Gump, could you re-tell the story you told some years back about the Inuit lady that said about Hoser,"he make good hat"? Thanks, Dave

Don't let this thread die! Great stories. I'll add some when statute of limitations is up.

mbdave wrote:Gump, could you re-tell the story you told some years back about the Inuit lady that said about Hoser,"he make good hat"? Thanks, Dave

That was so bittersweet....

My last day flying out of Kotz, and I was making the rounds saying goodbye to friends out in the villages.

Out at Buckland was Hoser's biggest fan. Beulah Ballot, age 80+, about four foot nothing tall, thick accent because English was her school-learned language. She loved that dog, and for the years I flew in there with Hoser, she would listen in on the VHF and ride out on her four-wheeler to play with him pretty much every trip. The usual drill when I parked was to chuck out the dog, then grab his frisbee from behind the seat and toss it for him, and the race was on who got to play with him.

At Buckland, Beulah always outranked the kids, so she'd throw the disc a short ways, Hose would race it back to her and drop it at her feet, him quivering with excitement, Beulah with eyes laughing and cackling with joy, laughing each time Hoser caught the frisbee.

This last trip though, Beulah was heartbroken. She sat down crosslegged on the ground by the airplane tire, held Hoser in her lap, and rocked and sang to Hoser in her native language, eyes wet with tears.

Of course I'm feeling lower than whale shit for taking her buddy away, and my eyes are leaking too. But then....

Old Beulah stops singing, looks up at me and says,

"Him got good fur. When he die you send him up to me and I make you a good hat."

I wasn't sure what I heard, so I said, "What?"

So she repeated, "Him got good fur," and fluffed his fur and rolled his head around to show me.

And ya know, she was right, and if she had still been alive when I had to put Hoser down a few years later I would have sent him up. And I'd a worn that hat proudly.

Damn it's hard to type with wet eyes....

Gump

If you don't keep a blue heeler busy you'll want to turn him into a hat before his time!

Oh yeah.....

Mister701 wrote:If you don't keep a blue heeler busy you'll want to turn him into a hat before his time!

We've got two border collies. They're no fun when they're bored-er collies. A tired puppy is a happy puppy!

Gump and company, I'm digging these stories! Thanks so much for sharing them!

Good looking pup! How long was he your copilot? How did the logistics of flying with your pup work out on flights with full seats?

I had an elder getting into my plane on one of my first weeks, we had 8.50x10s on the 206s and this lady was 75 years old, 4'10" at best. It is taking her a while to get in, and we are waiting. Finally she looks at me and says "young man, what is your name?". "Ma'am my name is Wes" I replied. She looks at me seriously and says "this whole process goes a lot faster if you goose me".....everyone laughs, I was speechless and turned pink. This would be the first time that Fiona would say something that would embarrass me, but not the last, she made it a challenge to get all the pilots, and would just keep coming up with more off color stuff to say. I miss her.

Gump,thanks for re-telling the story man, my eyes got wet the first time you posted that story,Same this time. Dogs and airplanes, airplanes and dogs. Dave

GumpAir wrote:

I guess I just assumed he was a blue. He's a genuine red heeler. One of my closest old friends from high school has always had blues. I told him the story about Hoser biting at branches and getting snatched right out of the pickup and he could definitely relate. I wish I had enough energy for a dog like that. I would get one just to keep Lucy company.

Normal during berry picking season...

Dam gump showed this pic to my kid and he said when did u fly for Yute....told him I didn't. Scary

Always had a black lab in the business on Lake Hood. Always had trouble with ducks and geese eating grass and pooping on grass and dock. Chester the dog could not wait to get to work in the morning so he could chase ducks and geese off the grass. He would start whining a mile away.

On fishing trips for King salmon we would come home about midnight....as we taxied up to dock he would see the ducks and geese on the grass and would go crazy trying to get out of airplane. Needless to say he was the first one out at the dock.

When season was over in October after freeze up, we flew south for many years for pheasant hunting in Mt and Dakotas. Chester would sit In the co pilots seat looking out the window just like he knew where we were going. After awhile he would laydown and sleep for a few hrs. Then wake up stretch and look around, after he determined we were on course he would lay back down for a nap. He even remember where the gates were at on airports for our over nights.

m_moyle wrote:Normal during berry picking season...

I know 5AB.

When did you fly for Yute?

Gump

I was in Fort Yukon one day, and met up with one of the village elders, a lady named Margaret. We discussed a few things, and I told her that I was about to become a dog owner....I had a Brittany pup about ready to leave his mom. Margaret asked if I'd thought of a name for him yet.......I replied that I hadn't but asked if she had any suggestions.

She thought for a moment, then pointed at her dog, who was sleeping next to her, and said, "Call him what I call this dog." I asked what her dog's name was, and she said a word in her native Gwitchin Athabascan dialect that sounded sort of like "Shillick".

I asked her what "Shillick" meant, and with a straight face, she said "It means My Dog", and she chuckled heartily.

So, the Brittany was registered as Shillick Patch, and a great dog he was.

MTV

GumpAir wrote:

m_moyle wrote:Normal during berry picking season...]

I know 5AB.

When did you fly for Yute?

Gump

Haven't flown for Yute... 5AB's starter failed here a few years ago ....had a new back up light weight starter on hand to lend to the mechanic.

Navajos, who also speak an Athabascan dialect, are also very literal. As a teacher you never say to a student, "You're not going to do that again, are you?" The answer will always be, "Yes."

There's a sled in there somewhere

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k51/dcogger/2a0230a9-7604-40dc-b819-04e24b3b6b31_zpslqdxccce1_zpszraz356s.jpg~original