Alaska on the brain
Tired of cooking all the time, last Friday I suggested we go out for pizza at Grandpa’s Brick Oven up the street. Walking through the marijuana haze and lulling herd of slovenly men congregated at the steps of our apartment building, I suddenly realized that I was ready to leave New York. Jennifer, who has lived here several years longer than I have, thought it was about time. And as we walked down the tumultuous street the world took on new spatial dimensions.
We’re thinking Alaska. Juneau that is. Jennifer has already checked it out on-line. They need occupational therapists. It’s close to Canada. But it isn’t Canada, so I can still work. Either at Alaska University, or maybe in a restaurant (though not for tips, ever again). There is no income tax. They pay people to live there. We could start over. With a big garden and fresh air. Just for a year or so while we finish up paying off our school loans before we move to China. We were just going crazy with all the possibilities . . . then today on our two hour ride back from Little Lancaster I mentioned that Alaska is the perfect place to ride a motorcycle.
Whoa. That’s going a little too far, I quickly found out. Fortunately we were able to decide to never buy a motorcycle unless we both agree that it is a good idea. Juneau is right beside the Tongass National Park an old-growth temperate rain forest, which according to National Geographic is an “exceptionally rich ecosystem that holds more organic matter—more biomass—per acre than any other, including tropical jungles. The Tongass represents not only the greatest remaining reserve of huge trees in the U.S., but also nearly one-third of the old-growth temperate rain forest left in the world.” I think it would be great to live next to so much natural life for a change. To walk out the door to the sound of birds and bite of mosquitoes rather than thrumming recurrent beat of distress from the rainbow underclass. I’d rather watch glaciers melt for a change.
Read a really great story about Tongass here: Tongass Story
Tired of cooking all the time, last Friday I suggested we go out for pizza at Grandpa’s Brick Oven up the street. Walking through the marijuana haze and lulling herd of slovenly men congregated at the steps of our apartment building, I suddenly realized that I was ready to leave New York. Jennifer, who has lived here several years longer than I have, thought it was about time. And as we walked down the tumultuous street the world took on new spatial dimensions.
We’re thinking Alaska. Juneau that is. Jennifer has already checked it out on-line. They need occupational therapists. It’s close to Canada. But it isn’t Canada, so I can still work. Either at Alaska University, or maybe in a restaurant (though not for tips, ever again). There is no income tax. They pay people to live there. We could start over. With a big garden and fresh air. Just for a year or so while we finish up paying off our school loans before we move to China. We were just going crazy with all the possibilities . . . then today on our two hour ride back from Little Lancaster I mentioned that Alaska is the perfect place to ride a motorcycle.
Whoa. That’s going a little too far, I quickly found out. Fortunately we were able to decide to never buy a motorcycle unless we both agree that it is a good idea. Juneau is right beside the Tongass National Park an old-growth temperate rain forest, which according to National Geographic is an “exceptionally rich ecosystem that holds more organic matter—more biomass—per acre than any other, including tropical jungles. The Tongass represents not only the greatest remaining reserve of huge trees in the U.S., but also nearly one-third of the old-growth temperate rain forest left in the world.” I think it would be great to live next to so much natural life for a change. To walk out the door to the sound of birds and bite of mosquitoes rather than thrumming recurrent beat of distress from the rainbow underclass. I’d rather watch glaciers melt for a change.
Read a really great story about Tongass here: Tongass Story
posted by Darren Byler at 2:05 AM
2 Comments:
It sounds like you are overdue for a visit to Sioux Lookout. We have both singing birds and biting mosquitoes. You are welcome to come and enjoy them both.
I might would join you there for a bit of loan repayment myself.
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