Letters from Alaska
by
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It was Thursday May 6th, 1949, a day that Trina and her twin daughters were making sure was a special day at the Brown’s. May 6th was Mark Brown’s birthday, and Trina Brown always made sure that his birthday was a special day in the Brown house. Trina and Mark were now married four years and Trina was making her husband’s very favorite meal.
She was in the kitchen and was wearing a full length cooking apron Mark won for her at the Dade County Fair the first year they were married. Mark always laughed at the fact that he spent more money throwing darts at those balloons than if he had bought it in a store. But, it was the fun of winning it for Trina. The apron had a monogram on the front which read, “I Made It Just For You”. Besides those words there were hearts of different colors sewn all around the words. It actually looked like a circle of hearts.
The meal she was cooking was one Mark requested for his birthday. It consisted of pork chops, mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, and grits, topped off with a carrot cake. The chops were first breaded with eggs and bread crumbs, then fried in oil. The mashed potatoes were made with red potatoes because Mark always insisted the reds made a better tasting mashed potato dish. The grits were on the agenda because no good, black southern meal would be complete without them, even just as a side dish. This is how Trina planned them today, as a side dish.
The twins, Careen and Cassidy, were just finishing putting up their home made decorations. Red, blue, and orange balloons hung from the chandelier right over the table. The twins also made a big sign, “Happy Birthday Dad”, which they hung on the wall next to the door going into the kitchen
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from the dining room. The sign was also in red, blue, and orange colors.
The night before Mark agreed to be home by 5:00 for dinner. This meant Trina would start frying the pork chops by 4:30. When the doorbell rang at ten minutes to 5:00, Trina yelled to the girls, “Get the door, you two,” and wondered who could that be? Could that be Mark, home early ? But he wouldn’t ring the doorbell.
Careen walked into the kitchen, and said, “Mom there’s a policeman at the door.”
As she walked to the front door after turning the stove off, a dozen thoughts went through Trina’s mind. None of them good. It only took her six seconds to reach the front door. A policeman was standing on the front porch with his hat in his left hand. He asked, “Are you Mrs. Mark Brown?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“I’m sorry ma’am, there’s been an accident and your husband is dead.”
Stunned by the news, all Trina could do was cry out.
“NO…NO!…no,no,no!”
Dear Rose, May 5, 1951
I know I should have written to you sooner. I told you I would and I started to write two different nights but got too tired to finish. So I’m writing this one right after dinner. I did not finish those two letters. Instead I’m putting all of it here.
Everything has been hectic this past week. First, the trip from Atlanta to Seattle was a really long one. Five days on a cross country bus was pretty tiring. It was the least expensive way for three of us to get here. The twins held up better than I thought they would. The only time I needed to step in was when they argued about which one should sit next to the window. I finally started timing them and made them share equal time.
Yes, it was a long and tiring trip. But on the positive side
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we saw some of the most fabulous scenery I’ve ever seen. The mountains in West Virginia were a sight to see. There were all kinds of trees growing up the sides of the mountains. Every so often we could see a house half way up a mountain, I can
tell you I could not figure out how people got to some of these houses. I’m repeating myself but some of the scenery was out of this world.
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About the Book
How could this happen? Two people buying the same house?
The year is 1951. Her life shattered by the sudden death of her husband, Trina Brown, a black lady with twin teenage daughters from Atlanta, Georgia, seeks a new life in Alaska. She begins working and buys a house at 144 East Chestnut Street in Juneau. She goes there with the help of her friend and mentor, Rose Williams.
Aaron Mueller is a successful Jewish businessman from New York City whose wife dies of lung cancer. Losing all interest in his family business, he sells out and is looking for a new passion in his life. At the suggestion of a friend, he researches Alaska and decides he’ll find it there. Through a real estate trade magazine, he buys a house at 144 East Chestnut Street in Juneau and moves there.
How did Janet Green manage a bank scam that caused Trina Brown and Aaron Mueller to buy the same house? Why does the FBI get involved? And how do a black lady from Atlanta and a Jewish businessman from New York City manage to live together and still get along?
About the Author
P.D. Vasko is 77 years old. He is a dad and stepdad to 12 children and grandpa called “Papa V” to 30 grandchildren. He has been dealing with Parkinsons’ disease for the past 14 years. His Motto for life is “Giving up is not an option”