Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  I'm not sure at what age we begin to make choices in our lives. I suppose it starts at an early age. You go to the barber shop, and if you sit still and don't fidget too much, the barber might give you a choice between a green sucker or a red one. I like the color green, so it wasn't too hard to choose. Somewhere around the age of eleven or twelve, I got a paper route. On Friday nights I would collect for the papers I'd delivered. Unfortunately for me, there was a drug store down the street from where I delivered. They had a soda fountain, as well as a pinball machine, and they carried the latest copies of comic books every month. I used to spend an uncommon amount of money at that drug store and when I got home several hours later, I'd lie through my teeth when mom asked how much money I collected. Needless to say, my dental hygiene suffered from the vast amounts of junk food I consumed. I'm a little surprised that I didn't end up with juvenile diabetes o...

     The girls and I had such a good time last week when we went to Kepler Lake, we decided to go fishing again. Liz has been on vacation, and Autumn has been off work waiting for the new location for the cafe' to get the necessary permits so they can open. We wanted to try Hatcher Pass again. Last time I was there in June with Camille and her daughter Justine, there was still ice and a foot of snow on the lake. I checked with Fish and Game and found out that they stocked the lake on July 4, but it still had ice and snow on it. We figured by now, it had to have thawed out. We wanted to catch some of the thousand trout that ADFG had stocked. This time, I figured that I would offer the trout something other than nightcrawlers so I wouldn't have to spend all my time baiting the girl's hooks. I brought a handful of frozen, raw shrimp with me. I still ended up baiting some of the hooks and taking a few of the fish off, but for the most part, I spent most of my time baiting my ...

Once in awhile I hear a country song that touches my heart. Of course there is no shortage of songs about  drinking or cheating but some of the songs are pretty funny. One song talks about the wife hiring a wino to decorate their home so her husband will feel comfortable and not have to go to the bar. Another one by a popular country star is about a fellow who is given an ultimatum. He can either spend the day on the lake fishing or he can be with his wife. He's singing about how he's going to miss her. I more or less understand. Fishing can be as exciting as sex sometimes, and it lasts longer too. When I moved north to Wasilla, I discovered that there was a classic country radio station right here in town, KAYO. Somehow when I was skipping through the various stations on the car radio, we invariably would run across this station, and I discovered that I actually was enjoying what I heard. Unlike the music that the younger generation is listening to, I've never seen a count...

  It's hard to believe that 44 years has passed since that June day in 1976 when Jan and I drove our 72 Pinto up the ramp of the Hoonah ferry terminal into an adventure that would last for this long. Driving through the town I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. We left sunny Charleston South Carolina and came to this land of mountains and water and rain in amounts I'd never seen before. The main road was nothing more than a narrow, muddy, rut -filled lane that two cars could only pass on in select areas. Houses along the road were so covered with mud that the paint wasn't visible and if the sun did ever shine you'd never know because the windows were streaked brown with so much mud that light couldn't penetrate. People walking down the road were in no hurry to get out of your way, and stared at you like you were on display in a circus. The few cars I passed had slogans like Indian Power and Custer Had it Coming. A lot has changed in 44 years. Hoonah has be...

    I know that it's been a few weeks since I posted anything here, but I was off looking around America, or at least a small part of it. It's become increasingly evident that it's time for us to look for another place to light in our old age. The cost of taking the truck to Juneau to buy groceries has risen, as has the cost of a round trip ticket on the local airlines. Recently I ran out of my prescription meds, and the doctor won't refill them after this last time until I come in for a physical. I understand; he's just doing his job. The problem is that it's going to cost a bundle just to get to Juneau from here so that I can go see him. It would be nice to be able to hop in the car and drive to the doctors or vets or dentist office. It would be great to know that regardless of the weather, you'd still get your mail, and your bills won't be delinquent because the mail couldn't get through. Hoonah has a lot to offer, but i...