Still, now; the torn tin-wrapped two-story structure stands: Towards a century ago; its tired timber and stone-age material met To hold each other unconditionally; To vanquish Kikiktagruk’s seasons. Legendary: a hunting-guide, a bush-pilot, a man; Family spent and shared time and more time. Liquor and grub given to many at “Marie’s”: Before the hunt; Roy […]
Alaska Shorts: 301 Shore Avenue, by Stephen D. Bolen Read More »
Ned Rozell Dear Edgar: I was poking around in a bin of opportunity (“Dumpsters” to your type, with a capital D for some reason) the other day and came across a newspaper that said you died in October 160 years ago. Bummer. I had seen your famous poem about us, in another bin (you wouldn’t
Alaska Shorts: Raven’s Letter to Edgar, by Ned Rozell Read More »
The consensus among people I know is that we wait too long before we finally put our sick, old pets to sleep. That was on my mind when I finally decided to put my old dog Nelson down. I saw that his mind was more confused than ever, and as he paced around the yard
Alaska Shorts: A Last Walk in the Woods, by Dan Walker Read More »
Jan Harper-Haines When the Chena River overflowed its banks in 1948, as it did nearly every spring, Fairbanks took on the appearance of a slowly moving lake. The dirty brown water, dotted with chunks of ice, logs, carcasses of dead animals, and other debris from the long winter, spread across the little river town. Lapping
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Tanyo Ravicz While in Kodiak, I also buy a box of cracker slugs. These are shotgun shells that when fired will explode downrange and frighten an animal without hurting him. The brown bears at the north end of the island have reportedly been aggressive all summer. Two bears have been shot and killed. At Wildwood
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Tending to Our Own In death, we turn over our loved ones, ourselves, to strangers; our lifeless corpses vulnerable to the preparation and attention of professionals in sterile, chemical environments. In death, we’ve grown accustomed to the removal of useless organs and the drainage of once vital blood, replacing with embalming fluid preservatives, fighting decay,
Alaska Shorts: "Tending to Our Own" and "Baptized" by Kristina Cranston Read More »
Leigh Newman The Great Alaskan In the largest state in the Union, a state built on gold rushes and oil pipelines, 90-pound king salmon and 20-pound king crabs, a lot of things come prefaced by the phrase Great Alaskan. There’s the Great Alaskan Salmon Bake and the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show and the legendary 8.6
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David Marusek In a borrowed cabin, in a northern wood, Walt Baffen welcomed winter. He had sacks and tins of food in the root cellar and a moose quarter in the cache. He had three cords of firewood. He had a bookshelf full of paperback classics and a propane lantern to read them by. He
Alaska Shorts: "She Was Good, She Was Funny," by David Marusek Read More »
Dana Stabenow What the HELL was I thinking? — entry from Happy Camp log, Chilkoot Trail I had a plan. I wasn’t going to let anyone rush me. I wasn’t going to let ME rush me. I was going to take it one foot at a time, one boulder at a time. I was
Alaska Shorts: A Time Machine Called the Chilkoot Trail, by Dana Stabenow Read More »
Olga Alvord For understandable reasons, cold-blooded slithery snakes are not very common pets. Naturally, Lydia was upset when her son Dima, a college freshman, brought home a small ball python one day. “Here, Mom, meet Vladimir, Vova, for short.” Dima was working on a class assignment about different types of phobias. His project partner, an
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