-
The Coronavirus Toilet Paper Panic, Notes from Alaska
As concern over the Coronavirus escalated, I called in a prescription refill on lotion for my daughter’s acne-prone skin. If the world were about to implode, might as well go out with clear skin. “Did you have any other prescriptions to pick up?” the store pharmacist asked me hours later, as she set down the…
-
Minding Your Own Business in Alaska
I’m watching kids get off the school bus from the heated seat of my 5-star crash & rollover safety rated SUV when another parent pulls up next to me. He’s on an all-terrain-vehicle (ATV). As my son climbs into the back seat of my car, I can’t help but stare as one kid hops on…
-
The New Kid
Week 1 at a New School: A Rocky Start My 13-year old son Anders had just started at his new middle school. I was there to pick him up on that first Friday of the school year, anxious to hear how week 1 went. “Mom, I made a ton of cool friends today!” my son…
-
Hiding in Alaska with a Criminal Past
It is dark as night and 14 below zero on this winter morning in Alaska, and I’m driving my son to school. There are no streetlights on the highway we take into town, but this morning there is a huge full moon lighting the way. The moon hovers just above the tree line. A creeping…
-
Teaching Kids About Guns; Family’s First Lesson in Firearms
A 14-month-old child stumbles around a coffee table clinging to it as he focuses on the exciting objects on top; brightly colored blocks, soft squeaky toys, and a Smith and Wesson hand gun. The toddler picks up and plays/chews on each item with little reaction from his dad, unless it is the gun. And then…
-
3 Perfectly Alaskan Gifts
At first glance, these antlers seemed like the perfect stocking stuffers to take back to my family in Boulder this Christmas. But then I saw the obvious problem; I have a big family and we were multiple sets of antlers short here. I figured I’d go ahead and look inside the shop for other Alaskan…
-
Aboard the National Geographic Explorer in Antarctica
My sister’s 40th was coming up. To celebrate such a milestone birthday, I suggested we go for Sushi, but she said she’d rather go to Antartica. Always eager to please “the baby of the family” my parents booked Marla on a cruise to Antarctica as a gift, but they were worried about her going alone. After…