President Palin?

I am not easily rendered speechless...

Our very own Governor, the Right Honorable Sarah Palin, will, unless McCain sobers-up in the next couple of hours, soon be the presumptive Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States of America.

As it turns out, experience in international/military affairs is not REALLY all that important - at least not for someone a heart-beat away from the Presidency.

I've got the TV tuned to MSNBC - and it's quite humorous watching the talking heads try to come-to-grips with this most interesting development. The pundits were caught completely flat-footed.

The only consensus thus far is the assumption that Palin will energize the Republican "base" - she's an evangelical - pro-life and otherwise socially conservative. Although one of the talking heads just said she was a lifelong Catholic!

The few Democrats I've heard so far seem to rapidly be moving to the position that this confirms Obama's questioning last night of Mr. McCain's own temperament and judgement. You think?

I need to mull all this over before I say any more. So...back to what I THOUGHT I would be writing about this morning when I went to bed last night...

Night before last I had a little bonfire in the driveway. I have been sticking boxes and stuff in a bedroom closet for years and took the opportunity to clean it out along with a bunch of old financial records that are no longer of any value. In the course of cleaning house, I tumbled to a handful of pictures from a hike I took with a bunch of folks in 1992.

It was a beautiful day and we took a helicopter up to the top of Heintzelman Ridge, walked the ridge, and then down into the Nugget Creek valley. It was about the most fun hike I've ever been on. So, without further ado (and so I can get back to channel surfing) here we are in 1992.

We slid down the mountain on our backsides. It was REALLY fun!

Dave Gray's daughter and friends were our out-of-town guests of honor.

Dougie, Marla Berg, and I take a little rest.

The whole crew.

Primary Colors

Well, the primary election is over and the results suggest Alaska remains as much a "red state" as ever. Uncle Ted has about 67% of the vote over his primary rival Dave Cuddy and Don Young holds a very narrow lead over his challenger Lt. Governor Sean Parnell. I see nothing in the results of the state legislative races that even hints at a sea change in the State Capitol either. Many more Alaskans chose the Republican as opposed to the Democratic ballot. I didn't happen to notice the voter turnout; so perhaps things aren't as grim as the results suggest. But I wouldn't count on it.

If there is a silver lining here somewhere - it has to be that both Steven's and Young's ongoing legal difficulties give their Democratic challengers a chance in November. I understand the polls show Begich leading Stevens by about 15 points. We'll see...

I took the elders to vote yesterday which went fine other than the predictable confusion over which ballot to select. Dad is very hard of hearing and the poll worker was very soft spoken.

Poll Worker: "Do you want a Republican or Democratic ballot?"

Dad: Huh?

Poll Worker: "Do you want a Republican or Democratic ballot?"

Dad: "I'm independent."

Poll Worker: "Do you want the ballot with the Republican or Democratic candidates?"

Dad: Huh?

Poll Worker: "Do you want the ballot with the Republican or Democratic candidates?"

At this point I intervened and dad finally took the Democratic ballot....

In other news, it cleared-up last evening and we had a frost advisory...although I don't think the frost materialized. It's foggy this morning and supposed to be sunny this afternoon so I'll go mow Auntie's yard and the elder's lawn. Might even have time for a round of golf.

I got a thank you card from my cousin Carol along with a couple of pictures of the cattle round-up at their ranch. I think the cattle are basically a hobby at this point. The cousins manage the round-up without any hired hands these days. It sure looks like fun. I'm going to mosey on down their way next winter before the Juneau Golf Club tournanment in Casa Grande. I wanna ride a horse!

Horse cam.

Cousins at the ol' water hole.

Busy, Busy, Busy

The past week has been quite busy. We actually had three non-wet days and I played golf all three of them. Also power washed the folk's trailer.

Mi'va Rickey called and asked me to take some pics of one of Bob Doll, one of her clients running for the Borough Assembly. He's a pretty nice guy. Got some head shots, road construction site shots, boat harbor shots, and school renovation shots. It was kinda fun...hope the pics meet with their satisfaction.

