Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

    I don't doubt that there are a few people out there who might be panicking because there is only four more shopping days until Christmas, and they still haven't gotten a gift for their one and only. I'd be willing to bet that this isn't the first Christmas that you've been caught off guard. Time flies when you're having fun, and especially if you're down at Kelly's Bar and Grill forgetting all about your obligations back home. I'm primarily addressing this to the male population, as I suspect that your wife or girlfriend has had your gift bought, wrapped and hiding under the bed where it's been for the past month or more.  I know that everyone has a different financial situation to deal with, and unlike the commercials for Lexus or Kay's Jewelers, we can't all fork up tens of thousands of dollars to give our better half a luxury car or diamond bracelet. Not to worry guys, I've come up with the perfect gift; a fire extinguisher. Do...

  As often happens in Alaska, when the skies get clear, winds start to blow. This past Friday night, the wind started blowing harder than normal. The weather channel had mentioned winds in the thirty five to forty five knot range, with possible gusts to eighty. It seemed like they were being a bit extreme, but I know from experience that such hurricane force winds are certainly possible, especially in the winter. As the wind roared outside my window all Friday night, I could hear the glass flexing and branches hitting the side of the house, as well as the trees trying to resist the force of the wind, bending and snapping back in an endless game of stretching to their limits. I spent a restless night, waking frequently, expecting at any moment to see the night light in the master bathroom dark, and the appliances in the house completely still. About six-thirty in the morning on Saturday, Jan said that we'd lost power. I was already awake in anticipation of such an event. I dressed a...

    I guess I'm old fashioned. I still address Christmas cards to friends, near and far. I know that a lot of people have stopped sending them altogether, and I can't really blame them. The cost of just one first class stamp is around 78 cents if I recall. I bought four books of them the other day. The post office that we use has a very limited supply of stamps. You can choose one design for Christmas or go with the old standard, the American flag. I could order them on-line from USPS and enjoy a variety of scenes, but the sap suckers charge me the postage to send the stamps, so I go with whatever this post office has.   It's nice to get any kind of greeting in the form of an email I suppose, but getting a card, something you can look at again and again without fear of erasing it is kind of nice. To me it also shows that someone cares enough to take the time to write a little something and sit down and address the card, and it's nice to know that they think enough of...