Paula

While having dinner on Sunday night, one of the tour guides was describing his time in Alaska as a crab and halibut fisherman. I mentiond my Timberline trip to Alaska and how I had these two wonderful guides, George and Paula. Both were wonderful people, I really liked them both. I had a crush on Paula the entire tour.Then the guide said, you know Paula is dead don't you. I said no and he told me she was killed by a drunk driver two years ago. Tears started pouring out of me eyes, I was kind of embarressed. I had really liked Paula on that tour. She was so happy, full of life, so pretty. She was actually a smoke jumper, firemen who parachute out of airplanes into forest fires, a very dangerous job and then she loses her life this way.
After dinner Tim pulled me aside and we went into the bar for a glass of wine. He apologized for not telling me in private and I said don't worry. We then shared our memories of Paula. She was a wonderful person. Tim had worked with Paula with Timberline. I remember Paula telling me about a tour she had done in Glacier National Park where two people crashed there bikes (seperate incidents) and both had to be life flighted by heliocopters to hospitals. Turns out Tim was leading that tour with Paula.
Anyhow we talked some more about our memories of Paula and it helped a lot. Then I went up to my room and thought to myself, this why I am doing this tour now. You never know when your time is up, tomorrow is promised to no one. Then I cried myself to sleep.
God bless you Paula.