On Saturday I canvassed my old neighborhood down by the federal building for U.S. Senate candidate Mark Begich. It was enjoyable walking the old 'hood. One minor faux pas when I went to the residence of Jim Clark, Governor Murkowski's former Chief-of-Staff, who recently copped a plea with the feds for influence peddling. Had a nice visit with his wife (who is a Democrat) chatting about the neighborhood. When I asked for whom Mr. Clark would likely be voting - she got a pained expression and said "He can't vote." OOPS! The classic turd in the punchbowl moment...

On Saturday evening I went to Alison's and Dougie's for an absolutely wonderful butterflied BBQ leg-o-lamb with a hoisin-based glaze. VERY yummy. Fred Fisher, Laura Flemming, and Joan Kasson also attended and we had a nice visit. One casualty - Doug dropped and broke the head from his cow sugar bowl - the cow creamer was broken-hearted.

Saturday Night Supper - Laura and Alison

My old buddy, Fred Fisher.

"Oh no! They killed Bessy! The bastards!

I spoke to Terry Harrigan last evening and she is going to come down to Portland for supper with all her Portland and Juneau pals on Saturday, September 13th. I am anticipating tons of fun on my trip!

Ask Not What You Can Do for Your Country; But What Your Country Can Do for You

Everyone associated with Alaska’s politics is corrupt – and have been for decades - goes the Steven’s Camp rationalization. So why pick on poor ol’ Ted?

I am willing to stipulate to the corrupt for decades part; indeed the culture of corruption that permeates Alaska’s politics is a very serious problem as demonstrated on a damn near weekly basis by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice. Indeed I am even willing to accept some small portion of guilt for this culture myself.

Back in the days when I was a young buck working for the legislature, I confess that on more than one occasion I accepted gifts from lobbyists that I knew at the time I should not accept. I don’t recall that it was illegal for me to accept these gifts – but I certainly knew it was unethical in any common sense usage of the word. And I am not even counting the countless drinks and suppers I was provided gratis by my lobbyist pals at countless happy hours and other get-togethers that, if summed, and stated in 2008 dollars, would be quite impressive I’m sure.

When I was five or six or thereabouts, I used to get furious at my mom when she would not allow me to do things that my little pals had permission from their parents to do. I specifically recall my indignation that I was not allowed to walk uptown with my friends to go to the Saturday matinee – unaccompanied by any adult. But as mom always pointed out – what other kids were doing was irrelevant – she knew what was right and that was that.

Being ethical (much less NOT breaking the law) is pretty much that simple at root. You really don’t need a doctorate in philosophy to know the difference between ethical and unethical behaviour. And if you’re ever confused, you can always just ask my mom.

In retrospect, what really astounds me is not that Alaska’s pols have gotten caught-up in this dysfunctional political culture; but that the entire government, including law enforcement, acquiesced as well. The State’s Department of Public Safety and Department of Law have been supine the past several decades on matters of public corruption - in both Democratic and Republican Administrations. Yet certainly no one with an IQ over 75 who spent more than a couple of hours in the Capitol during a legislative session could have failed to pick-up on the peculiar influence of certain oil company and private prison personages.

But I belabor the point. The point simply being it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference if others are corrupt, you are responsible for your own actions and it’s time for Uncle Ted to pay the piper.

Finally (thank God, I’m weary of this subject), just a brief mention of another facet of our Senior Senator’s shortcomings that really galls me and has not received any significant play in the press. Simply put, it is that there’s more to being a U.S. Senator than serving as a milch cow to your constituents.

The United States Senate is a fundamental institution with an essential role to play in the somewhat complicated scheme of checks-and-balances among the three branches of our federal government. For much of the past several decades Senator Stevens was a senior member of the majority party. He was Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

To my mind, he therefore has much to answer for relative to the Senate’s failure to provide meaningful oversight of the Executive – particularly the deranged policies of our current President. To cite just one example, it would have been perfectly possible for Senator Stevens to support the President’s underlying Iraqi war policy; but still exercise due diligence relative to the appropriation of funds for that purpose.

But no. Senator Stevens, like the majority of his Republican colleagues in the Senate, preferred to rewrite the Constitution – to redefine the separation of powers to simply mean that the President got to make all policy both foreign and domestic – while Congress would content itself with the looting of the treasury.

One of the questions being asked prospective jurors in Ted’s upcoming trial is whether or not they have any problem sending an 84-year-old to prison. I hope and trust the answer the prosecutors are looking for is “no.”

For Whom the Pork Flows

Apologists for the good Senator point to his seniority and the gazillion or so dollars he has brought to Alaska as justification for once again reelecting the sad bastard to the United States Senate.

The raw numbers are quite amazing. The latest figures I recall seeing very recently (I can’t seem to lay my hands on the source) was that Alaska received over $13,000 per capita in federal benefits in a recent year and that once again we were #1 by a large margin. And we have been #1 for many years – the exact numbers are unimportant.

The question I pose to the Senator’s Peanut Gallery is, so what? What has all this swag done to improve the lives of Alaskans in any meaningful way relative to the amount expended?

My belief is the answer is far less than one would expect. Much of the boodle reflects military spending in Alaska. And while Alaska’s military bases no doubt are a significant economic factor in the communities in which they are located – primarily Anchorage and Fairbanks – many of those dollars would have been spent there regardless of who Alaska’s Congressional delegation might be – and the real benefits of these bases accrue, not particularly to Alaska, but presumably to the entire nation.

To tell you the truth, I have never made the acquaintance of any Alaskan civilian, not working directly for the Department of Defense, who claims to be making a living wage by servicing the needs of the 15,000 or so young 18-25 year old, high-testosterone, total immersionists who largely inhabit these bases. But then again I haven’t been to the Alaskan Bush Company (an Anchorage strip-joint) in many years. And I won’t bore you with the social costs borne by the State for playing host to our servicemen. And please don’t interpret any of this as a simple anti-military bias; because I do not have one.

My point is merely that there should be a significant pork deflator factor applied to the Teddy Boy Boodle Index as it relates to military spending in Alaska.

OK. So what about the rest of the swag? Well, in my opinion, it has been largely frittered away. For years one has hardly been able to pick up a paper in Alaska without seeing a list of Steven’s earmarks proudly trumpeted. I just checked Uncle Ted’s website, and stumbled across a list of bacon bits from 2005. I know there have been many lists and many, many earmarks since then; but for my purposes just one federal department’s 2005 list, from the Department of Justice, will suffice:

• $225,000 to the Nome Eskimo Community to provide prevention services to impact risk factors for delinquency and provide alcohol and drug abuse programs.
• $225,000 to the Akiachak Native Community for the tribal youth program. Using a culture-based program, Akiachak tribal members will conduct a year-round after-school and summer program using age-appropriate cultural activities to impact risk factors for delinquency.
• $154,873 to the Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis Center in Anchorage.
• $986,643 to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services for the Alaska Youth Court and Community Panel Program.
• $740,000 to Victims for Justice for training to stop abuse and sexual assault of older individuals or individuals with disabilities.

What’s wrong with the items on this list? On one level – nothing’s wrong with them. All of them appear to meet the simple public purpose test. I even support all of the listed programs. One of them was even on my department’s list of requests.

But why the Nome Eskimo Community and not the equivalent programs in Kotzebue, Bethel, or Ketchikan? Why Akiachak and not Hooper Bay or Angoon? Why the Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis Center in Anchorage and not the women’s shelter in Juneau? And how far will a couple of million go in addressing these problems? And what happens to these programs next year? Why were THESE programs funded?

You will never know. And Ted and his staff have probably long since forgotten too.

The sad fact is that any half-organized bouquet of assholes with airfare to D.C. and cab fare to the Capitol has, for the last couple of decades, had even money odds of getting some portion of their request funded if they catch Uncle on a good day and/or have a patron on his staff.

But where’s the vision or the plan? If you want to do something about domestic violence, or juvenile delinquency, or any number of other things – great! Then get serious about it. Ted has had the clout; he just has never had the vision or perseverance to stick to anything over the long haul. The funding just got pissed away. We would have been far better off with half the money - intelligently planned for and applied.

And when Ted & Co. got more ambitious than a half-a-million here and a quarter-of-a- million there – well, the bridges to nowhere speak for themselves. This mega-pork had the Alaska Department of Transportation tied in knots for months at no small cost in terms of wasted staff time and delay for other more realistic vetted projects. And of course neither project will be built anytime soon, if ever.

But, say the apologists, wasn’t (isn’t) everyone doing it – both in Congress and in the State Legislature? And what about your crimes, Elmer – when you worked for the Legislature those many years? These issues and more will be addressed on Friday. One more entry on this subject and I promise I will quit – for the time being at least.

Picnic and Politics

Sandy Beach and the 2008 Democratic Picnic.

A drippy weekend. But that has never stopped the annual Democratic Picnic at Sandy Beach. The 2008 event was well attended with the usual appearances by current or wannabe pols. I arrived just as the bloviating was winding down; but did catch most of Anchorage Mayor and Senatorial candidate Mark Begich's stump speech.

Anchorage Mayor and U.S. Senate Candidate Mark Begich. He's ahead of Uncle Ted in the latest polls.

The kids outside were having much more fun than the adults inside... It even stopped raining for a few minutes.

I do not want to turn this into a political blog. Nevertheless, the current political situation in Alaska is too interesting to ignore. The last several years have shown some interest on the part of the electorate to make some changes - the election of Governor Sarah Palin being the most concrete indication.

And despite the Governor’s recent foibles regarding the questionable dismissal of her Commissioner of Public Safety for his failure to sack a State Trooper who happens to also be the estranged ex-husband of her sister - her Non-Republican Establishment credentials, and, in some circles at least, her credentials as a genuine reformer appear to be intact. Time will tell on the public safety kerfuffle – the Legislature has appointed a special investigator to look into the matter.

More interesting are the two Congressional races featuring our now nationally infamous long serving lone House member, Don Young, and Senator “Uncle” Ted Stevens. I will get back to Don at a future date and will confine today’s comments to Uncle Ted.

If you are unaware of Uncle Ted’s legal difficulties – he was indicted by the feds for failure to disclose certain benefits as required by law on his financial disclosure forms - the whole sordid mess is well described in the Anchorage Daily News at: http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/

A small part of me actually feels sorry for the sad bastard (he’s now REALLY old). If only he had possessed the presence of mind to retire a couple of terms ago his legacy, in the Alaskan public’s mind at least, would have remained a positive one – whether deserved or not. But no, he has held on and is now apparently totally divorced from reality as you and I know it.

Perhaps this Senatorial dementia is inevitable for someone who has served in D.C. for fifty years. Lord knows his former Senate colleague, and now also former Governor, Frank Murkowski, was completely addled and never recognized it. I’m certain that Murkowski still does not have a clue why Alaskans recoiled at his arrogance once he returned to Alaska to become Governor and we got to catch his act up-close and personal – his insistence on a private jet being one relatively trivial example.

The Fed’s central claim is that Uncle Ted got his house in Girdwood remodeled largely the courtesy of an Alaskan oil services company, Veco. Some items were billed and paid for; but apparently most of Veco’s work was not – to the tune of a quarter of a million or so. While Ted has refused to talk to the press about any of this, he adamantly maintains that he paid all the bills that were sent to him. In other words, it’s the Senatorial equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” defense. He just didn’t notice that he got four hundred grand or so worth of improvements for about one hundred twenty thousand - notwithstanding the fact he and his wife chatted with the Veco folks about the work in great detail on many occasions. Right down to the level of the big built-in BBQ grill.

I don’t think pleading ignorance will fly with a jury in D.C. or even in Alaska – barring his immediate resignation from the Senate and incontrovertible medical evidence that he truly is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. But since he wants to go to trial before the election, which he vows to hotly contest, it appears that a diminished capacity defense is unlikely.

Regardless, Uncle’s legal team is of the first cut and caliber and they are busy filing motions for a change of venue (to Alaska), asserting that it’s none of the FBI’s damn business (separation of powers), and God knows what else. It’s what they get paid to do.

All of which ignores the obvious to my mind – relative to the upcoming election at least. To whit: Ted Stevens is as fit to serve as a U.S. Senator as your run-of-the-mill neighborhood crack whore. Even if he avoids conviction, which I doubt, there is more than ample evidence of financial jiggery-pokery in the public record, not even disputed by him or any of his surrogates, to discredit him from ever serving in ANY public office.

Coming on Wednesday – Uncle Ted’s apologists – and why their arguments are silly.

Countdown to Fun

Very little to report this week. The weather has been truly awful. I have read several books. I have watched numerous reruns of Law & Order. I have visited the elders. I have worked out at the Club. The highpoint was prime rib and cheesy cauliflower courtesy of Chef Alison.

My thoughts are turning to September 3rd when I blow this burg for some serious golf and other vacation action. I will fly to Portland and then immediately hit the road for Boise to visit my good ol' buddy Pat Williams for a few days. I'm going to drive to Walla Walla on the 3rd, then to McCall, Idaho on the 4th (via Lewiston), and then on to Boise on the 5th. Should have time for rounds of golf in both Walla Walla and McCall. Should be a nice drive.

Pat Williams, aka the Boise Flash, aka PW, promises good food and fun in Boise. Pat mentioned her son Chris and ex-Hugh are both half-assed golfers - which means they should not be too embarassed playing a round with me. I haven't seen PW in a good many years and am really looking forward to the visit.

Pat says she has about 15 pounds of material from our days at the Division of Legislative Finance she would like to turn over for my use. This is THE official Ho Ho File from the division. Later this Fall you will be fascinated by the adventures of Football Fannie and the secret rituals of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Piranha (BPOP). Doug, Alison, Eric, PW, and Yours Truly will all be featured prominently in these tales. Think of a mash-up of The West Wing with Hogan's Heroes.

I'll spend the weekend in Boise and on Monday the 8th will head west to Corvallis via Bend. It's about a nine hour drive so I may well spend the night in Bend. Or not. After a day or two in Corvallis I will leg-it back to Portland. I have reservations at the Hotel Vintage Plaza from the 10th to the 14th. I will pick Dougie and Alison up at PDX on the 11th. I'm looking forward to all the traditional Portland rituals of dining, shopping, and visiting.

On the 14th Doug, Alison, and I will head up to Redmond for the Juneau Golf Club's Fall Tournament. We've stayed at the resort before; it should be POIFECT for this event.

Alison and Dougie head back to Juneau on the 21st; but I'm going to stop in Seattle for a couple of days for a little medical procedure. Nothing dramatic...just one of those screening things that has become routine for persons reaching my age...if you catch my drift...

With the exception of the last item, it should all be great fun...and even in Seattle I will get to see my dear friends Mother and Daughter Harrigan.

Tick-Tock. Let's get this show on the road!

For today's pics I offer a couple of wildflower shots and the Lesser Yellowlegs. Have a great weekend everyone!

Goldenrod on the Perseverance Trail August 8, 2008.

Yellow Rattle on Airport Dike Trail August, 1, 2008.

Sitka Rose on Airport Dike Trail August 1, 2008.

Lesser Yellowlegs on tidal flats off the Airport Dike Trail August 1, 2008.

Hiking Around

Well, let's get back to the present - such as it is...

Last week I had relatives in town from Arizona. Three cousins - I won't bore you with the geneology - but they're all from Grandpa Roscoe's side of the family tree. They all live in the Wilcox area - a little ranching community called Dos Cabezas. One of the cousins, Carol, was up here last year with her boyfriend and this year she came up with two more cousins and their pals. It was quite fun. I took them on a hike up the West Glacier Trail that they really enjoyed and we had a big family dinner.

The Arizona crew (minus Cousin Edna who stayed at mom's to visit) on the West Glacier Trail.

Carol has a working ranch in Dos Cabezas and wants me to come down and visit next winter. I will do so when I go down to the Juneau Golf Club Spring Tournament in Casa Grande next March. I want to ride a horse and herd them doggies. Sing songs by the campfire. Maybe go to a hoedown. Get in touch with my cowboy heritage. Hah!

A picture is worth a thousand words...Aunt Emilie at the big family dinner. Pretty in pink...

The day after the relatives got on the ferry was really nice and I hiked up the Dan Moller Trail. It was quite fun. The trail is mostly boardwalk which is good - because it was REALLY wet from all the recent rain.

The Dan Moller Trail. Lots of water in the muskeg; but a beautiful day!

The following day was also very nice so I headed-up Perseverance and the Granite Creek Trail. There was still a big snow pack up Granite Creek so I didn't try to climb-up into the last basin - although I expect I could have done so.



Granite Creek Falls. Still plenty of snow in the basin - the snow may not all go this year...

There was lots of traffic on Perseverance including a nice looking Yogi who clambered out of the ditch onto the road and fell into line behind another group of hikers about 300 feet ahead of me. They were oblivious. The bear didn't appear threatening; just walking up the road like the rest of us. I yelled to get the hikers' attention and they, and Yogi, turned to look back at me. I was fumbling to get my camera out of my backpack and by the time I got organized Yogi was turning off the road and headed-up the hillside. First bear I've seen all season.



Yogi on the Perseverance Trail - on the old road just before the trailhead. A little out-of-focus...I was fumbling around to get my camera out of the bag...

I also walked the dike trail a couple of times last week. The Fireweed is now in bloom which means that Fall is not far off. Fall is very similar to Pre-Fall, which starts August 1st, only wetter and more windy. The good weather disappeared last Saturday and it rained all weekend.

Pre-Fall on the wetlands.

I also took a bunch of birdie and flower pics. Now I'm going to try to figure out who and what I photographed! Stay tuned...

Rely on Reliable

I just finished scanning the pics I got from Roger Calloway, the current owner of Reliable Transfer. Unfortunately, all the photos pre-date the time when my dad and uncle owned the company. Reliable has been around for almost 100 years; in the beginning they hauled everything in wagons pulled by teams of horses. I will take the collection to the elders this morning and see if dad can identify any of the folks in the pictures. Here are a couple of the more interesting specimens.

Advertisement for Reliable Transfer in the Juneau paper. Don't know what year - but must have been close to a hundred years ago.

Again, I have no idea exactly when this was taken (probably the 30's) or who the guys are. The guys leaning on the car seem to have an attitude.

Two Model T's hauling a LARGE oil tank up what I assume is South Franklin. The tank may well still be leaking underground to this day!

Notwithstanding my disappointment that there were no pictures of anyone I knew, the exercise did prompt lots of good memories of my family's relationship with the company. The period of time dad was an owner coincided with my formative years and one of my very earliest memories is sitting on dad's lap in a mail truck on the way to the airport. He let me hold onto the steering wheel.

In the late 1950's Pacific Northern (PNA) and Pan American were the two major airlines serving Juneau. I recall clearly how dad would back the truck right up to the planes to load the mail. Sometimes he would hand me over to the care of the stewardesses who would feed me leftover food from the flight up from Seattle. They had REAL food in those days. Even today every now and then I catch a whiff of something that reminds me of the unmistakeable scent of the inside of a PNA Lockheed Constellation. No doubt these experiences were the source of my life-long interest in aviation.

I rode with dad on the airport mail run for many summers. After I was ten or so and could really help fling freight and mail he even paid me to come along. In later years he made as many as ten trips a day from the Post Office to the airport. Back and forth all day long. Before the Federal Building was built in the mid-60's, the Post Office was located on the second floor of the Capitol Building.

Pan American pulled-out of Juneau at some point and PNA was bought by Western Airlines. Over the years other carriers also served Juneau. Wien Air Alaska took over Pan Am's route from Fairbanks to Whitehorse to Juneau and an outfit called Cordova Airlines flew C46's (similar to a DC 3) on what we now recognize as the Alaska Airlines milk run (Anchorge to Cordova to Yakutat to Juneau). And of course there was mail from Alaska Coastal's PBYs and Grumman Gooses (Eric will probably tell me it should be Grumman Geese) that served all the other communities of Southeast Alaska. I can still see Jim Brown's dad, Dave, leering from the cockpit of a PBY.

These are very sweet memories for me - and for which I have ZERO photographic record. But I digress...

Reliable was more than just a company for my dad - it was his second family. His employees were also his best friends with whom he would go hunting and fishing. And every evening after work there were various forms of adult entertainment at the office/warehouse. Much whiskey and 7-up was consumed - although not so much by my dad who was a veritable teetotaler by the standards of the day. There was a pool table that saw a lot of use and much shooting of dice. And in later years they would play pitch for an hour or two after work.

Amazingly not all the drinking was confined to after hours. The air freight man, Frances Riendeau or "Rie," would sit on his ass at the airport bar waiting for the planes to arrive. Booze and water. Dad would see him there and never said a word. Pretty amazing. Although Rie miraculously never had a serious accident, he did, at one time or another, demolish damn near every marquee in downtown Juneau with a company van. Apparently Rie could handle two dimensions quite well while in his cups - but the third, height - not so much.

Another good Reliable pal was Jack Darnell who hailed originally from Tennessee. He worked for Reliable for many years and met an untimely death when he had a heart attack while on dad's boat over by Angoon. Dad and Jack were fishing for trout from the beach at the outlet of the Hasselborg River when Jack said he had to go back to the boat to get "something." Dad assumed the "something" was a drink. Jack rowed out to the boat in the skiff and just as he was hauling his considerable bulk onto the "Linda M" he threw up his hands and fell over backward into the water. Dead as a doornail.

The ensuing events led to my father's lifelong disregard for the U.S. Coast Guard. Dad couldn't lift Jack back into the boat - he probably weighed over 300 pounds - and leaving a carcass of any kind on the beach of Admirality Island for any length of time is not such a hotsy-totsy idea. Indeed, they had spotted a big brown bear on the beach just a couple of hours before the incident. But since Jack was dead, the U.S. Coast Guard saw nothing in the situation that called for any action on their part. After much heated argument back-and-forth on the marine radio and after securing agreement from dad that he would foot the bill, they finally agreed to call Channel Flying and a Cessna along with a Trooper were dispatched to recover the body.

My favourite of all of dad's employees was Don Bland. Don was always very solicitous of my well-being and was a real character. He always wore just a Hawaiian shirt outdoors - rain or shine, summer or winter. He always fished the Golden North Salmon Derby with us. And I DO have photographic evidence of this fact.

Good ol' Don Bland fishing the derby on the bow of the "Linda M." A fishing pole, a bottle of whiskey, and a radio - what more does a guy need? I distinctly recall him periodically bursting into song - Jerry Reed's "When You're Hot, You're Hot." So this must have been 1972.


Which is a good transition - since this is derby weekend - to the following notice posted on the Juneau National Weather Service Forecast site this morning:

ANOTHER COMPLICATION FOR THIS WEEKEND FORECAST IS A POSSIBLE GLACIER DAM RELEASE INTO THE TAKU RIVER. SHOULD THIS HAPPEN EXPECT DEBRIS WITHIN TAKU INLET FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TREE BRANCHES AND OTHER VEGETATION DEBRIS, ICE, LAWNCHAIRS, AND OTHER HOUSEHOLD DEBRIS.

Lawnchairs? Sounds like the river-rats up the Taku are going to lose some belongings.

Have a good weekend everyone!

A Break in the Weather - Finally!

Amazing! No rain for almost three days. Monday was overcast, but dry, and I think my relatives and their friends enjoyed the hike up West Glacier Trail. I don't think most of them do much hiking; but they were troopers. I was once again stunned by how rapidly the glacier is receding.

I woke-up yesterday morning and sun was shining on the mountains. I immediately hit the road to the elders for coffee and then hiked up the Dan Moller Trail. It was very nice. Most of the trail is boardwalk and the boards were, for the most part, dry. However the trail mostly winds through muskeg and you didn't want to step off the walk 'cause it was wet, wet, wet. I have a few hiking pics to post; but have been working on a scanning project so you will have to wait a few days to see them.

My scanning project involves thirty or so old photos and other memorabilia that I have borrowed from Reliable Transfer. Sadly, none of them include my dad or uncle; most of them are from the 1920's - 1940's. Once I have them all scanned I will sit down with dad and see if we can identify some folks.

Here are a couple of items from the collection you may or may not find interesting...

Ticket to the 17th Annual Fire Department Ball in 1923. All of the names of the two fire companies are on the left. Lots of familiar Juneau and Douglas names. (click on image for a larger view)

And here are some of the firemen themselves - although I do not know what year this was taken. Must be the Douglas department, the pic appears to be taken down in the area of Sandy Beach.

I have no idea where or when this was taken or who the Whim-Wham might be...

Well, I'm going to head-out for chores. I'm going to borrow Dougie's pickup for a dump run for the elders, chop some kindling, and maybe go fertilise Emilie's yard. Probably a workout and then back to the folks' for a turkey pot pie supper at 5 PM sharp.

It's Official - July Sucked

Welcome to Monday, gang. I trust most of you are diligently beavering away at your respective duty stations. Heh. Heh.

A busy yet undistinguished weekend here in the rainforest. My puppy pal and I are getting on famously. He is a cutie. And he even had the good taste to sleep 8 hours straight the last two nights. The secret is plenty of exercise during the day...although for a 2 1/2 pound puppy that doesn't require all that much effort on my part. A "walk" is up and down the driveway.

The National Weather Forecast has officially confirmed what I already knew. July really sucked. Here are the official highlights:

The month started out warm with high temperatures in the low 70s, but Meteorologist Corey Van Pelt in the Juneau Forecast Office says they quickly fell below normal after the 5th when a series of wet and cold weather systems moved into Southeast Alaska and continued through the rest of the month.

The average high temperature of 58 degrees was the lowest average high for the month of July ever recorded since records began in 1943.

The overall average temperature of 53 point 3 degrees makes July 2008 the third coldest July on record. A record low temperature of 39 degrees was set on the 21st which was just above the all time record July low of 36 degrees set in 1950.

Precipitation totaled 8 point 25 inches which is 4 point 11 inches above normal. The forecaster says that makes July 2008 the second wettest July ever recorded. The greatest 24 hour rainfall was on the 18th with 1 point 90 inches which set a record for the date. Two other daily rainfall records were established. There was 1 point 55inches on the 8th and point 66 inches on the 25th.

I also have relatives in town. Three cousins and three of their friends from Arizona. The cousins are the children of my mom's aunt on her father's side. They are ranchers in the southeast of Arizona. Real cowboy country. They have cows and horses and all that cowboy stuff. My cousin, Carol, brought some ol' timey pictures of various relatives. Perhaps my bowleggedness is from my recessive cowboy gene.

My grandfather, Roscoe Klump, served in the U.S. Army in World War I. The war ended before he was shipped overseas.

My great grandmother and my great uncle, Roy, circa 1887.

Later this morning I'm going to take the relations up the West Glacier Trail and tonight it's supper at the elders. At mom's request I have made baked beans (with an apple rum crust). And on my own initiative I have made an apple and beet puree which ought to go well with mom's ham.

Great Uncle Roy again. The Old West.

The weather today is overcast. The weather guy has reneged on his previous promise of partly cloudy skies for today and tomorrow - but at least no sign of rain for a couple of days.

Stay tuned

Meet Finnegan Dilley

My landlord and family are up on the Kenai for a week and I am puppy sitting Finnegan, their 11 week old Yorkshire Terrier. It has been a long time since I have been around a puppy - and the little dickens is keeping me hopping. This is not my kind of dog - but he sure is cute. We go outside to piddle every hour or so when he's at my place. I put him in the large kennel at their place when I go out. He sleeps in a little cloth kennel by my bed at night and judging by the size of the hole he has now chewed in said kennel, he should be breaking-out by about 3 AM tomorrow morning. Not sure what I'll do then...

Last evening we were in the yard and I looked up and saw one of our neighborhood deer. I put Finnegan back in my apartment and came out and took some pics. I got within about 10 feet of Bambi and even my flash did not spook her. Hunting season opens today...but for bucks only so she will probably not be gunned-down in the driveway for awhile anyway.

This gal has been around the neighborhood for weeks. So far she's managed to avoid being hit by a car - but hunting season is coming...

There's also been a big owl in the area. He was screeching again last evening although I did not spot him. He's got a BIG wingspan - damn near as big as an eagle. Big yellow eyes. I'm not yet sure what species he is however. I hope I can get some decent pics - it would help if the weather would improve.

And the weather has been TERRIBLE. Cold and wet. It poured again last night and the fog was right down to the water. Pretty drizzly again this morning with a low ceiling. The forecast is for an improvement...but that's been the forecast for a week. Like the sign in the bar - "Free Beer Tomorrow."

Well, gotta run and let the dog out and then I'm off to solicit a couple of sponsors for the fall golf tournament. I've been putting this off for several months - don't really know why - it's not like I'm bashful.

Have a great weekend everyone!