Kay Schrammeck

After graduating from Eastern Montana College, I taught in Thompson Falls for 5 years and then my husband (Jack Butler) and I headed north to Southeast Coastal Alaska where I've been ever since. Living in the Alaska Rainforest has its perks; phenomenal scenery, incredible fishing, whales, otters, and bald eagles screaming every morning. It also has rain, rain, and even more rain! I do so miss those Montana blues skies and the view of the Sweetgrass Hills. School year 2009-2010 will be year 25 in Alaska for me and I am seriously considering retiring from Alaska and setting off on a new adventure.

The Day the Gerbil Died

It was a classic science lab day. We were all gathered around Mr. Fauque as he explained the science behind the activity were about to undertake. Our mission was to temporarily anesthesize the gerbil by placing it in a jar with a chloroform soaked cotton ball. Timing would be critical. Once under we would record vital signs as the gerbil recovered from the event. Alas, timing was far from accurate and the gerbil stopped breathing. Mr Fauque rushed in and preformed mouth to mouth on that toothy gerbil and when that failed grabbed a battery and wires and attempted to shock the little rodent's heart. All failed and the gerbil did not come around. The science gang around the table suppressed their laughter long enough to write a proper rodent eulogy, bury that gerbil, and my last memory of the event was Barbi Johannsen playing Taps.