thoughts & observations

Alaska was changing even before I left it in 1982. Global warming was easier to notice up there. The solid blanket of snow from November to May was no longer solid, with rain a common occurrence in December and even January. The Portage Glacier ice field, once bordering the Seward Highway, retreated over a mile…

In 1982, Hank Williams, Jr. released a song called “A Country Boy Can Survive”. Angry, resentful, and proud, it delineated what the musician believed were fundamental differences between people in the country and those in the city. The lyrics describe the city as place where his condescending urban friend is killed by a mugger and…