Well, these folks finally have a garden in. Last year our first frost was on this date.... They have purchased a coal stove to heat their little cabin for the winter but neither of them have any experience with coal as a heat source. It is unknown why they chose coal instead of wood as their heat, for they have just cleared land for their garden-to-be, so they probably have wood for free. Rough times ahead for these poor people.
I had posted a notice yesterday in Nextdoor asking about recycling places for VHS tapes. Got response back and she called this morning. We talked for 45 minutes before even discussing the tapes. Retired teacher at 72 with very recent stroke. She is doing better, But our talk had to do with world events and all the other things we discuss on here. We both were enjoying our visit, and have mush of the same views. She was telling me before she retired, the school meetings were about all the things teachers could and could not do or say. Including Merry Christmas, that whites were to be terminated before blacks or other races.. the list went on. Did they actually say these things out loud? Yes , in school teacher meetings. She is glad to be retired ! Turns out she collects the the tapes and DVD's so will hold them for her. It just was nice to spend time on a Monday morning talking with a stranger, about world events and changes, and come away feeling better verses depressed and hopeless. Made my day.
The drama has taken a new turn. The husband of the couple left in his truck to get coal for their coal stove and hasn't returned. The wife checked to make sure he hadn't just bought a ticket to return to Texas, as the darkness and cold are already getting to him. Then she checked for his hand gun. It was missing.... Troopers have been notified, but no results yet.
Wow. It's bad enough moving to a place that's under a heavily-traveled flight path. I can't imagine being around such stories on a semi-routine basis. So does the state (or localities) have a Buyer's Remorse hotline for stuff like this? And the wife is sure he either (a) just abandoned her, or (b) is gonna kill himself? Sounds like they tried a Geographic Cure for crap that's gonna travel with them. Our faults lie not in our stars...
Nobody is sure of anything right now, but he hasn't fled the state as far as anyone can tell, but he did take money form the bank before he disappeared. I don't know how much. We are still waiting for info. I always say those who move here are either running from something or to something.
Nature can be cruel, but at least she's consistent. People, not so much. You never know what they're gonna do. Since I have antenna TV, I watch whatever I can receive. That often happens to be Crime TV. That situation sounds like an episode in the making.
THERE you go! "He left me alone in the wilderness" = "He's buried in the back yard" What's the Alaskan version of "Dingo ate my hubby"?
The favorite way to kill someone here is to get them drunk and toss them over the side. Make sure they don't have a lifejacket. It always gets ruled as an "accidental drowning". Bears aren't reliable, kinda like gators in the South. Now WOLVES don't leave a trace. That is why the myth that wolves don't attack people got started.
The lost has been found. Troopers apparently found the man in Anchorage and he is coming home. I don't have any more of the story, and I don't know if he was kidnapped or if he left voluntarily. Perhaps he was dealing wiht nefarious people and that is why he took the gun. No answers yet, but it does sound a bit like a TV mystery show.
Uh, we're getting a new Waffle House. Pretty exciting, huh? I can only imagine what the life of an LEO is there.
You can get a taste if you watch any of the Alaska State Troopers show. I knew some of the people (Troopers) shown. The Troopers discontinued the show, as they found it was too distracting. They have a lot in common with the remote RCMP officers. We have 37 Troopers covering our borough (county) that is about the size of West Virginia. Wasilla and Palmer have police departments, but there is no sheriff here, as they are not allowed by the state constitution. Anchorage has more officers than the rest of the state combined.
I I really was wondering about them all along. Tv makes it seem tempting and the answer to all one's problems. Some of us might have the skills but most of us realize how much work and possible loneliness it could involve. I have never put skills to the test except in my head. I might try sometime in Wisconsin NOT Alaska. The only other thing I need is a chest freezer for my clothes, I think. Oh, and maybe a second leg My daughter and her boyfriend asked if they could build a tiny house back in our piney woods, just to see how it would go. He found a milk bucket from an old milker and was going to turn it into a wood stove. They brought in stones from the lake for the base and wall. The kid is creative and very handy. It does not seem real bright just before winter but it might be just a pipe dream for 'someday' especially since we already have a liveable set up in the barnhouse. But if I were younger, it would seem fun after seeing all the people who created fantastic 'homes' on tv. Not very dangerous as We don't have wolves and bears yet but we have coyotes and foxes and we are 1/4 mile from a gas station. I hope it turns out OK for your new friends. Better now than in January.
I’m really not too interested in meeting new people but since the front porch is my perch of choice, I get a lot of persons I’m not interested in who believe my open presence is an invitation for “borrowing”. From bottled water, money for the bus, a crowbar, dope, smokes to strangely enough, a pickled egg, I get a lot of requests from people I do not know nor care to. Note: No, the pickled egg isn’t a carry-over from another thread. A skinny doper actually walked up and asked me if I had a pickled egg! Alas, just 2 nights ago, a skinny white guy in his 30’s stumbled up the ramp, stepped over the porch gate and mumbled something to effect of being in a wreck. He was covered in fairly dried blood that came from a gash on his head and whilst I was telling him I was calling 911 and attempting to get him seated lest he should fall down, still another person of interest with very ample and almost barren bosoms with her wheeled suitcase in tow walked up the ramp and said something in a thick European accent which was almost unintelligible but I figured she was telling me to help the guy by getting him to the hospital. Long story short, the gal was obviously a hooker whom I hadn’t seen before, the guy was in a wreck but didn’t know where the wreck occurred nor knew what state he was in. (yes, he asked me what state he was in) nor did he want me to call 911 which I already did. When 6 police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance showed up, beyond the EMT’s figuring that the guy was a user by all the track marks on his arm, I was told there were no reported wrecks nearby and as Sherlock might say, “the game was afoot” because there was nothing that related to anything. The hooker said she didn’t know the guy but saw him stumbling up the porch ramp and there was no wreck anywhere nearby and as one policeman told the others, if Bobby has never seen them on this street, they probably don’t belong on this street. Now, 2 days later, I’m still thinking that the guy probably wandered into this area trying to score drugs but being an unknown, got rolled somewhere down the north end of the street. As far as the hooker, well, she is European and said she’s here from Florida as a misplaced hurricane victim (good alibi) and she is pretty well built and doesn’t openly show the effects of taking bad drugs so she should do well in this area.
A few years ago (I may have posted it here) a guy from Wisconsin who operated a Survival School up north (Rhinelander maybe?) decided to test his skills here and flew into western Alaska with the intention of walking along the river to a village further upstream. He missed his flight out and no trace of him was ever found. It was not known whether he fell into the river and drowned (although he was reportedly and excellent swimmer) or if wolves or bears got him. We lose a number of people every year in similar circumstances, so my advice to everyone is not to travel off the road system alone...EVER. Even travelling on the roads is iffy in remote areas.