The Quirks I Love About Alaska

We've been in a freakish cold spell now, since about last December. No joke, it's been colder and cloudier than you would expect--even for Alaska.
So when your fingers already have cold burns in November- from hitting the metal car grill while plugging in the engine block heater-- a fleeting flicker of warmer times come to mind.
However, these thoughts of living "outside" somewhere in the Lower 48 pass as quickly as gas.
Some of my favorite reasons to live in Alaska, have nothing to do with scenery and boat tours described by a touristy Frommers guide.
Instead they are as follows:
1-Standing on my roof while unplugging the sewer vent pipe in sub-zero weather. I have to do this every time a cold spell sets in--but that also means it is usually a very clear night. With stars everywhere, crystal white snow, the moon shining on the mountains and sometimes the unexpected treat of Northern Lights.
2-Radio Christmas music season begins in Mid-November . It sounds annoying to some, but for me it is not. The lights start going up at the same time and nobody bats an eye about keeping them on until mid-February.
3-Live and Let Live. This is Alaska's unofficial motto. That means you don't care what wackiness your neighbor is up to, what's in their yard, or if they have 72 sled dogs. Goes along with no zoning which I secretly love, and I have accepted the fact that my neighbors seem to need railroad cars in their yard.
4- Ice Fog. It's just beautiful and magically coats the trees with Ice magic--like out of a Christmas card.
5-No ticks, worms or dog licenses. I can't believe how difficult it must be to keep a dog in the lower 48. Yuck- ticks all the time and registration (how could you possibly keep 40 of them?)
6- Sled Dog trucks idling at the grocery store. There's really nothing more fun than seeing 12 Alaska huskies watching you put away your groceries.
7- People shopping while wearing extra-tuffs (rubber boots) bunny boots (military boots) and all sorts of bloody or dirty coveralls. Fashion can be brushed aside--no worries here!
8- Gourmet coffee available everywhere. Nowhere else do drive through coffee huts grow like weeds, and it's especially funny because Alaskans claim they are not snobs--but sure love their fancy coffee ;)

Boy shot vs. Criminal shot

Just a few minutes ago I was browsing Google News to read a bit about the 8 year old boy who recently shot his dad dead. I entered into the news search engine the words "boy shot". Of course the article I was seeking popped up, but so did tons of others: "Boy shot trick or treating", "Boy shot himself with uzi at gun show", "Boy shoots dad over fast food argument"..... The trick of treater died, the gun expo child perished as well. They were such shocking and sad articles, and only the tip of the iceberg--and these had all happened in the past few weeks!!!

So out of curiosity, I wanted to see the other side--as in why the hell do people advocate gun-ownership for safety and are they really used to shoot criminals ??
So with the same search engine I then replaced the word "boy" with the words "criminal" and "robber". Of course what I got were articles about criminals shooting others with their guns, a few about police injuring a criminal, and just one or two about a common citizen shooting a robber .
Nevertheless, the evidence spoke for itself and was overwhelming. I don't believe the "liberal" media only reports negative gun articles, because let's face it: "Joe six-pack shoots criminal" is actually a very compelling story to print. So they would be there if they were the overwhelming majority... Unfortunately they are not.

Box Store Blow Out

The local news headlines are clear--Costco may be coming to Wasilla, Alaska! The box-store-happy mayor has now died and gone to heaven. I do not know what Wasilla's obsession with box-stores is. It's one of those materialistic complexities that elude me.
Wasilla could be a weird game show. On a cloudy day (so you can't see the mountains)a blind-folded person could be dropped there and asked to guess -where in America are you?
And you know what? They wouldn't know. Every suburban town in the USA looks the same now. Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target.... It's utterly disgusting. Wasilla does not care for local character or small businesses (it is a well documented fact). Just boring conformity, so we can all own the exact same jacket. I don't get it at all.
Wasilla just a few years ago had more stores with character. Outdoors and More was an outdoor store filled with military bunny boots, strange European slipper shoes, and Alaskan odd and ends. Now it has gone out of business to be replaced with the giant Sportmans Warehouse. No originality there. Just stinky cheap sporting goods from China stuffed into a giant square. The Valley already has their own "small business" versions of Alaska Costcos. One of them: Three Bears, is an Alaskan owned business, catering to the Costco crowd. Why is it important to plow them out of business, in favor of what?? Just more of the same.

Sarah and the Media

I remember it was not too long ago, during her speech at the RNC in Minneapolis, that Sarah Palin pointed out her disdain for the media. I don't remember her quote, but it was something akin to - I don't give a flying fig about the media.
At that moment I thought to myself--silly lady, you will need the media on your side. Oh well.
Fast forward 2 months and we are now post election, and I keep reading that Sarah is complaining that the media did not treat her well. True enough, the poor woman has been plowed over by anonymous sources and sensational headlines. But I can't keep from asking-so why did you alienate them at your first major public appearance?
Another learning experience I suppose....