This is the first writing assignment for AIJI...
By Jacquelyne Taurianen
Charles Pulliam began his journey to Vermillion, totaling more than 2000 miles, similar to most students at the American Indian Journalism Institute. However there was one big difference, Pulliam was flying from Alaska.
“I thought about bringing my sled-dog team but due to illness of two dogs and a large storm I thought a plane would be more suitable,” Pulliam said laughingly.
Pulliam started from his hometown of Anchorage where he boarded a flight to Seattle, Wash; little did he know he was in store for nothing less than an ordinary flight. He planned a long refreshing nap but was caught off guard when a single mother and her three children approached his seat and he soon discovered he would be sitting smack dab in the middle.
"I saw the family walking down the aisle and I just kept hoping that they were going to take a seat. The next thing I knew the mother was tapping my shoulder to assist her children into their seats… directly next to me.” Pulliam said.
He was now the “acting guardian” to her two sons and did not enjoy one minute of it. With all hopes of a nap dashed, he was forced to make conversation with the son who “never stopped talking.”
With a weight lifted off his shoulders and one less family to watch over, Pulliam gladly boarded a plane to Minneapolis and another plane to Sioux City, Iowa to complete his trip.
With more than 14 hours of travel under his belt, Pulliam was happy to arrive in Vermillion where he was able to focus on the studies ahead and the “large population of cows” in the South Dakota area.
