I find that the people who take the time to write to me, whether they agree with my positions or not, are probably the people I would be most comfortable socializing with because they at least care enough to have an opinion and express it. I’d be willing to guess that, for the most part, they are also the people who vote in every election.
Of course, I always think my opinions are right. But I respect the ones I receive that disagree with me if only because it gives me hope for the future of this state and country
Palin stands up for Alaska
Here’s the thing about Alaska and the oil industry. Without the industry, Alaska would still be trying to figure out how to pay to keep the lights on in the winter. For this we should be grateful to them. Industry investment dragged this state into the economic life of America in a way that would never have happened without it. The size of our Permanent Fund alone makes us players with the big boys in the financial world.
But let us be very real about industry’s dedication to our state. Neither Exxon, nor ARCO, nor BP nor Conoco Phillips, nor
The eagles
I can honestly say that there is nothing that looks more uncomfortable and abashed than an eagle that has just been bathed. Unless it’s an eagle sitting in a bin being blow dried. Of course, if it had been female eagles instead of males, they might have enjoyed the bath and blow dry more. But they were too smart to begin with to dive into that truck of slime in Kodiak. Guys! Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them. But it sure was special to be there yesterday feeding them.
We got eagles
Thirty of them. Sent up from Kodiak to Bird TLC after they dive bombed a salmon slime truck. These are the lucky ones. They survived. Albeit a bit embarrassed by the whole experience. I’m off to feed them. Does life get much better than this
Here’s what I did
Saturday morning I looked out into my front yard because Wilson, my watch bird, was screaming warnings. There were our two neighborhood moose, browsing on the three trees I keep in my front yard just for them. So that’s how I wasted an entire hour despite a rushed deadline on an enormous project that is due tomorrow. I stood there sipping coffee, watching moose, protecting my bird from their baleful stares and wondering once again why anyone would live anywhere else in the world but Alaska.
Shows without writers
I may be a bit sensitive to this writers’ strike because, as a writer, I know how hard it is to get fair compensation for what I do. And if there is any doubt in anyone’s mind about why writers are so important, tune in to the Daily Show or the Colbert Report. Still pretty good but clearly missing the snap and razor sharp wit that professional writers bring to the table.
The good news is that during the strike, I had more time to read than I’ve had since we went beyond three channels on the dial.
Why Alaska drivers are the…….well, something.
It’s snowing to the point of a white out, especially when another car blasts by you and spews more fluffy white snow into the air. The streets are slick because it’s that almost wet snow that makes a perfectly icy surface. And Alaskan drivers pass you in exasperation because you insist on going slightly below the speed limit in the hope of making it home alive. Not only that, but they zip by you with coffee in one hand, a cell phone in the other and the only things controlling their car being their foot on the gas pedal and
Here’s a sure fire business idea
You know how they have those packaging stores? Well, I think someone should open an unpackaging store where people can go with their new purchases and have someone else wrestle off the freakishly strong plastic wrap. It would earn a million dollars a month easily. I’d do it but my hands are just starting to heal from the battle to get the plastic wrap off the new headset I just bought…which, after much blood loss, turns out to not have the right connection for my phone so I have to return it…along with the bloodied plastic wrap. Which I will
Let’s call them what they are…pseudo-families
After spending countless years working with abusive families and damaged children, I’ve decided that one of the ways to get a grip on the problem is to redefine the terms. Anyone who’s ever been called fat or ugly knows that words are very powerful. So we need to use the right ones in defining the people involved in the court system because of domestic violence and/or neglect and abuse of children.
Right now, the system is geared towards reuniting families. This goal is predicated on the assumption that the family is the best unit society has for rearing the next
Why I enjoy paying taxes
Because if I think about them while getting dental work, the dental work isn’t half so horrendous.