duct tape

I traveled home recently to Nikolai. Every time I go home I stop in the Russian Orthodox church. It’s a beautiful, small space that smells of incense and has gold trim. Gold trim on the icons, on the walls and on the candle holders. I’m not a deeply religious person. But I do believe in spirit and a higher being. My great-grandfather was the traditional Tribal Chief of the village before he passed and the church reader. He was devout. Always telling everyone to pray and to be grateful. He wasn’t one of those devout religious folk who praise God and then gossip behind your back. No, he was truly a good person. The best person. I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body, and if he did, he certainly didn’t let any of us “grannies” see it. When we were young he would always give us money for ice cream, especially if we were going on a trip. He always had a 7-up and Tang mix for us to sip on at his house. He always had candy or pilot bread on his table for us to snack on. When he wasn’t praying he was always tinkering with something. My grandpa Bob was a huge fan of duct tape, especially when it came to repairs. It was on his glasses, coat, potlatch dish, snow machine, ATV, dog collar, radio…you name it, it probably had duct tape on it. He even had duct tape on his bible. He carried that bible everywhere and always pulled it out when the community gathered. Grandpa Bob was mostly deaf and blind in one eye. We had to communicate with him by writing things down on paper or yelling directly in his ear (although, sometimes I think he had selective hearing). But his singing was the best. We always sang before meals in my village, sometimes in Russian, sometimes in Athabascan, and sometimes in English. Grandpa Bob was loud and unapologetic when he sang. He would sing off-tune and out of line and simply not care. He would always finish off the song about 1 minute after the group. Everyone would be waiting patiently for him to finish so he could say a quick prayer from his bible and then we could all eat. I go to this church when I go home because I feel his presence here and it’s comforting. I miss grandpa Bob.