Travels in Antarctica: always look on the bright side of life

By Frosty Wooldridge 

          “I was a little late on the scene this morning, and thereby witnessed a most extraordinary scene.  Some six or seven killer whales, old and young, skirted the fast floe ahead of the ship; they seemed excited and dived rapidly, almost touching the floe.  They suddenly appeared astern, rising their snouts out of the water.  Close to the water’s edge lay the wire stern rope of the ship, and our two Esquinmaux dogs tethered to it.  I yelled to Ponting who seized his camera. The next moment, the whole floe near him to port side and the dogs, heaved and split into fragments.  One could hear the booming noise as the whales rose under the ice and struck it with their backs.  Whale after whale rose under the ice, setting it to rocking fiercely; luckily Ponting kept his feet and was able to fly to safety.  By chance also, the splits had been made around and between the dogs, so neither of them fell into the water.  Then it was clear that the whales shared our astonishment, for one after another their huge hideous heads shot vertically into the air through the cracks, which they had made.  As they reared them to a height of eight feet, it was possible to see their tawny heads markings, their small glistening eyes and their terrible array of teeth—by far the most terrifying in the world.  There cannot be any doubt that they looked up to see what had happened to Ponting and the dogs.  They had meant to dislodge them from the boat.  The head of one killer was within five feet of the dogs.  Later it was clear to us that they possessed a singular intelligence.  We learned to respect them.”

                                              Cherry-Garrard, 1922

                                              THE WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD

          By late January, my roommate Jack had settled into his routine and had accepted his fate of working in housekeeping.  He didn’t complain anymore.  He was able to be a dive tender for the Scuba divers.  He had hiked to Castle Rock and attended survival school.  One woman had kept him busy with her attentions.  He had visited Shackleton’s Hut near Cape Royds and had snapped a few pictures.

          Still, he was sick of cleaning toilets, but had finally resigned himself to the short-term existence for the long-term memories.  One might even say he was happy to be in Mac Town.

          Little did I know that his happiness had found a creative outlet in the Thespian arena.  He had acted and directed back in his college days.  From those experiences, he scoured the Internet and found four one act plays:  ‘SURE THING’ and ‘WORDS, WORDS, WORDS’ along with ‘MERE MORTALS’ and ‘THE PHILADELPHIA’.  A month before the summer season came to a close, he pulled together a string of actors and began directing players, costume designers, musicians and set designers.  He transformed the McMurdo Playhouse, formerly a junk storage Quonset, into a marvelous ‘Globe Theater’.  He printed up flyers advertising the plays and got McMurdo folks excited for the three performances.  He even directed himself in the first play.

          “You’re going to love these plays,” he said excitedly one night after dinner.  “We’ve got some great material.  They’ll hear the laughter all the way to the Pole.”

          “Ah ha, the man is excited,” I said.  “You’re following in the footsteps of Scott.”

          “Why’s that?” Jack asked.

          “It was Scott who had his men put on plays in the Discovery Hut,” I said.  “The old man was as English as Prince Charles.”

          I attended the second performance on a Saturday night.  Jack walked out with a mop in hand and began swabbing the deck and singing a song.  His melancholy voice carried throughout the theater.  His sad life echoed that of a desperate man.   Behind him, a chorus of singers from behind a curtain began waving their hands like traffic cops bringing cars through an intersection while singing, “Always look on the bright side of life…always look on the bright side of life…always look on the bright side of life.”

          Suddenly, the sheet slid sideways to expose two rows of men wearing red briefs with feathers.  One woman in the middle was wearing a red bikini bottom and held up her unsupported, plentiful breasts with her hands while the men continued waving and singing.  The audience howled, screamed and whistled.  Everyone called for Paula to wave to the men so her breasts would be break free.   However, she would not let go of them.

          For the next two hours, the audience laughed wildly at the funny antics n the stage plays.   We took a break in between.  Everyone talked positively of Jack’s fantastic directing and acting.  From a man who was going to leave the ice because he hated doing the menial work, he became the hero of the station with his hidden talents. 

          After the final number, the curtain pulled aside to reveal the band of merry singers who had started off the plays.  They waved their hands back and forth while singing, “Always look on the bright side of life….”   Paula still held her hands to her breasts and wasn’t waving with the rest of the crew.  However, many guys yelled out, “Hey Paula, wave your hands.”  She looked up with an impish grin, “Okay, just for you guys.”

          At that second she threw up her hands with the rest of the singers, but the furry mittens covering her breasts didn’t fall.  They had been glued on.  For a moment, every male in the joint prayed for the glue to fail but it didn’t.  The hoots and howls of every man there echoed throughout the building.  We laughed so hard our jaws hurt.

          Later, I talked to Jack, “What you created was fantastic man,” I said.  “Aren’t you glad you stayed?”

          “I admit that I owe that to you,” he said.  “If you hadn’t brought up your persuasive points that first two weeks, I would have missed out on the most incredible five months of my life.  I was ready to throw in the towel.  Thank you.”

          Jack wasn’t the only one who found creative ways for enjoying Antarctica after the long nine-hour days, six days a week.  All of us had our interests.

          Photographers from all walks of life carried cameras for rare shots of the landscape that was forever changing before their eyes.  Whole new avenues of creative outlets presented themselves around the station.  Snow, with 78 forms of it, afforded dramatically different views of water in its frozen state.

Water color artists painted exquisite renditions of Polar scenes.  Some of the early sunsets burst across the horizon in pinks, lavenders, bronze, gold, and fiery reds.   

Using different mediums, men and women at McMurdo created iron works, bead-works, jewelry, ice sculptures, handcrafts and much more. 

Writing and reading clubs offered discussions for creative outlet.  Everyone possessed a different interpretation of his or her experiences in Antarctica.

