THE SUNDOGS

CHAPTER 1

In Homer, Alaska, in 1992, fifty years later, Roland Ford, a
local Homer commercial fisherman of many years, taps his free
foot on the floorboard in time with a tape of The Chieftans while
he navigates his pick-up slowly down the winding road from his
home on the bluff high above town. He's due to pick up Terry,
his adopted son, from high school in another ten minutes. He
checks his watch and sees he'll have a minute or so to spare.
Terry was sent from his home in Illinois to a small orphan-
age about nine miles out on East End Road in Homer, Alaska. His
mom and dad were Chipiwa Indians who got caught up in booze. His
mom got beat up often, usually during one of their drinking
bouts. Terry often tried to get between his mom and dad when he
was younger, attempting to dissuade them, only to get knocked
around himself for his efforts.
On one occasion, he had picked himself up out of a corner
he'd just been knocked into and tearfully stared out the window
at his dad's car parked in the front yard. He madly stomped out
of the house toward the vehicle, gazed through the side window to
see the keys dangling from the ignition, then looked around to

THE SUNDOGS - CHAPTER 1 2
see if anyone had noticed him. His parents continued yelling and
screaming at each other as he studied the upper portion of his
house, following their voices as they moved about from room to
room. Terry looked back at the dangling car keys in the igni-
tion, and moments later, began his grand adventure driving down
the Interstate.

He looks around in awe at his new-found mode of transporta-
tion. He becomes giddy with excitement. Never in his wildest
dreams did he think he would be driving a car this soon in his
life. He looks from the road in front of him down to the gauges
on the dashboard, attempting to get a feel for everything about
him. His eyes stop on the fuel gauge, then he glances back up at
the road in front of him. He's not sure if what he saw was
correct, so he checks the gauge once again. The needle hangs
perilously on the final mark next to the "E," not moving. The
knowledge of this pending setback doesn't initially worry Terry,
but he soon thinks to himself, I'd better get gas fast.
He immediately pulls off the Interstate and stops at a gas
station where he rummages through his pockets and under the car
seats for gas money. All he can come up with is a lonely dime
and an old, realistic-looking, plastic toy gun of his. Trying to
be cool, he coasts up to the gas pump and helps himself to five

THE SUNDOGS - CHAPTER 1 3

dollars worth of gas, then non-challantly places the nozzle back
on the pump. What if I get caught? he thinks to himself as he
fondles the toy gun in his pocket, debating with himself whether
or not to hold up the attendant. He speeds away without paying,
looking back to see if the attendant is watching, then drives
down the Interstate until he runs out of gas again. He coasts
into a rest stop where the State Troopers catch up with him a few
hours later, while he is asleep in the back seat. Before he
knows it, he is sitting on a plane next to his juvenile probation
officer, enroute for a flight to Anchorage, Alaska. He is in
Anchorage for only an hour, just long enough to get a connecting
commuter flight to Homer. The beauty of the mountains and the
bay surrounding Homer as their plane circles for a landing will
remain stuck in Terry's mind for the rest of his life.
Pavick, the founder of the orphanage, meets the plane at the
airport where the probation officer hands Terry over to him.
Pavick has known Roland and his wife Susan for years. They
routinely visit the orphanage, often dropping off freshly-caught
fish, or, if Roland and Earl get a chance to fly over to Kodiak
and get a couple of deer, they make sure they drop one off to
help feed the kids. Roland and Susan stop off at the orphanage
one day to drop off a good-sized halibut they had just caught.

THE SUNDOGS - CHAPTER 1 4

It was then that they were introduced to Terry.
Pavick loaned him a .22 rifle during his second day at the
orphanage and pointed him up the trail behind the orphanage into
the woods. "Bring us back some spruce hens or grouse for the
pot," Pavick told him, patting him on the back as he headed up
the trail. Terry returned a couple of hours later with three
spruce hens. "Looks like you got lucky," Pavick said, admiring
the birds Terry held up.
"They wouldn't even fly off when I started shooting at
them," Terry said excitedly.
"Leave 'em out here and we'll clean them. Need to pluck the
feathers while they're still warm," Pavick told him. "Go in and
get me a big pan and some newspapers."
Terry dropped the birds on the ground in front of Pavick,
then handed him the rifle. He began walking toward the house,
then turned and asked, "What's the newspaper for?"
"We're out of toilet paper in the outhouse," Pavick said.
Susan and Roland began stopping by the orphanage more
frequently, sparked by a genuine interest in the well-being of
Terry.

He had been at the orphanage for almost three years when
Roland offered to take him fishing during one of his visits and

THE SUNDOGS - CHAPTER 1 5

Terry jumped at the chance.
Terry was fascinated with the sea and, from then on, never
missed an opportunity to go boating or fishing. Susan invited
Terry over to their place for dinner nearly every weekend and he
often spent the night, with Pavick's permission. He readily
accepted the couple and their kind treatment, and they accepted
him as their own.