Sikik, still reeling from the recent passing of her mother, is delighted to hear from her friend in Tennessee at long last.

Sunday, February 6, 2005, 1:33 p.m., Alaska time~

Dear Louisiana~

Hi, Louisiana! I was so happy to hear from you at long last! Yes, it has been a while since I heard from you! I was just starting to wonder if you were mad at me (I am happy to know that you are not mad at me!!) or if anything bad had happened to you; but it seems that things for you and your family are going well (for the most part!). I am so sorry to learn that you need back surgery; I pray it is nothing serious, and I pray that you come through the surgery without any problems whatsoever! I will pray to my god tonight when I go to bed, and ask him to watch over you; you deserve his protection!

I also understand you were in Sri Lanka helping out the sunami victims (I can't spell! LOL); you have a very big heart to go and do that! I am glad that you had a safe trip there, but I was sorry to learn that you are now walking on crutches instead of just your cane; but at least you are still walking, right?? You have to look at it that way and not worry so much! (I should talk, I am probably one of the world's biggest worriers! Any little thing that goes wrong, and here I am, crying or pulling out my hair!! LOL I'm really bad at that!)

That is so interesting to know that you are thinking of adopting two more children into your beautiful Northern Lights family; either you are crazier than a nanuq going to Florida because it is too cold for him, or else you have an extraordinary amount of love in your heart! You seem to be a very caring, compasionate, loving person, and I am glad to call you my friend! You really know how to say the right things to a person when they are having a hard time!

In refrence to your questions, Louie, my mom died of numonia; she really never got over it, and she died right around Christmas time. So our holiday wasn't the best, as you can probably imagine. I really miss her; she was so special, and I loved taking care of her! My brothers and sisters are all well, but they are all grieving too, and I guess they are scared that they will upset me, so they stay away, which makes me feel that they don't even want to be around me, even though I am their flesh and blood sister. I am so lonesome here in this far, frozen northern land, and I just don't have that many friends besides my neighbors or you or even Jenna Doucet (and she doesn't write much either). All I have to keep me company is my computer or my typewriter, or my books or my tv; there is not much to do here, and when it is bad out, I just stay holed up in the house like a grizzly in hibernation! LOL I don't get out all that much because I don't have a car, and my sled that I use is now busted, and I am waiting for my friend Aquika'a'k to fix it, but he is busy with his hunting now; so my sled will have to sit around and wait until he can get to it. Until then, I am stuck here. I could go to the store or even visit my friends that live closest to me, but I am too shy in nature, and I just don't feel comfortable around a large group of people.

I am happy for your daughter, Ronee'. She does have a pretty voice; I still listen to the one CD you sent, and it makes me smile! I wish her all the best on her show! I am also happy to know that your son, Johnny, is doing well with his health, but it sounds like he is cronicaly bored. Maybe he needs to come here and visit me?...What do you think of that? I bet he would like meeting my father or my brothers and sisters, and we would be more than happy to have him here! I don't know how we would do with his wheelchair, but we would make sure he would sleep on the ground floor, and we would make sure that he doesn't go up the steps! How would he feel about trying whale or ptarmigan or maybe even walrus?? I love eating all these things, and I wonder if Johnny would like to try some! LOL But I also could make him good old American dishes like hamburgers or piza or hotdogs if that is what he prefers. Or maybe he would like some salmon; I also love salmon! Salmon is very big here in Alaska, you know....Tell those sweet little ones to write to me; I will be sending them some stuff about the Inuit if they are interested, or about how we believe and why, or even about the aurora borealis (I know Ronee' would love it; isn't she your little aurora borealis fan?? Seems whenever the auroras come your way, she is so excited about them!). I may even send them some Inuit art or simple games that we play here ("Cat's Cradle", a string game, as an example). I would really love to hear from Johnny or Ronee' again!

I seem to be doing well, but in truth, I am not, really. I seem to cry most days; it seems like I never run out of tears, and whenever the auroras come out, I cry because I imagine Mother there, and it makes me sad. I really miss her; there is such an empty hole inside my heart, and some days, I wonder if I should even go on living because I am so lonesome and bored, and you are about the only one (or your kids Johnny and Ronee') who ever writes to me, and I just feel worthless and hopelessly alone. There I go again...crying again...my eyes are watering up again, I can't see to write this, so if this is messed up or tearstained, you will know why. I will write more later; again, thanks for writing to me. It was so nice to hear from you!

Have a good day, and thanks for caring! Blessings to you and your family always, and all the best with your upcoming hospital stay and surgery! I will be praying hard!!

(((HUGS))) and love, your Inuk friend in Barrow, Alaska, Sikik Grace. :( >tears<