November 29, 1975: Saturday

Morning time was spent smoothing castings for thin sections and helping Kathy mark the core for sampling.

Afternoon I drilled holes in boxes, worked a wee bit on a large scale map of 1A, and worked on thin sections. The photographer was back up to take color pictures of the core.

Kathy walked down to dinner and lunch with us, but didn’t sit with us either time. There must not be any connotation for such things in her neck of the woods.

She, Cal, and I made handles for the core boxes in the afternoon. It was warm, and bright, and way above freezing. Kathy cut rope while Cal and I ran it through the holes and tied them. It was all very natural, the three of us, completed without any form of awkward inefficiency in space or time or thought.

In other words, we was groovin’. On a sunny afternoon.

Kathy snuck in and took my picture while I was working at the thin section wheel.

We walked over to Weather and saw a satellite photo of a huge crack reaching down towards 1A. 1A is no more. It’s all dismantled. The drillers are trying to hide from Leon, or else he’ll put them to work.

She actually did go to bed last night. After dinner we talked for a little while in her office. She apologized for me not being invited to Scott Base when the guy that asked her (Neville, one of the Surveyors from hockey) just talked to me politely about the upcoming basketball game. She was even sorrier when Dr. Treves had been invited.

Well, I told her that party invitations (or lack thereof) never bothered me. (Except when I’m paranoid about certain people there, when I’m not around to keep a watch over them. But I didn’t tell her that.) I said that she had to keep up her social obligations.

Another Sidebar:
I think I’ve found a key to her:
a) heart
b) soul
c) body
d) all of the above
e) none of the above.
At least a key to mutual understanding, which is what is important.

Well, she admitted that it was very tough being a female in Antarctica and that she was down here only because she thought she could pull her weight.

Well I knew that. I could sense it in her.

After she had gone to the party I took Dr. Nakai and Katsu over. That old No. 2 truck just wouldn’t make it over. Took about six tries to get out past CosRay, where it’s all down hill.

When I got back Cal was doing x-ray charts of the Turtle Rock rocks. That makes me mad because I thought I was going to learn how to do it. But I didn’t complain.

Well, after awhile Cal and Dr. Treves asked me if I wanted to learn how to run the x-ray diffractometer. I said, “Of course.”

So Cal showed me and I did x-rays while he did point counts.

First you powder up the rock with a mortar and pestle. Then you pour it onto a slide and grind it into the frosted part so it doesn’t fall out. Then you put on a badge so you don’t get over exposed. Next you read the instructions for turning on the machine. Then you set the goniometer (angle measuring device) on 3º, open the shutter to let the x-rays in, turn the chart recorder on, turn the goniometer on, and wait until it’s rotated 45º or so.

You take the charts and note at what angles the peaks are, look up the corresponding d-spacings, look up the biggest three peaks in a search manual, and then in the card catalogue.

That’s that.

Dr. Treves is talking about a research assistant next semester. Some one that can make thin sections and run x-ray machines. The dean has to approve. I don’t know if the conversation was directed for my benefit.

Cal said, jokingly, that if he knew a research assistant was needed, he would have stayed another year. Good money.

I’m monitoring the situation carefully.

Jerry Bucher is my new roommate. Number six.

Michael Chapman-Smith has arrived. I’ve heard a little about him off and on ever since Win-Fly. He’s with Henry.

He wore green shorts to dinner.

Galyn Broers wears glasses. Chapman-Smith doesn’t.

Howard is an ex-boxer and record rugby field goal kicker.