Coldfoot, Alaska

We board a small plane to take us to the Artic Circle at 10 PM.  It was still broad daylight on this June evening.  Twenty minutes later, we landed in Cold Foot, Alaska. Population- too few to bother to count. The town is nothing more than a modular hotel and a beat up old bar joint and a few weather beaten houses.  We all have a beer at the bar in an effort to help out the local economy.  Then we board a jalopy of a school bus and head up the hill to a cluster of houses.  I don’t remember the name of the town and it might not even have a name.  But 13 people live in this area, 11 of them are related to each other.  We meet Kevin, the mayor.  His mother is the minister and his wife, the schoolteacher.  He brother flies a plane and fetches the mail for all the locals.

Kevin is a farmer, a professional photographer, a tour guide and president of the local historical society. He is charming and witty and handsome.  He loves his little town and greet us graciously even though it is now 11 at night.  He shows us around the farms, the chapel/school room, the junkyard and the town hall.  We look at his ample collection of antlers and animal hides. He talks about a rugged way of life that is not suitable for the faint hearted. 

“Winters are brutal here”, he tells us honestly.   “It gets down to the -50s at its coldest point.  That’s tough,” even he admits.  But it is worth it for the summers. 

“Look at all of this beautiful sunshine”, he says as he swats a killer fly, biting his arm.  Blood is drawn but he just wipes it away and continues espouses the beauties of Alaska. 

He shows us his photos of the northern light and these beautiful shots could lure anyone to come here in January. He takes us to the town hall and opens up the 100-year-old registry and tells tales of great men long gone.  And while he speaks I marvel at him not because he is such a handsome renaissance man.  But because, in the midst of his conversation, he sadly but quickly tells us the story of how he talked his wife into leaving the comforts of Anchorage and moving to this god-forsaken place.  She does and after three children, she dies suddenly.  Then two years later, he meets a woman from Fairbanks and sure enough he is able to get her to move up here as well.  How could any man be so smooth as to convince two women to live here?  He is one good salesman.

 

 

 

 

Believing in Jesus

Believing In Jesus
A Conversation with an Acquaintance
Elkton, MD


"Of course I believe in Jesus.  I'm a Christian.  I mean, He has to be real.  They have shows about Him on the History Channel and shit.  Right?  He has to be real or they wouldn't have those shows. Right?"

Ann
April 2014

The Chicken Farm (VA)

"Why did you buy chickens?" I asked him over the loud cackling sounds of chickens, a rooster and 8 Guinea fowl birds.  The chickens were in a coop but the Guinea fowls were running sporadicly under foot.

"Because I want to become as self sufficient as I can be.  Then there is no food available in this country, I want to make sure I can feed my family.  We aren't going to go hungry."

"And why did you buy the Guinea fowl birds? Do they lay eggs too?"

"No, I just like them. And they eat our mosquitos."

Brian, Middlebrook, VA

Job rules

"I work at a place for adults with disabilities.   We aren't allowed to say Merry Christmas to anyone because they are afraid it will offend the retards."  He chuckles a little to himself, "and we aren't supposed to call them 'retards' either."  He laughs again.

John, Elkton, MD

We Need A Dictator (MA)

We are in Boston, in a taxi, heading to Quincy Market, for dinner. I sit next to the taxi driver, engaged in conversation. I notice a heavy accent.

“Where are you from”, I ask.

“Egypt but I haven’t been there for a while. It’s just too scary right now” he tells me.

“But you must feel some satisfaction that you are working on getting it right. You just have to get it right with the next election” I tell him.

“You westerners are all alike. You think everyone wants democracy. But Egypt, we need a strong dictator who doesn’t torture us. We need a dictator, not democracy.”

Boston, MA

March, 2014

The KKK (MD)

The KKK advertised a meeting in the local paper.  Held at the county administration office, it was open to the public.  So I went. So did 60 other people and much to my surprise and delight, most people, like me, came in protest.

"We don't want your hate in this county" seemed to be the majority opinion.

The leader assured us that this was the new and improved KKK.  They were not about hatred and bigotry.  They just wanted a place where people who were of European descent, Christian and 100% heterosexual could meet and talk about their issues.



As the crowd argued amongst each other, one woman got up and announced, "I don't know why everyone hates the KKK.  We just want a place where white folks can go.  We just wants to be by ourselves.  No one ever complains about AARP just wants old people."

December, 2013

Homelessness

Someone told me about a tent city in my county.  It's where the homeless live.  I couldn't believe it.  I never saw any homeless people in Cecil County. 

It's tucked away, behind the ACME, right off of the main highway. It's hard  to find the entrance but after a few false attempts, I make my way down to the site.  There are a dozen tents, in close proximity of each other. They look abandoned but the evidence of recent trash lets me know this community is real.

I notice a woman sitting  inside her tent and I call to her and ask if I can speak with her.

"No, I just got back from Church", she tells me.

So I leave her alone and wander off to explore.  A few minutes later, she calls to me.  She tells me she has been living here for the last four months, right after she lost her job and her apartment.

"I was working at McDonald's and crossing the highway, I got hit by a car.  It really messed up my leg pretty bad. I was in a full leg cast and didn't have any insurance. I couldn't stand so I couldn't work and got fired.  I don't have family around here so I had nowhere to go.  I ended up here.  When my leg gets better I am going to look for work again."

Elkton, MD

June 2014