A Phoned-In Podcast by Bill Chalmers
The village round was covered with the first real snow of fall.
Warm memories still lingered, but a blanket covered all.
As fall is wont to do up here, it sent a melting rain;
now winter is gone with summer, and it’s autumn once again.
Suspended animation reigns. The village holds its breath.
Awaiting now a lasting snow in winter’s lively death.
My dad, Bill Chalmers of Juneau, Alaska, was an English teacher, author, poet, football enthusiast, raconteur... a wonderful, warm, and giving person. Inspired by his locally-legendary answering machine messages, we gave him a phone number he could call to leave a message, a poem, or a story. Each call became an episode of this podcast. He died on September 30th, 2026, and these recordings are just a small refraction of the light that he leaves behind in all of our hearts. –- Devin Chalmers, October 2026