Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

My wife, Jan, called this morning with the unpleasant news that a friend of mine, Bunny Lampe passed away last night. Some months back he had complained of a pain in his back. He thought he may have pulled a muscle working at the cold storage. When the pain didn't go away he had it checked out and the diagnosis was cancer. I don't know all the particulars about it and I guess it doesn't matter, the fact is we've lost another fisherman here in Hoonah and more than that, someone who made the world a better place with his presence. I believe his given name was Robert, but if you were a stranger in town and asked for Robert Lampe, I doubt that most people would have been able to direct you to him. If, however, you asked about Bunny, he would immediately be pointed out. Everybody knew Bunny, and I would venture to say, liked him as well. When I fished out of a fourteen foot Hi-Laker skiff so many years ago, I frequently had to compete with Bunny for whatever fish might be ar...

 I looked outside today and saw that the bay looks like a millpond, just as flat and beautiful as a mountain lake. Of course, just because it looks nice doesn't mean that the fish are biting. At least that's been my experience. I always get all spastic this time of year with the weather getting better. I'd really like to get out there and run the gear up and down, but I think  my best bet right now is to try and prepare,so that when the fish are biting I'll be ready- or at least as ready as I can be. It seems like there is always something unexpected that crops up that has to be dealt with. I don't know what I'd do if I actually went out and something didn't break down or I didn't leave the dock without some important piece of equipment that I need. I think I would contact the folks at Guinness Books. I'm sure it would be some kind of a record.  For several days I set up shop at my dining room table so I could tie some hoochies for the up and coming...

I got an email from my good friend Doug Courtney last week. He apparently was sick of looking at the Yanni post. No doubt if I had posted about Jimmy Buffett, there would be no complaint registered. Now I not only have to entertain my family, I have to meet the needs of friends and aquaintances. I need to get a larger audience so I can get some sponsors or something so I can just do this instead of a real job. In any event, I've known Doug since I was in the navy. He was just a boy then and I took him fishing with me on occasion down in Charleston. When his family moved to the farm in Alaska, we weren't too far behind. We used to hunt ducks out in the fields and had a memorable experience once when Doug was tearing through the waist high grass with a Brown Bear hot on his heels. We set a land speed record for escape and though we both crossed a shallow slough, I don't believe either of us got our feet wet. Just for the record- running from a bear is the very thing you aren...

Today is St. Patrick's Day, the 17th of March. A lot of people celebrate it, wearing green, having a Guiness, beer or speaking a few Irish phrases. I happen to enjoy the day. Green is my favorite color, and because the day falls in the middle of March, there is usually at least a hint of spring. Today the weather is sunny and bright and it actually feels almost warm outside. Yesterday I was supposed to fly to Juneau for a dental appointment,but the day dawned grey and snowy so I couldn't make it-go figure. I need to get back to the dentist before I resemble a Jack O' Lantern. In any event, that's neither here nor there. March 17, 2007 is the day my dad died. I've posted a couple pictures of my dad when he was a young man. Mom is with him in the top picture and you can see they both look pretty happy. She had that effect on him. It' s been four years since he passed away. He had a stroke and was in the hospital for a bit. The stroke left him without an ability to...

 Like most of the rest of the world I've been watching the scenes in Japan unfold with a sense of horror and a feeling of sorrow for the people who have been affected. Who amongst us hasn't been affected in one way or another? As I've sat in front of the TV night after night and seen the devestation, I've been left with a feeling of despair and helplessness. I wish this hadn't happened, but it did. Every night I go to bed asking God to be merciful to those people and  to us. As bad as I feel for the folks in Japan, I'm also thankful that it didn't happen here. I'm struggling with the thoughts that I'm having- saddness that it happened, guilt for sitting here fat and happy and not having to deal with the tragedy directly, and a little anger.  I think I'm angry at God for not relenting, or intervening to prevent even more sorrow. Then it struck me today that I'm judging God. He's not doing what I think He should be doing. Why doesn't He...

  I was home alone last Monday evening; Jan had to run to Juneau for a dental appointment and I was left to fend for myself, which was fine.  When I'm fishing I spend many a night alone and after the first few days or so of loneliness, I adapt to the dinners out of a can or from my good friends at Stouffer's or Swanson's. In any event, I had to work for a few hours that night and when I returned home I decided to listen to my latest  Yanni CD. The dog was laying in his bed, under his sleeping bag, the TV was off and I put down the book I've been reading and just listened. Frankly, it was heavenly. For anyone not familiar with Yanni, I guess his music is described as New Age, which in my opinion isn't quite accurate, but I'm no music critic, so what do I know? New Age conjures up images of people chanting or doing yoga or listening to some bonehead expound on spiritual awareness of which he has no idea, while he takes their money and sends them off to die in a sw...

 I spent a delightful few hours this afternoon in the building that used to house the school auto shop. Who know's, someday it may be a shop again, but for now it's being used to carve a screen that will be transported to Glacier Bay National Park,  the original home of the Huna Tlingit. The project manager is Gordon Greenwald. Prior to his retirement from the Hoonah City School, he was the wood shop teacher, as well as teaching drafting and Northwest Coast Art. As I look around my office I see several plaques as well as a small paddle, a replica of what the local natives would have used to paddle their canoes up and down the Alaskan coastline. All have been decorated in the designs  similar to what  the Tlingit would have put on their paddles or totems or screens. Several of my kids excelled at Northwest Coast Art, even receiving requests for designs for paddles. The design of this screen is an original one that Gordy has made himself. I wish I could remember a...