50th Anniversary
People who supposedly know told me that today was the 50th anniversary of the first flight to the South Pole. Because of that there was a big push on to get our first flights to the Pole. Thankfully in this case Mother Nature cooperated. The temperature soared to a balmy 46 below so we were able to get 3 of the big transports there on my shift alone.

I had an appointment for a haircut after work today. Of course like everything else here it’s free. (not even allowed to tip). The hair stylist has a sign on the door asking everyone to wash their hair before coming in. I was running a little late so I rushed back to the dorm to take a quick shower. I dropped the soap and bent over to pick it up (don’t even go there) when I stood up I gashed my head on the old style shower knobs we have. Once I finally got the bleeding stopped I headed over to the barber shop to see if she would even cut my hair. She was kind enough to trim the sides and back. I’ll go back to see her again after I heal. As she was cutting my hair she said that “old guys” have soft ears that are easy to bend over to cut around. Old guys, I said. She then said well I didn’t mean you are old. But the damage had already been done. The verdict is in I’m just getting old and of soft ear.

Off to another science presentation tonight. This one is being presented by one of the grandfathers of this program down here. The good news is he’s even older than me! Sometimes you just need to take whatever crumbs you can get.

Well I just returned from the science presentation. As it turns out the first flight I controlled into the South Pole today was a ceremonial flight commemorating the 50th anniversary mentioned above. At the same time a ceremony, commemorating the same event, was being conducted at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida. I just thought the coincidence was kind of cool.

Well it looks like the FAA will finish flight checking all of our approaches and departure procedures today. The out briefing is tomorrow morning. Everyone is hoping Mother Nature will soon participate in getting people to the South Pole. The temperature is still below minus 50 degrees. It got all the way up to minus 50 on Sunday but everyone is off that day. Lots of folks waiting up in Christchurch are drawing per diem hoping for some beds to open up here.

I was talking to some people last night at dinner. They were telling me when they book their flights here they book them as round the world tickets. The tickets are good for 1 year and allow you to travel to 5 continents with numerous stops on each continent. Sounds like something worth looking into.

I also learned today of day excursions that the recreation folks arrange to go to some of the historic sites within a half days travel. There are also photo opportunities along the way. The only trick is getting your name on the list as soon as it’s posted. There’s lots of demand for a limited number of seats. I hope to have more pictures for you in the near future.

Cherry Drying

The day after a midnight shift is never very productive for me. I spend the first few hours sleeping and then take a couple of naps during the day so I will be able to stay awake the next night. That was the kind of day it was.
I did meet a helicopter pilot and a helicopter mechanic. The pilot lives in Key West, Florida. A more dramatic climatological change than for me. I didn’t know it until today but he goes to Mass on Sunday and has seen me there. Nice guy. He spent a career flying helicopters in the Army and retired in 1998. He says he's down here hiding from the Army they want to recall him. I'll let you guess where they want to send him! (Same year I did) We talked about the hurricane season and how glad we both are that it was a quiet year. (so far that is we don’t want to jinx the rest of the season) I hope to go out flying with him at some point. The views he sees on a day in day out basis are spectacular.
The mechanic was most interesting though. He is homeless. He and his brother, who lives in Panama City, FL own a helicopter. They travel around the country in his off months pulling the helicopter on a specially designed trailer. They go online to look for jobs that involve the use of a helicopter and try to get jobs in that way. Last year they ended up in Washington State working for cherry growers. Apparently when cherries are ready to be picked they are susceptible to excessive moisture (in the form of rain). They pay helicopter pilots to sit around waiting for rain. After the rain the helicopters fly over the orchards eight feet above the tops of the trees and act like big hair dryers blowing the moisture off of the cherries. Apparently if the moisture is left on the cherries it causes them to expand too fast then the skin splits and the cherries are then no longer marketable. Unfortunately at eight feet above the trees there’s not a lot of time to think if something mechanically goes wrong with the helicopter.
The big Halloween party was tonight. I didn’t go as I was napping but I did get to see some of the costumes in the dining facility. It’s amazing what people can do with limited resources.
Sunday night I’m going to a presentation at the science lab on the affects of pollution on seals. I know that doesn’t sound as exciting as the Halloween party but they truly are interesting.

Short one today. I had my first emergency. A C-130 (big 4 engine Air Force transport plane) had to shut down one of his engines because of a fuel leak. It kept the evening interesting. Happily he landed safely.

The big Halloween party is tomorrow night. No costume for me this year. I might drop in before I come to work.

I will be taking more pictures as I have more free time. I December the Swedish ice breaker comes in to break up the ice in the bay so the transport ship can come in. That's when all the wildlife starts showing up.

Cribbage

I met the woman who runs the helicopter operation here last night. She brought her nephew by to see the Center. He makes sandwiches here at the deli but wants to be a pilot. I think he had a good time. She was carrying a cribbage board in her hand. I’m beginning to think that Cribbage is only a cold weather game! I was invited to join the Cribbage match held every Wednesday night at the Coffee Hut. I’m actually looking forward to playing some Cribbage.

I got to work my first airplanes yesterday. It sure felt good to be talking to airplanes again. I guess once you get it in your blood you can’t get it completely out. Funny how some things seem to come back to you so easily. We even had calm winds last night for a while. That’s something that happens rarely down here.

I had to go to a mandatory waste management class this morning. It was as interesting as a waste management class can be. As you know we recycle 100% here. At the end of the season it all gets put on a ship back to America. From there 60% is recycled and the rest goes into a landfill.

Following the class I made a visit to the aquarium. They already have some sea life of various kinds in the tanks. They have a touching tank. You get the opportunity to reach in and touch some of the little creatures. One looks like a huge (about 4 inches long) underwater cockroach (yuck!). The fish follow you around looking for food like home aquarium fish. It doesn’t take wild fish long to learn that behavior. I’m looking forward to the next science lecture on Sunday.

We still have the entire South Pole contingency here. The C-130’s won’t fly there until the temperature gets above 50 below zero. People who have been here before say it’s colder than usual for this time of year. Boy I’m glad I got to be here for a cold spring!