Jay Moskowitz’s contract with the Canadian military was quietly nearing its end. He was stationed at the northernmost human habitation in the world, just to the west of the top of Greenland in Canadian territory, at a base called CFS Alert. For decades, the base served as a weather station and listening post against the Soviets, and the personnel there were still spying on the Russians and communicating with nuclear
It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard and sleep, and feed, and know not me. I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy’d Greatly, have suffer’d greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone; on
The start of the holiday season is signaled, for me, by Bake Day. Bake Day is a tradition carried on by my best friends (who are twins) that was handed down from their mom. Bake day occurs the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and a group of us spend a whole day baking everything we will need for the coming holiday season. We spend a few days in advance deciding what we’d
←Chapter Thirty-three May 19, 1985: Isaak and I moved to Wyoming recently, away from Lucy and the Counsel’s reach. I have masked my absence from the core with feigned grief. I just want to raise my son away from those people…I went to Haven to see Margaret, and Victoria told me I need to minimize my contact with her, stick to birthdays and holidays-of which Otherworlders have four: Yule, Ostara,
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. And in many ways it is a perfect symbol of our national character. The stories that we feed ourselves, tales of grateful Pilgrims, peaceful Indians, and bountiful tables of turkey and pumpkin pie are completely false. Just as false as the story that hard work, faith, and education will bring success to any American. And yet . . . not only do we need
When the summer breeze blows warm across my face, I will come to you through the slanting light and watch you paint the picture you said you always would. We’ll capture the moment in a silent instant and hold it for as long as memory serves, untouched by heartbreak, with nothing left to hide, in the shade of our thoughts. We’ll talk long into the night beneath a canopy of
