Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  About a week ago my friends Mark and Sarah let us know that they were going to be moving to California. Of all the places that I wouldn't want to be right now, California would be near the top of the list, right behind Portland, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and any place in China. From what I can gather, there are a number of folks from California leaving and heading for the more sane places like Texas and Idaho. I just hope they leave their liberal ideas behind. One California is all this country can stand. In any event, the news hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea they were even thinking of going. I think there is a lot of sacrifice involved in the decision, and that's their business, but for my own selfish reasons, I really, really hate to see them go. Friends are hard to come by nowadays, true friends that is, and I've seen so many of my friends leave Hoonah over the years. I sometimes watch them go and wonder why I'm still he

   I feel like I've sat back long enough and been quiet about what is going on in our country. I know it's not supposed to be a good thing to speak out on a blog about your personal political policies or feelings, but I can no longer be silent while my country is being torn apart by radical forces. The time for the silent majority to speak has come. In John 10:10,Jesus draws a parallel between him and Satan. He says, " The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly."  Every night the news is filled with stories of violent protests,unruly mobs torching cars and buildings and tearing down statues that for one reason or another they are offended by. How is the country any better by destroying what someone else has paid for? Aren't those protesting acting like the thief described in John 10:10? We recently witnessed a six block area of downtown Seattle being taken over b

 The summer King Salmon season has arrived here in Southeast Alaska, and much like a kid who has waited for Christmas all year, I'm ecstatic that it is finally here. As a general rule I don't bother fishing for kings in the winter. There aren't many around where I am, most of them are located out on the coast, and I have no intention of traveling to Sitka in the winter to try my hand a catching a few, so I'm always happy to get the chance to fish close to home. In years past, there has been what became known as experimental openings, where trollers were allowed to catch kings in April through June, in part because of a three percent tax that is imposed on all commercial salmon fishers to supplement the fishery. However, for the past several years, the King Salmon runs haven't done well, for a variety of reasons, which no one is really sure of. That resulted in fisheries being shut down in order to preserve the species. I don't mind taking a loss for  a few