Elise Sereni Patkotak

When I first read Craig Medred’s column in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago, I decided the best course of action would be to give myself some time and distance from it to make sure I could deliver a reasoned response as opposed to the somewhat scatological one that originally came to mind. I’m pretty sure that even in today’s climate, certain words are just not considered appropriate outside of x-rated publications.

I’m referring to the column where he questions the efficacy of the International Bird Rescue group’s efforts to save oiled birds from our most recent spill. In

There stood my godchild, the innards of a 40 cup coffee percolator upside down in her hands, insisting she’d read the instructions to the coffee maker and it was just a big French press.  Her mother, meanwhile, was filling the huge pot with water in which swirled finely ground Starbucks Christmas blend.  Mom had a quizzical expression on her face.  I was struck with the thought that the soon to arrive 70 guests were probably not planning on drinking campfire coffee.

So as Emily vainly tried to explain that you plugged in the coffee pot and let it steep for

On the one hand, I think the approach of the New Year is an appropriate time for me to reflect on some of the weird things I’ve learned about myself in 2004. On the other hand, I keep waiting for the year when these revelations seem more normal than weird. That hasn’t happened yet.  It seems as though I am doomed to be weird till I die.

The first new thing I learned about myself this year is that TV has finally become nothing more than white noise in my life.  I turn it on and pick up my book

Christmas is for kids. So lets talk about kids.  Not the happy ones gathered around your tree or holiday table but the ones we’d prefer not to think about right now. The ones state officials have been talking about the last few weeks. The ones society tries, and often fails, to help and protect.

Maybe this isn’t what you want to read right before Christmas, especially if you’re feeling a little guilty about going overboard to get your kids everything on their list.  But the poignancy of remembering those kids staring at an institutional tree in an institutional setting whose

It’s been a rough week for my old hometown of Barrow.  The tragedy of the taxi driver’s murder there has resonated throughout the community with dramatic force. Not only is this the second murder in a little over two months, but the accused are just kids. They should be getting ready for homecoming. Instead, they are preparing for a murder trial.

And the community that lived in fear since the murder that there was an unknown monster in their midst must now come to grips with the fact that this “monster” was not really a monster at all, but two

Those of you who are regular readers of this column know that I have written a few times over the past five months about my journey towards gastric bypass surgery.  After fighting my insurance company, switching surgeons once when it was clear that the surgeon and I had a different definition of the initials M.D. (he thought they stood for major deity, I didn’t), and going through every medical and mental test known to man, I finally received word that surgery had been approved and scheduled. I immediately panicked.

I panicked because I was sure those mental health evaluations had

If there is one thing public broadcasting in Alaska has always been good at, it’s doing a lot with a little. On the one hand, I don’t know of a public broadcaster in this state who wouldn’t be happier to be doing a lot with a lot. On the other hand, when the pinch came in the late eighties and the spigot on oil money was squeezed almost shut, the public broadcasting system responded with some pretty heroic efforts.

For starts, public radio and TV stations didn’t close down and they never stopped serving their public. This may not sound

I deliberately waited to write a column about our recent political season until it was over. I didn’t do this out of fear of expressing my opinion on any given candidate or issue. I did it out of fear that my head would explode if I tried to write about the election before it was over.

There are some pretty astounding figures being tossed about over just how much was spent on various campaigns this political season.  In the end, the results of the huge sums spent did little to actually enlighten the electorate.

Most of the money seems to

Well, Thanksgiving is here and that means the holiday season now goes into full swing.  Tis the time of year when we overeat overspend and act as though eggnog was an entire food group.  Sadly, it is also the only time of year some of us remember those less fortunate who depend on the kindness of strangers to make their way in life.

I tend to be a “Bah! Humbug!” kind of person during the holiday season.  Before my mother died, she and I had a conversation about that. I told her that what made me crazy about this season

I grew up in a time when all parents felt very safe in telling their children to always look for a policeman if they were scared or lost.  A policeman, we were told, would always be our friend.

This was never necessarily true in Bush Alaska.  The police that were there – whether state troopers or city police – were usually outsiders brought in to enforce state and federal laws that may or may not have made a lot of sense to the local population within their cultural parameters.

A great example of this was an incident that occurred many