Walking with Autumn, and on Being a Lousy American (TM)

Every weekend day, I take a longish walk with Autumn. When you see her walking on a snowy trail, passing alternating landscapes of trees, fields, farms, and meadows, it is instantly obvious that she is very, very in her element. She looks the part, of course, because she is a husky, and looks a bit like a wolf (though more like a coyote). But the way she fits so perfectly in her role as Lead Dog on the Trail is something that hits you viscerally the instant you see her there. Her carriage is upright and proud, her gait is smooth and concentrated, her eyes are alert, and her ears are pricked forward. And she is happy! So happy! This is her life, what she was meant to do.

I was going to take some beautiful photos today, of her walking ahead of me with the orange sun ahead of her, but it turns out that electronics don't do so well in -20F/-29C. My phone is sluggish, and my camera doesn't work at all. I guess professional arctic and antarctic photographers have special cameras.

Anyway, tomorrow is my big exam, so wish me luck! Then I will be done with my first semester at UAF! It's been two years in planning, and a year in waiting. Buuuut of course, no congratulations are in order until I actually see how I did. This reminds me of a bit of cultural education I had a few months ago. I have a good friend here who only just came to the US for the first time from India two years ago to study. D is intelligent, bright, and wickedly funny. Anyway, she had just sat through comprehensive exams to advance to candidacy, and I told her we should celebrate. She gave me a blank look and said, patiently, "We can't celebrate until we know whether I passed!"

Well duh.

Only Americans celebrate mere survival! No wonder India is surpassing us in churning out an educated and motivated population of youth, ready to take on the most prestigious jobs in the world. And China is catching up, too. America has lately had this weird cultural movement of "everyone is a winner." The canonical example of this is the game of T-Ball, a sugared-up form of baseball where no score is kept, there are no losers, and an inning is defined as every player batting once. Afterwards, both teams are winners, and everyone is a winner!

I actually have a personal recollection of this cultural phenomenon happening to me. I was in the fourth grade, and everyone in the class was asked to make a nativity scene. It would be a contest, Miss Vitari told us with excitement. The day we all brought our nativity scenes in, Mrs. Spiegel would judge them, and there would be prizes for the top three! I thought I'd be clever, and laboriously put together a miniature nativity scene on a tiny circular platform. I remember gluing down pine needles for hay in the barn floor. I then mounted the thing inside an eggshell frame, whose outsides I had colored navy blue, with a bright yellow star in the middle. It was lovely. I was amazed by my own creation, seeing as I had and have never been known for my artistic abilities. Well the nativity scenes were judged while we were at recess, and when we returned, imagine my horror when Miss Vitari informed us that Mrs. Spigel had loved them ALL so much that we EACH were getting a prize! I even remember the prize--a foam core red valentine heart ornament covered with red enamel. I wouldn't have minded the lousy prize if I had won it fairly. And I would have been much less bitter if a superior nativity scene had one. I would have been slightly less bitter even if the winner had been one of the sucky popular kids, and I had lost just because I was a weird kid. That would have sucked, but it would have been understandable. What actually happened was not even fathomable!

Um... wow I can't believe I still remember that. Anyway, the point is, I think we should go back to the days of pre-political-correctness and allow people to have both winners and losers. A meritocracy breeds ambition instead of complacency.

That is all. Wish me luck tomorrow! But if I don't do well, you can just well say, "Luh-HOO-ser!" No need to say, "At least you tried your best. You're always a winner to me!" :)