Anyway, the barista, who more than likely has a Masters in Philosophy, said,
"I'm sorry we don't take credit cards."
This is unfortunate because I don't carry cash, so I responded,
"I'm so sorry.  Can you hold the pound of coffee?  I'll give back the scone that I didn't take a bite out out of, hit the ATM and be right back."
"No worries," he tells me "Take it all.  Come back and pay later." 
"I'll be right back.  How much again?"
"Please don't make a special trip, and just tell us what you had when you get back.  We don't write anything down."
"Okay because actually I will pick up my son from preschool, hit the grocery store, and then the ATM."
"Don't worry.  See you later."
This is in no way unusual.  There are several coffee shops and bakeries that serve you and just ask that you stop by the counter on the way out and tell them what you had and pay before leaving.  It takes some getting used to, especially when I often leave dining establishments under duress with arguing kids and a threatening look on my face.   I always push the issue a little and pay first so I don't forget, because that's happened too, and then I have to drive back apologize and pay.  I do appreciate the sentiment and implied message that we live in a thoughtful, honest community.

Dining at some of our favorite eat now, pay whenever establishments.

"Mom, what does your coffee mug mean?  I don't get it."  

You would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. 

Homer also loves to offer payment on a sliding scale.  In high school and college, I'm pretty sure this would have made me throw up a little in my mouth, but for some reason it just seems right for this community.  Using the honesty system, many events in town allow you to pay based on what you can afford.  Two examples include massage therapy and Kate's HOWL (Homer Outdoor Wilderness Leaders) activities.  Admittedly, I am intrigued by reduced price massage therapy.  I usually treat myself to a massage once a year around my birthday.  It's wonderful.  I always think I should do this more often, and the masseuse here told me all about the benefits of frequent body work.  She even offers payment on a sliding scale, but somehow I cannot bring myself to take advantage of this.  I can afford it, I'm just cheap and prefer to hoard our money for future travel.  I do sometimes wonder though, how low would she go?  I mean it would be physically and mentally really good for me.  We are, however, so unbelievably lucky to have the Coast Guard lifestyle.  It's not for everyone, but Brian cares about his job and in turn they pay him well.  No complaints and no reduced massages for me.  As for Kate, I can pay anywhere from $20-40 for each day she participates in HOWL.  Just drop her off with whatever you can pay.  ????   I'll admit I paid $25 once and then I started signing her up online which is a bit easier and guarantees her a spot if the fishing or hiking trip were to fill up.  Online, you must pay $40.  The message is, if you can afford internet in your home, then you can pay the full amount.  We got our moneys worth with Kate's halibut catch though.

In The Home
Before moving here, another Coastie told me to buy good socks because you have to take your shoes off everywhere and expect last minute birthday invites.  This seemed like odd advice as I was packing up the house in Connecticut, but it couldn't be more spot on.  The kids keep a pair of classroom shoes at school, so they can take off their boots or outdoor shoes as soon as they enter the classroom.  It is unheard of to wear your shoes in someone's home.  I remember when the moving truck showed up I was worried about the movers tracking dirt all over the new carpet we paid for, but even the movers removed their shoes. The cable guy was equally as courteous when he came to install cable. 
At the high school pool, all swimmers and parents leave shoes in the lobby to keep the locker room and pool deck clean.  At the school's movie night, everyone drops their shoes at the door to keep the gym floor clean as well.  I love it!
Kid birthday parties here are more low key than the lower 48.  Verbal invitations or those hand written on torn out notebook paper, sometimes with only a day or two advance notice, are commonplace.  I think 36 hours is the shortest notice we've received.  When the school sent home a notice of parent conference date and time two weeks in advance, another mom asked me why on earth they would send the letter home so early. She was almost put off that the letter arrived a whole 2 weeks before the conference.  Unfortunately, the town is equally as lax on RSVPs, so you never know who is coming.

