Saturday, February 5, 2011

Roads and Maps and Repeating the Drills


Much of my time in SLC is spent in my rental car, navigating the checkerboard pattern of the city on my way to and from CHYC. Airport to hotel to store to restaurant to school; wash, rinse, repeat.


For an Alaskan whose road systems consist of two major highways, driving in a large city like SLC, however thoughtfully it was designed, is always interesting, and not unlike our journey with Wolf.


I’ve got directions, but am I really sure where this off-ramp leads? Whoa, that intersection wasn’t on the map, did somebody build a new one without telling the folks at AAA? Gee, that cloverleaf was a doozy, hope we don’t slip off the road.


This trip has been less about what is going on now (even though it matters infinitely) and more about what will be going on later. Job Corps, Access Alaska, New Group Home, UAF, etc. etc, and etc. some more. We hope to create a helpful Key in his map for the days ahead. That’s the easy part. Harder is the balance between knowing he’ll screw up eventually (because he will), and how much to save him.


Carrying a map is one thing. Using it is quite another.


Remember when you were a teenager and your parents wanted to tell you something really, really, important, but you kept interrupting with “I know!” Yeah, it’s like that, but even more so, because Wolf really doesn’t know.


So we begin here, and make the map, provide the Key, list the options, arrange the meetings. Wash, rinse, repeat as necessary.



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