What to do when things break...

Kevin Dennert, former Marine and CHP officer, basking in the sunlight during a break from his job at Willy Field

Conditions: Con3   Temperature 27°F (windchill 17°F).  Clear.  Population = 935

A few days ago, I mentioned that the men on the Worst Journey in the World sang to one another when  lying outside without shelter or fuel in a -80°F blizzard.  Although life here is comparatively luxurious, we do have some slim similarity to the early adventurers.  We don't have fresh food, there are days when we would rather stay in bed than venture outdoors, and our day-to-day jobs can be tedious and in service of other people who get to do the exciting stuff.  Plus things break, planes don't fly, and we can feel remarkably isolated from the world.

So we also sing (Karaoke on Fridays).  But more often, people just laugh.  A sense of humor can get you through pretty much anything.

 For example, it has been warm here, making it to the high 30's yesterday.  Above freezing temperatures make the sea ice unstable for research; all the field teams are being called in, ending their seasons early.  Melting ice also ruins airfields;  planes can't land on soggy, sloppy runways.  Although the airfield workers may struggle to maintain the the field, they don't seem to have any difficulty maintaining their sense of humor.  I can guarantee, Kevin froze his butt off getting that perfect shot above.

Along that line, the Clinic recently held a graduation from the University of Antarctica, McMurdo Medical Branch, for Marisa and Josh, our Civilian Flight Nurse and Air Force Flight Technician.  What had started as a few weekly discussions of medical issues morphed into a tuition-free, degree- granting institution of higher learning.  The two students, according to Director of Curriculum, Flight Surgeon Brad Brough,  "had worked their fingers to the bone to earn an imaginary, worthless degree from a non-existent institution". 

The ceremony itself started with me playing a brilliant rendition of Pomp and Circumstance on my violin.  You can imagine how wonderful the fiddle sounded after 30 years of being left untouched by human hands.  Fortunately, the staff here were equipped with the appropriate earplugs and all survived with hearing intact, appreciatively applauding at random moments (or were they wringing their hands?)!

A solemn and yet gut-wrenchingly funny speech by Professor Brad followed.  NASA flight surgeon Steve interspersed the oration with lifelike skua squawks.  Dean Dean (at last, a name AND a title) then bestowed the degrees: Bachelor of Medical Acumen to Josh and Doctor of Antarctic Toothery to Marisa.  The Alumni Association of UofA MMB, in hopes of getting large future donations, gifted the two graduates with stuffed-skua Xmas ornaments.  The celebration culminated with a rousing rendition of the famous cheer, "Go Fighting Skuas" by the dwindling crowd of 10 people

After the ceremony was complete, the graduates grabbed photos with the University Faculty, tossed their caps and finally, gorged on cake.  Then we all hurried back to patients waiting patient-ly in the waiting room.  The caps have earned a place of honor in the McMurdo Medical Museum.  

A sense for the absurd is par for the course here.  A posted sign looking for a lost piece of machinery had a space left at the bottom for "gratuitous complaints".  Urinals, I hear, have graffiti written on the drains ("I've got nothing", "Wow!", "Does this make us friends?"  "Filter replaced by Isaac Thret, PhD").  A few pictures follow but those on my phone will have to wait (my phone is being medevac'd to New Zealand).

With respect to pictures, though, I tip my Carhartt cap to Kevin.  For a new guy to McMurdo, he seems to have quickly channeled the station's humor to a tee.