Musically, many talented artists wrote songs that defined our experiences and played for us.

Davidson’s political cartoons created a weekly discussion!  Even the information board outside the Galley continued offering interesting tidbits of humor, satire and intrigue.

I sat down to eat everyday with different people from all walks of life.  They talked about their hopes, dreams and interests.  The conversations were never the same thing twice.  Whether it was God, politics, family, marriage, kids or sports—they added amazing perspectives.

There was a time that the baseball great Lou Gehrig said, “I’m the luckiest man on earth.”

I sat there overlooking the Royal Society Range booming into an azure sky.  The ice crystals glistened from my spot to the 13,000-foot peaks before me.  Lucky? 

          I couldn’t agree with Lou Gehrig more.

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Handbookfor Touring Bicyclists–Bicycling touring is growing in popularity each year. Men and women around the world are taking to the highways and the “open air” is their kitchen.  On the pages of this book, you’ll discover how to buy, carry, prepare, and store food while on tour. Discover the ‘ins and outs’ with a “Bakers Dozen” of touring tips that are essential for successful bicycle adventuring. Whether you’re going on a weekend ride, a week-long tour, or two years around the world, this handbook will help you learn the artistry of bicycling and cooking.

Strike Three! Take Your Base–The Brookfield Reader, Sterling, VA; 2001. ISBN 1-930093-01-2. To order this hardcover book, send $19.95 to Frosty Wooldridge, POB 207, Louisville, CO 80027. This poignant story is important reading for every teen that has ever experienced the loss of a parent from either death or divorce.  This is the story of a boy losing his father and growing through his sense of pain and loss. It is the story of baseball – a game that was shared by both the boy and his father – and how baseball is much like life.

An Extreme Encounter: Antarctica—“This booktransports readers into the bowels of million year old glaciers, katabatic winds, to the tops of smoking volcanoes, scuba diving under the ice, wacky people, death, outlaw activities and rare moments where he meets penguins, whales, seals and Skua birds. Hang on to your seat belts–you’re in for a wild ride where the bolt goes into the bottom of the world.” Sandy Colhoun, editor-in- chief, The Antarctic Sun

Bicycling Around the World: Tire Tracks for your Imagination–This book mesmerizes readers with animal stories that bring a smile to your face. It will pain your mind and heart seeing the Third World. It chills you with a once-in-a-lifetime ride in Antarctica where you’ll meet a family of Emperor penguins. Along the way, you’ll find out that you have to go without a mirror, sometimes, in order to see yourself. The greatest aspect of this book comes from–expectation! Not since ‘Miles from Nowhere’ has a writer captured the Zen and Art of Bicycle Adventure as well as Wooldridge. Not only that, you enjoy a final section-’Everything you need to know about long distance touring’. He shows you ‘How to live the dream’. You’ll have the right bike, equipment, money and tools to ride into your own long distance touring adventures. If you like bicycling, you’ll go wild reading this book. If you don’t like bicycling, you’ll still go wild reading this book.

Motorcycle Adventure to Alaska: Into the Wind—“Seldom does a book capture the fantasy and reality of an epic journey the magnitude of a ‘Motorcycle Adventure to Alaska’. Trevor and Dan resemble another duo rich in America’s history of youthful explorers who get into all kinds of trouble – Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. They plied the Mississippi River, but Dan and his brother push their machines into a wild and savage land—Alaska. My boys loved it.” John Mathews, father of two boys and a daughter.

Bicycling the Continental Divide: Slice of Heaven, Taste of Hell—“This bicycle dream ride carries a bit of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The author mixes hope with adventure, pain with courage and bicycling with mountains. John Brown, a friend left behind to battle cancer, provides guts and heart for his two friends who ride into the teeth of nature’s fury. Along the way, you’ll laugh, cry and gain new appreciations while pondering the meaning of life.”

Losing Your Best Friend: Vacancies of the Heart—“This is one heck of a powerful book!  It’s a must read for anyone that has lost a friend or parent.  It will give you answers that you may not have thought about.  It will touch your heart and you will learn from their experiences.  It also shows you what you can do if you suffer conflict with your friend’s wife or girlfriend.”   Jonathan Runy

 Rafting the Rolling Thunder—“Fasten your ‘raft-belts’ folks!  You’re in for the white water rafting ride of your life.  Wooldridge keeps readers on the edge of their seats on a wild excursion through the Grand Canyon.  Along the way, he offers you an ‘outlaw’ run by intrepid legend “Highwater Harry”, a man who makes a bet with the devil and nearly loses his life.  The raft bucks beneath you as Harry crashes through Class V rapids.  And the Grand Canyon Dish Fairies, well, they take you on separate rides of laughter and miles of smiles!  Enjoy this untamed excursion on a river through time.”  Jason Rogers

Misty’s Long Ride: Across America on Horseback—Misty’s Long Ride, by Smooth Georgia Mist (Howard Wooldridge – Frosty Wooldridge’s brother), AuthorHouse, 2005. ISBN 1-4208-5766-5 (sc).  “As good as Howard was, sometimes there was nothing he could do about our situation in the burning inferno of Utah. In that agonizing desert, a man’s mouth became so dry, he couldn’t spit. I felt the heat cook my hooves at ground level where it felt like walking alone in the middle of a farrier’s furnace. Above us, vultures soared in the skies searching for road-kill. Yet, Howard pulled down the brim of his hat and pushed forward. I followed this cowboy because he was a Long Rider and I was his horse….” For anyone who loves horses and high adventure – Howard’s horse Misty tells one of the great adventure tales in the 21^stcentury by galloping coast to coast across America. You’ll enjoy horse sense, horse humor, unique characters and ride the wild wind.

All books available at: 1 888 280 7715, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com