The important place of sled dogs in American history as portrayed by the amazing sled dog paintings of my friend Veryl Goodnight is the subject of the book I published in November: Sled Dogs in America: The Art of Veryl Goodnight, by Veryl Goodnight and Helen Hegener. Veryl’s historically accurate paintings have elevated the history of sled dogs to an exhibit at the prestigious Smithsonian-associated Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Veryl and I will be giving two slideshow presentations at the museum on February 6th, followed by a reception. It promises to be an exciting event!
Running for nine months, through April, 2025, the unique exhibit we helped curate showcases not only the paintings done by Veryl, but includes the history behind the paintings as I researched it for my 2023 book, The History of Sled Dogs in North America. Also included are many of the props and supporting pieces Veryl used in creating her paintings.
Although I’ve seen many photographs of the displays, I got my first actual look at the sled dog exhibit last week, and it was quite humbling to walk into that very prestigious museum and see my name on the walls, along with the photos I’d researched and the history I’d written!
But just as thrilling was to see two of the titles published by my Northern Light Media on the top shelf of the museum bookstore!
Veryl and I signed their copies and marveled at the depth and quality of the other items for sale!
I smiled to see people walking through the exhibit carrying copies of the book Veryl and I had produced together, and it was wonderful to talk with the docents and the visitors about the history and Veryl’s beautiful artwork. Our visit last week was impromptu, but it gave us a wonderful advance look at how exciting it will be when we return to present our slideshow and talk on February 6th!
I am not used to being fragile. I’ve been through car crashes, fallen off cliffs, thrown from horses, slipped on ice, and once had a mineshaft start collapsing while a friend and I were exploring, but all in all I’ve been lucky and have escaped major injuries in this lifetime. But two bad falls this week have left me sore and bruised and feeling rather shaken. Their sudden unexpectedness has left a grim reminder that we aren’t always in control of everything, and as they say, stuff happens.
The first accident happened in – of all places – the local emergency care facility. My grandson and I were waiting in the car for his mom, and after a while the little fellow needed to use their restroom, so we were making our way across the parking lot when an uneven spot in the pavement tripped me up and I went down, hard. That bruised both knees and my wrist, and all three are still sore several days later.
This morning I am limping, gimping, and having trouble raising more than a coffee cup. Arnica is my friend, and I’m going to invest in a heating pad since I loaned all of mine to others in need many years ago. Meanwhile, there’s a quote by Mark Twain, one of my favorite authors, about accidents.
I only dimly remembered how it went, so I looked it up online: “There are no accidents, all things have a deep and calculated purpose; sometimes the methods employed by Providence seem strange and incongruous, but we have only to be patient and wait for the result: then we recognize that no others would have answered the purpose, and we are rebuked and humbled.” That quote is from “The Refuge of the Derelicts” published in Fables of Man, which was written in 1909. Knowing the context, I don’t think Twain had silly stumbling falls in mind when he wrote that, but no matter, it makes me feel better to think that perhaps there’s a reason for my accidents, even if it’s only message from the universe to slow down a tad.
Alaskan Author Helen Hegener 