Icewind's Ramblings

So here was my What-If thought about 911. What if the two hijacked planes, American Flight 11 and United 175, had plunged into those north and south towers at 8:46 and 9:03, killing all aboard, causing extensive damage and significant death tolls, but neither tower had come down? What if, as a Tribune columnist called it, photogenic "scenes of apocalypse" had not been produced?  What if, despite two gaping holes and the smoke and flames pouring out of the towers, the imagery had been closer to that of 1993 when the  World Trade Center was bombed in the basement parking lot of the hotel?   What if there had been no giant cloud of destruction capable of bringing to mind the look of "the day after" . . . no images of crumbling towers worthy of Independence Day ? Eight years later the American spirit of rebuilding had completed renovations to those twin towers and corporations would be back working away with only faint thoughts of that fateful Tuesday.  The f...

It’s 9/11 once again and oddly now everyone in America knows what that means.  Eight years ago America suffered the worst attack on our homeland soil, since Pearl Harbor . We remember but did we take it to heart the full impact of that beautiful morning blown apart by terrorists bent on killing us ‘Infidels’. September eleventh, will always be a where were you when moment in history.  But it should also always have a deeper emotional meaning for all of us that are old enough to remember that day. Suddenly, one clear morning it seemed to arrive . . . by air, complete with images of the destruction of the mightiest monuments to our power, and (just as previously experienced) as an onscreen spectacle.  At one point that day, it could be viewed on more than thirty channels, including some never previously involved with breaking news, and most of the country was watching. At first reports the news had us thinking it was just a freak, but horrible accident, with the f...

That could be a series of topics that I may develop into my blog but for now my thoughts reflect the time spent with our elders and other seniors compared to our own days on Earth. I had a pleasant surprise this past weekend when I received a phone call by one of my distant family members who was in Alaska for the start of a two week vacation consisting of a week by railroad glass domed ‘Wilderness Explorer” cruise cars and the second week on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship sailing south from Whittier to Vancouver along the inside passage with stops in several cities. I had just returned from the lake when I received the phone call from my ‘uncle’ Aubrey.  He and his wife were traveling with a church group of friends from Florida , Georgia , and Tennessee .  They had just arrived in Alaska after an all day trek across country.  They had left Florida in the early morning with stops/plane changes in Atlanta and Salt Lake City before arriving in Anchorage in late aft...

This year provided a mixed bag of things going on, outings planned and changesthrown in with a couple of surprises. I had planned for several weeks to make another trek out to Big Lake for one last weekend for Jet Skiing, boating, and relaxing mixed with those things Alaskan’s do preparing for the upcoming winter. The cabin needed cleaning, winterizing, and some repairs to make it through the extreme winter on the lake.  It is not unusual for minus 35 below zero for weeks at a time so making sure everything that can freeze is out, the toys are stashed away in the shed and firewood stacked in the tinder box are just a few of the chores to be completed.  There was one last lawn mowing and we kept a fire going in the fire pit burning up all of the old decking and joists from Scott’s efforts putting on a new deck several weeks ago.  We made it to the lake and mowed the grass put all of the jet skis into the water and everyone headed off in different directions.  ...

I do not know if you are like me and occasionally make a phone call while you are walking around Costco trying to figure out if there are any last minute items you need or call to get that reminder of what you came in for. I see people all the time doing that and I find it funny everyone seems to cling to that hope we will get everything in one trip without having to go back out again. I am making my way through the meat section looking for any kind of deal since all meat products in Alaska are through the roof when I approach another man looking at item after item while on the phone with someone . . . probably his wife who was pointing out his complete and utter failure. I'm Not an Idiot . . . Am I? Guy: (on cell phone) There’s 4 kinds of beef.  No, five. Guy: (fiddles with packages in meat section) Yea, it's not marked.  Premium, something, I can't read it.  I'm telling you it's . . . Guy: (after interruption) I'm not an idiot.  What? (shuffles more ...