Icewind's Ramblings

I was excited as the day wore on at work for what I hoped would be a trip down memory lane for me. One of the first concerts of the New Year in Anchorage is the kick off performance of “ America ” in the Atwood Concert Hall at the Performing Arts Center. It has snowed the last several days and this evening was no exception. What we decided to do was drive downtown to the mall parking lot and then walk along the four blocks in the falling snow to the concert hall. It was quite cold but glorious as we walked past the many shops, restaurants, and attractions along the way. The “city of lights” was just that as the trees along the walk and Town Park was aglow with the many colors of the season. There were ice sculptures backlit in various colors as the artists continued working on them for the upcoming Fur Rondy celebration. My wife and I arrive glad to be in the warmth of the Atwood making our way to our mezzanine level seats. We were meeting our friends Scott...

In the darkness of early afternoon here in Anchorage I experienced something the last two days that I had almost forgotten over the last 12 years or so . . . traffic. It was really weird because it took me two days to realize what it was. We have had several days of snow and it continued to fall during the normal times of people getting off of work. With several accidents on any major road out of town there were fools driving too fast for the conditions that either slid off into the mediums or smashed into someone or something at the intersections. Those unlucky enough to be driving out to the Mat-su valley found themselves with no where to go. Since one of our “Bridges to Nowhere” would actually help the residents with another route to escape if there is an accident or some problem it probably will never be built. But while sitting in traffic today there is talk of building the bridge with private investors who would make it a toll road . . . I’m sure the last two...

Get real. "I listened to you and in the process I found my own voice." I usually do not get into politics or discussions about them because many times at the end of all the debate . . . campaigning . . . handshakes it seems you still have to elect someone. Too many times it seems there are not many real or viable choices so the people settle for whatever party spends the most and has that “hook” that gets them into office. I’ve never been a Hillary fan, mostly because it seemed that everything she said was always so calculated. But when she choked up and almost shed a tear a couple days ago, for the first time I heard her “turn it on” and get real. Many voters in New Hampshire (women) must have even found her likable or possibly ‘bullied’ as they turned the polls on their heads and brought Hillary a victory. After her victory in New Hampshire , she said “I found my voice”. There was ‘everything’ fake about it. I may be overly cynical, but the first ...

I received this from my friend and thought I would pass this on . . . No words are needed to explain this so just watch . . . http://www.gratitudecampaign.org Ice

I have wanted to post this for some time now but things have been busy and I have been sick with a cold for over a week now . . . So much for a healthy New Year as I have had this sore throat and cough since the 31 st . This had been in my ‘ready folder’ but I had not looked into it lately so enjoy. I have breakfast every Saturday with a few friends and one of them is a very intriguing person. He and another person have cabins out in “bush” Alaska which is a special place during the summer months. It sometimes defies logic and some might say common sense but once you see the magic of this place it is truly an extraordinary location. Almost surreal as you fly into the tiny airstrip surrounded by many trees and vegetation all around as you taxi into one of the several spots for small bush planes. Tundra tires help with the slightly uneven landing strip but it is not a bad place to land. You get out and slowly take in everything around you when you start to realiz...