Author: Elise Patkotak

]           I think it goes without saying that I agree with almost nothing Ann Coulter says. But I will march shoulder to shoulder with her in defending her right to say it. We currently have an administration in Washington that seems determined to undermine so much of what most Americans hold valuable, be it the separation of powers or the distaste for nepotism. If we lose our right to free speech, we will truly lose ourselves as a nation and deserve to be relegated to the trash heap of history.

Free speech is the cornerstone of all we stand for. Continue reading →

Woke up this morning to find Snowy sleeping on top of Carm and Carm snoring peacefully underneath Snowy’s not inconsiderable bulk. Tried to get a picture but the minute I moved, they separated like two married lovers caught in flagrante delecto… or whatever that phrase is. I took almost six years of Latin but that was back in my misspent youth when I thought reading Cicero in the original was cool. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Continue reading →

As each winter goes on seemingly endlessly here, I think more and more often of perhaps someday leaving Alaska because it’s just too hard. Then days like today happen where the sky is endless and blue, the breeze is gentle, it’s not too hot or too cold and almost all the snow is gone from my yard. And I wonder how I could have ever thought of leaving. Then I see the moose poop all over my now exposed lawn and know I can never leave a place where moose come to my yard for the pause that refreshes. Continue reading →

When you’re young and get a twinge somewhere, you barely think about it. When you’re old and you get a twinge, you immediately wonder if this is the big one. Continue reading →

Woke up this morning, after weeks of sunshine, to clouds and rain. And it made me smile. True Alaskans, apparently, can only take so much sunshine and then their mood starts to sour. We need clouds and precipitation more often than most. Continue reading →

Why is anyone surprised about the incidents recently captured on video showing altercations between flight staff and passengers. The industry has made flying one of the worse experiences in life. Plane seats have shrunk to Lilliputian size while people have grown larger and larger. You have less leg room than you did in your mother’s womb. You are always on a full flight with no space to stretch or be comfortable. Restrooms are so small you can barely turn around in them. You are herded around like cattle. Everyone’s nerves are ready to snap by the time the plane takes Continue reading →

I left the grocery store today with a bag that contained the ingredients for my meals for the next few days and treats for my dogs. The treats for the dogs cost more than all the other groceries combined.  That should probably tell me something I don’t want to know. Continue reading →

I sneeze at least ten times every morning before I even make it to the coffee maker to turn it on. Why is it that my body seems to hate everything green and pretty? I lived almost thirty years in Barrow without a bad allergy season. Then I moved to Anchorage and all those memories of childhood visits to Dr. Dittenfass for allergy shots came rushing back. You’d think I’d outgrow it but no. I am apparently destined to be allergic to all natural things for the rest of my life. Continue reading →