Pansy (10 page)

Farewell

She would miss Alaska, but as soon as she could become a full-fledged veterinarian, she would come back. This would always be her home. Someday she would open the Pansy Kellogg Animal Clinic in Delta Junction. She would put a big picture of Pansy on the front of the building. It would be fun living close to Randy and Nadia, and maybe someday, when her dad retired, he would come back here to stay, or at least visit often.

In just a few more days, they would start their long drive south. With a few possible exceptions, they should beat the snowfall between the Canadian border and Idaho. Everything was ready to go, so Mandy was surprised to see Ed drive up with a stock trailer in tow. "Want to make a last quick trip with me?" He motioned to the seat beside him.

"Where to?"

"I thought instead of leaving Nellie out here by herself, we would take her to the children's petting farm in Palmer near the fairgrounds. I know the family that runs the place, and they will board her for us."

"But I thought Randy was going to look after her.”

"Yeah, I know. But I read that it's stressful for cattle to be alone, and something might happen to her way out here. I just thought we should do something special for her. After all, she was Pansy's friend."

About the Author

Charles D. Hayes is a self-taught philosopher and one of America’s strongest advocates for lifelong learning. He spent his youth in Texas and served as a U.S. Marine and as a police officer before embarking on a career in the oil industry. Alaska has been his home for more than thirty years.

Hayes’ book
Beyond the American Dream: Lifelong Learning and the Search for Meaning in a Postmodern World
received recognition by the American Library Association’s
CHOICE
magazine as one of the most outstanding academic books of the year. His other titles include
Existential Aspirations: Reflections of a Self-Taught Philosopher
;
September University: Summoning Passion for an Unfinished Life
;
The Rapture of Maturity: A Legacy of Lifelong Learning
;
Training Yourself: The 21st Century Credential
;
Proving You’re Qualified: Strategies for Competent People without College Degrees
; and
Self-University: The Price of Tuition is Desire
.
Your Degree is a Better Life
. His first work of fiction is
Portals in a Northern Sky
. He has begun an Alaska Short Fiction series with
Moose Hunter Homicide
as the first entry.

Promoting the idea that education should be thought of not as something you get but as something you take, Hayes’ work has been featured in the
L.
A.
Progressive
,
USA Today
, and the
UTNE Reader
, on National Public Radio’s
Talk of the Nation
and on Alaska Public Radio’s
Talk of Alaska
. His web site,
www.autodidactic.com
, provides resources for self-directed learners—from advice about credentials to philosophy about the value lifelong learning brings to everyday living. In 2006, Hayes established
www.septemberuniversity.org
, a site devoted to ongoing dialogue among September University participants in search of the better argument.

Amazon Kindle versions are available for all of the books listed above.