Myles Andrews Creed Arrives on Planet Earth

Kotzebue, Alaska - December 1989

The world has become a little sweeter this year when John and Susan's firstborn, Myles, arrived on June 4, 1989, in Fairbanks, Alaska, just after 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning-- a bouncing baby boy weighing seven pounds, 11 ounces.

“We are so pleased and fortunate to have a healthy, happy baby," said Susan.

"He really is the light of our lives," said John. "And boy, is he ever handsome!"

As most friends and relatives know, John and Susan and their ever-growing family live in Kotzebue, an Inupiaq Eskimo village 30 miles above the Arctic Circle in northwest Alaska and some 175 northeast of the tip of Soviet, Siberia.

Last May, though, John, Susan, Kubla the Wonder Dog, and Bobby the Death Wish Cat flew to Fairbanks to welcome Myles into their lives. The family spent the summer in a little cabin (with a teetering outhouse in the back) just off Chena Ridge Road a couple miles from the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

"It was a cute little place," said John.

A federal marshall built the place a few decades ago as a hunting cabin. (Perhaps if the present owner played that up he could charge more rent!) Unfortunately, the cabin's historic value did not help its location in a low, damp area-- basically a swamp. Ah, yes, that meant lots of little mosquito friends.

"I'll never forget the the first night at home with Myles," said John. "One of our screens had come undone while we were away and the place was infested with mosquitos. We finally fixed the problem with a mosquito net over our bed."

In any event, the family survived the bugs to enjoy one of America's best-kept secrets: Fairbanks in the summertime.

"It's incredible," said Susan. "Fairbanks has continuous light, 75-degree days, comfortable evenings and no humidity."

What about the bugs are you asking? They were all living at John and Susan's place.

Summer highlights included Myles' first camping trip and the 63rd party for Bob Andrews, or "Dud," the oldest living old-fashioned close-minded liberal alive today on planet earth. The party took place outside John and Susan's cabin in their screen tent. Festivities included cake with candles as well as cards, gifts, and phone calls from near and far.

"We've had a good year," said John. "We feel so fortunate to have good health, wonderful friends and relatives, and a new son."