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Living Danger-ishly
Small Plane Culture: My son Anders and I are on a small propeller plane returning to the Peninsula from Anchorage where Anders just got braces. Yes, we flew to Anchorage for an orthodontist appointment. I am seated right behind the pilot. If I leant my head forward I could nap on his shoulder. But I…
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To Travel, or Not to Travel
That is everyone’s question. The decision to travel in Covid-times is not a simple one. Do you postpone doing anything or going anywhere until next summer? Or the summer after? Or the summer after that? Or do you proceed with caution in what could be the new normal for quite sometime. Weighing risks vs benefits was…
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Can Cat People Become Dog People?
The Safeway cashier has stopped scanning my groceries. She stands staring just past my right shoulder at nothing. Her eyes are filled with tears. “I’m sorry,” I say. The cashier nods absently, but mostly she remains paralyzed by a memory that clearly weighs heavy on her. “She saved my life,” she tells me again,”I’ll never…
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How to Summer in Alaska
The other evening my husband Mark and I were on a peaceful stroll when we came across this we shoot to kill sign. A not so subtle warning to trespassers. I had just been thinking our walk was similar to our post-dinner walks in Boulder, where we came from. Mountain views, similar style homes and…
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Springtime is Break-Up Time
Things are thawing out here in Alaska. I’d say we are just a day or two away from being able to extract my son’s homework from the driveway, which is now three months past due. Spring, Alaska’s Ugly Season Spring here is referred to as, “The Break Up.” This is the time of year when ice…
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The Roadkill List
The dead moose is a twisted heap on the side of the highway. He is huge, maybe 900 pounds. Looking at him you have to ask; how many servings of moose meatloaf could you make out of this moose? If you’re not asking this, you’re probably not on the road kill list. Alaska has a “Road…
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#quarantinelife – Are Your Neighbors Doing it Better?
Jay Leno finally spots my husband in the second row. It had just been a matter of time. He stops searching the audience and points. “Hello sir, what’s your name?” Leno asks. About half the audience in the packed comedy club answers on my husband’s behalf. “Mark!” This startles Leno. “Well, clearly you have been called…