(SitNews) Klawock, Alaska - One would think that with fewer obligations it would be easier to attack the day and accomplish lists of tasks before tapering down to dinner then reading a chapter from a book about fly fishing in Chile before bed.

With a gap in my substituting schedule looming, that’s exactly what I thought. A couple Saturdays mid-week would be perfect for adding to word counts, practicing my D-loop at the river, and whatever else needed to be done.

But what I found was after waking up at my usual time incase there was a call, I spent the next hour or so puttering around in my own thoughts, sort of working on a column, kinda focused on my weekly grad school readings then bringing in firewood. By the time I got serious about a specific daily mission it was already mid-morning. 

I would be more inclined to have one foot in work shoes one in my waders, but I’ve got a fussy left foot. I don’t know how I hurt it, that is, there was no sudden trauma. It’s far from debilitating but has been a nuisance for two weeks now. Based on my symptoms, Web-MD says that it could be a stress fracture...or rheumatoid arthritis, or plantar fasciitis, or that something bit me, or a burn (which I probably would have remembered), poison ivy (which we don’t have), or aortic regurgitation which is when a leak in the aortic valve of the heart causes blood to flow backward. 

I vowed to never again visit Hypochondriac.com and decided that the way to go about treating it is ice, anti-inflammatories, dirt and steelhead because it’s probably something along the lines of a stress fracture. 

Anyway, last week I worked three of five days, and this week I am slated for only one, so while I am staying on top of the house chores, I feel as though I could be doing more if I would find that gear.

In college my best semesters in terms of GPA were when I was taking 18 units, working as a sports editor at the daily campus newspaper and assisting the junior varsity basketball team at a local private high school which won the league championship. I was thrust into productivity and fared well. One of my professors said something to the effect of never knowing how much you can handle unless you test your schedule. 

I agree. If I clear my schedule, or have it cleared, to have more time to focus on a single task, I end up having more time to get distracted or become sedentary. 

I had a pretty slick Sunday afternoon routine in California. I’d go to Bass Pro Shops to walk around - leaving my wallet in the truck. I watched the handgun ammunition shelf empty and the handguns themselves disappear. I’d check out the newest in camouflage and stare longingly at BB guns I want to buy for my nephew, but he’s only 4. Without fail I’d see someone I knew, or a parent of a student I had in class, or someone who read my column and would ask if I ever did, “that crazy crab stuff on the Bering Sea”. Finally I’d settle into the fly shop portion of the store and talk to my buddy Kurt for a while before heading to Chilis. I’d sit at the bar and Carlos would bring out my lemonade and water without prompting and the manager Chuck and I would talk basketball and things like knuckle tattoos. 

If I was feeling adventurous, sometimes I would fish in the morning, then do my Sunday routine on Saturday evening. 

I have to remind myself that while Prince of Wales might be lacking in common Down South modes of entertainment, there is much more to do here and, outside of gas to get you there, it’s cheaper too. There is so much so close that planning is hardly required. 

A friend suggested a hike behind Thorne Bay which I had never heard about. Apparently it was named Heart Attack Hill, which might have been a problem had I listened to the Internet about why my foot hurt.

The next morning when no secretary called offering an opportunity to do factor trees, decipher isotopic compositions, or get hit in the face with a dodgeball, I knocked out a little 800 word potential column, survived Heart Attack Hill and was back in time for my online grad school discussion. 

As a bonus, that night I read two chapters from my book about a guy fly fishing in Chile. 

Jeff Lund ©2014

Jeff Lund is a Teacher and Freelance Writer living in Klawock, Alaska
Contact Jeff at Email – aklund21@gmail.com

http://www.jlundoutdoors.com

SitNews ©2014
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources.