Lower 48ers

Two women from the Washington Post went to Alaska to find a man. This is my comment. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/two-washington-post-reporters-head-to-alaska-to-find-romance/2012

Rustyinalaska

3:42 PM EDT

I am native Alaskan not Alaskan Native. I was born and raised in Alaska. I have lived and worked in nearly every part of the state and been employed by the Alaska Railroad, as a commercial fisherman, advertising executive and commercial pilot just to name a few of the professions I have participated in.  
 
Yes the Salty Dog bar in Homer if often full of "salty characters." what I find about this type of sensationalist reporting that originates from the Lower 48 is, that although it makes for an entertaining read it is more cartoonish than real. Unfortunately the comedy is lost on my in the first few paragraphs. It is true that many nefarious characters end up in the local warf bars as with any other port town world wide. But to characterize, at first blush, the odd goods found in a bar as representative of what Alaska has to offer is naive. Most of the state is comprised of rugged, hard working, honest people that truly live and work in Alaska. We the People of the United State of Alaska mostly laugh of such misrepresentation of our state and our people. We welcome such folly because it keeps "you people" out of our backyards and would be happier if you stayed out of our business.  
 
Lastly it has been very politically expedient to use some Alaskan based issue as a political football during most of the past several presidential cycles. People get on the bandwagon about airborne wolf hunting but do not know that in 2010 32 year old Candice Berner was killed by wolves in Chignik Lake, AK. Search it it's fact. The "Bridge to Nowhere" is in fact a bridge to the only airport serving the southernmost city in AK and if your loved one relied upon a ferry for getting to the airport for medivak to medical attention in Seattle, you sure wouldn't blink at the expense of building that bridge. My question is how much tax payer money has been spent in the Chesapeake Bay building bridges to the locations there? Anyone know? But I suppose it's different when you need to get to a weekend retreat. 
 
Yes I know Sarah Palin, no its not dark six months out of the year, we pay more for petroleum products than any other state except Hawaii even though we produce 30% of the nations consumption, and yes the odds are good and goods are odd. That's why we're here. So enjoy your visit to the zoo and please don't feed the animals. If your are successful in your hunt be sure to respect the bag limits while you attempt to poach a keeper. If not maybe you'll do better back in Herndon, Silver Spring, or Arlington. For my money the goods are far more odd there and make a living in a much less respectful taxpayer funded fashion.

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[Anthem]

I love what you wrote. It is more fit for a newspaper column than a short story. Be that as it may, there is no real place to post this type of writing except a blog which is basically to a very narrow audience. Either way, I enjoyed it thoroughly:)

[Rusty]

Thank you for not only taking the time to read but also to leave a note.

Thank you.

[Anthem]

You're welcome. Anytime!

[Clayton Bardwell]

I am a professional outdoorsman and have been all my life to include a stint in spec ops while in the military. I only write this to help make the following point. I thought I was a tough guy born 100 years too late until I made my first trip to Alaska. I expected to land in Anchorage amongst village huts and log cabins with natives and ugly white women running amuck. OK you can stop laughing now. Boy was I wrong including how tough I thought I was. After two weeks in the bush I came to find out the Alaskan children were tougher than me and the women as beautiful as anywhere else. Anchorage looked like downtown L.A. Alaska is plenty rugged but the people, as tough as they need to be, I found engaging and warm.
Your story brought back many fond memories.

[Rusty]

Thank you Clayton. It would be a pleasure to enjoy your company someday.

[EMF]

A facinating eye opener. I do have some friends in Alaska and they all talk of it with the same love. A rue delight to read, written and delivered with passion.

[...]

We the People of the United State of Alaska mostly laugh of such misrepresentation of our state and our people. We welcome such folly because it keeps "you people" out of our backyards and would be happier if you stayed out of our business.

. this is an incredibly powerful comment ... the line above stood out for me ... i don't know how or why this happens ... but remote locations are somehow treated strangely ... in india, it's the north eastern states ... it's just so sad that people are prejudiced for whatever reason ... sometimes i really wonder if education removes biases and prejudices or not ... in india, i have seen the apparently educated discriminate against north eastern states and the people of those states ...

[Rusty]

Sorry for the typo's that remained in my haste to publish.