Around Town
Homerites love to drive around town with their dogs in the car.  I am sad (for the interior of my car) to admit I have joined in as Jessie dog rarely sails with the ship anymore.  One day I left the grocery store and opened the back of my Subaru to find it contained a different dog.  There are so many dogs and Subarus in town that it's easy to open the wrong car.  I would guess that at any given time 1/3 of the cars in grocery store parking lot have dogs in them.
The theatre in town of course shows movies, but also presidential debates and the Superbowl.  I'm not sure if people go for the comraderie or because they don't have a tv.  Most likely the latter.
The book store, as you can imagine, is a Homer hub as it's the only place to buy tickets to any show or performance from the local dance recital, to the high school musical, or even Homer's famous Nutcracker.  The book store also has a local author section that is easily 1/4 of the store.  I've only read a couple of local authors so far, but people here all have crazy stories of how they got here or what it was like growing up in Homer in days of yore.  There are even quite a few novelists.  I haven't gone there yet.  Not sure Alaska sci-fi is my thing.

Theatre
This year marked the 25th year for the Nutcracker ballet in Homer.  I use the word ballet loosely as you don't have to dance in order to be in the Nutcracker.  I would say there are 5-6 people who know something about ballet and I believe 2 are flown in to perform.  There are lots of kids in the performance and the costumes are recycled from year to year. Kate's buddies are mostly rats, mice, and goats.  Goats?  Last year, I believe the paper claimed the show was infused with "steampunk" (is that a thing?) and of course some modern music.  This year there was a LED hula hoop number in the dark and the Russian cossack dancing always goes over well as there is a big Russian connection in Homer.  I truly appreciate that Homerites keep the show interesting and vary it year to year.  James loved it last year at 3 years old, and has a continued love/hate relationship with the rat king.  He talked about him for weeks leading up to the show this year and had to go on stage afterwards to meet the man behind the costume and have his picture taken. 

Possibly my favorite Homer oddity is the love of burlesque shows.  At least twice a year there is a burlesque show held at a local dining establishment, usually Alice's Champagne Palace, but they are closing, so Wasabi might have to pick up the slack this year.  Sometimes it functions as a fund raiser for...hockey?  Council on the Arts?  I honestly can't remember, but I am intrigued and plan to find out a little more about the scene.   My neighbor is often the event emcee, so I'm sure she could tell me more, but I feel like I will need to experience it.  I wonder if it will include marimba playing and drum circles.  They don't seem bawdy enough, but it's difficult to imagine a performance in Homer without them.  I will be sure to do a post on the Bait & Tassels (Homer's Burlesque Troupe) when I have some first hand knowledge.

Russian Old Believers
There are three Russian Old Believer communities on the outskirts of Homer. The woman are easily recognizable for their colorful, satin dresses.  Married women also wear head coverings.  The men wear beards and typical Russian shirts.  When I first arrived, I imagined their community to be similar to the Amish until I watched the dress I was admiring jump into an Escalade and peel out of the farmer's market parking lot.  Old Believers separated from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century as a result of reforms being implemented at the time.  Many of these communities later fled the country to avoid persecution. The villages near us were established within the past 50 years as many Old Believers moved here from a larger Old Believer community in Oregon.  Below are some photos of the cross country team from Kachemak Selo village.  They joined Kate's Girls on the Run program for a 5k run this fall.  The dresses didn't seem to slow them down any.

Resourcefulness
People here are really resourceful.  Not everyone has the money to buy what they need/want, but also we do not have the merchandise available in Homer.  In true homesteading fashion, some people will hold on to anything in case it might be useful later.  One day last winter, I was driving Kate to school when I saw someone peddling a bike and pulling what looked to be a trailer behind.  It's an active community and people just put on fat tires and headlamps to ride around town in the winter, so that's not surprising.  What blew me away is that the trailer was a bench seat from an old mini van somehow fashioned into a bike trailer. All three kids were wearing the seatbelts too!  I've seen similar contraptions while skiing.  Some can afford the skjorning belt and ski trailer.  I even know someone whose son cuddles under a caribou fur to stay warm as she will ski in any conditions.  But many people opt for rope and a sled.  I have also seen an infant car seat with runners on the bottom.  This must be part of what Brian loves about Homer.  He is so (rightfully) proud to have built the kids' fort out of recycled materials.  In the past couple of years, Brian has attempted several kayak carts/trailers with old bicycle tires and strollers, so he fits right in here.