Icewind's Ramblings

Boston Marathon Tragedy – 04-15-13 Once again I find myself looking at the news in real time of another needless tragedy on so many levels of American society. Our hearts and prayers go out to those families affected by this tragedy and the effects it will have on this country in our efforts to secure our safety and well being. "More than any time in recent history, America 's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek, nor did we provoke, an assault on our freedom and our way of life.  We did not expect, nor did we invite, a confrontation with evil.  Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive. 2 people were killed and over a hundred maimed and injured a couple of hours ago at the Boston Marathon finish line in Massachusetts .  This is another needless act of violence in this country.  Police were on scene as this tragedy unfolded and you could easily see that they ran towards the tw...

My wife and her friend are in the living room this Saturday evening watching Mamma Mia and the competing sounds of music are battling each other as I sit in my office with a DVD of my friends, Cullowhee ’s music on my computer. The sounds of Appalachia and the Mediterranean are mixing into a not so interesting sound. I walked out to grab a snack and the sight of Pierce Brosnan attempting to sing was more than I wanted to see. He was not that great as James Bond but now I think he is reduced in my mind to his role in Dante’s Peak. I’ll stick to my mixture of bluegrass and the varied sounds of my friends. With all that has been going on these last few months it is nice to settle in for a day of music with old friends. From the days of Back Porch Picker , Fishin’, Natural Mountain Woman, to the wonderful sounds of Flute Salad and Bring Back the Magic I am immersed in the river of times past and all of the hope and wonder we all had about the world around us and ...

We have had our share of cold temperatures this season but sometimes it just does not make much sense to me. About a month ago we spent almost three weeks well below zero in the mornings some days over minus twenty five. We have been over that now and the last several weeks it has jumped around from the twenties to back down around zero. A few days ago my icemaker quit working and as I watched the ice container slowly dwindle to nothing I figured it might be time to give it a look. I went into my handyman mode after doing plumbing work for many years so I decided to go through the logical steps to figure out why it was not making ice cubes. I looked underneath the kick plate by the floor to see if there was any buildup of dust that might make things work efficiently as far as it maintaining the proper temperature. It wasn’t too dirty so I next pulled the refrigerator so I could get to things on the back. I checked out the tubing going from the water valve up t...

Everyday it's a-gettin' closer Goin' faster than a roller coaster . . . I fear that the Don McLean song “American Pie” is the only reason young people know of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, but the music is worth revisiting. I hope that you've been wearin' yer horn-rimmed glasses in honor of "The Day the Music Died" . That's right February 3 marks the 50th anniversary of the plane crash in the frozen tundra of Clear Lake Iowa that killed the three rock 'n rollers along with the pilot, Roger Peterson. In 16 months (Sept. 1957-Feb. 1959), Holly created a body of work that influenced The Beatles, Stones, Eric Clapton, Elton John and countless others. After the crash, Lennon and McCartney changed their bands name from Johnny and the Moondogs to The Beatles. Today, our rock 'n roll ‘way back machine’ have no plans on theorizing the "what if’s" . . . from that snowy day. While here...

I used to give almost every homeless guy or gal I saw a dollar. Then it occurred to me one day that if I keep giving every homeless person I see a dollar, I will need to start asking everyone for a dollar myself. Anchorage has a fairly large homeless community. Even during the winter months there are those out on the street corners ‘pan handling’ at the traffic lights or in front of the malls or stores around town. The weather does not seem to matter much as they wear clothing needed to keep them warm from frostbite. The bunny boots, insulated bibs, and the layered garments worn by most of the homeless would work well up on the arctic slope of Prudhoe Bay or Barrow. I was involved with building a new Brother Francis Shelter several years ago and it turned out really nice. Hydronic heating in the floors and nice showers with great quality equipment and fixtures made the place a comfortable temporary home. I thought it was much better than it could have been bui...

I awoke this morning much like any other but there were things going on outside my space that had me stirring earlier than normal. My daughter was having a restless night in the hospital and when I turned on the television to see what was happening with the lead up to the Inauguration. There was the spectacle of pomp and circumstance as the crowds gathered from all over the country around the Lincoln Memorial and The Mall. It was a moving sea of people and tonight I learned that there were no incidents in Washington during this celebration so that may be one of the first visible signs of ‘Change’ to come about. There was the gathering of past Presidents and Vice Presidents who have shown the signs of age that has come with the office. They smiled and some seemed to be glad to see each other while others stayed focused on the tasks at hand. Obama`s girls looked great taking in the moment and bringing back younger children living in the White House. ...

I usually hit Costco every Saturday morning after my breakfast meeting with several friends and business associates. I normally will do one time a month that is a bulk buy of most of the things we will need during the month and the other times I’ll hit the local Fred Meyer (Kroger) for a few items to get us by. Standing in line at Fred Meyer I had a revelation. That little plastic bar you put down to divide your purchase from the next person's purchase in front of or behind you is amazing; couldn't we all use that bar in other areas of our life? That is not my stuff, says your bar. I am not buying that, it tells other people. Don't mix your stuff with my stuff. These issues are not to be confused with my issues thank you very much. I can just see it now you are in line for the movies when a guy starts telling you about his colon cancer. Boom, the bar comes down. The ex-wife or girlfriend is explaining how her new boyfriend just doesn't do ...

Bob May, who donned The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69. His line to one of the children, "Danger, Will Robinson," became a national catch phrase. One of my favorite programs growing up and “The Robot” was always one of our fun Halloween costumes made out of cardboard boxes and other items found around our neighborhood. I guess this starts to date our lives as more of these actors are sick or have died these last couple of years. Those were simpler times . . . no ipod or xbox to occupy your time, just a stick and your imagination to fight off the bad guys and explore new worlds. Where did those times go as we advanced technology without holding on to the things that made us who we are? It was a stable day at the hospital with my daughter mostly sleeping as her medicine worked and we await more tests. She will see a gastroenterologist hopefully tomorrow for more exams to see ...

In the continuing saga of a cool family living in the wilds of Alaska where the Alaskan Pipeline parallels the haul road as it makes its way from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez , Alaska in a little village called Livengood. Many families living in a rural area face many challenges and ours is no different from those found in our area. We live a subsistence lifestyle living mainly off the land seeking out berries, fruit, and the abundant fish around. Taking time out of our day for play time and the occasional trip into Fairbanks to stock up on food we enjoy time spent together with family. I spend some much needed quiet time with the baby . . . While the children do their work home schooling . . . While Icy washes the car . . . And there is always laundry to do . . . ...

I have worked for the Hughes Service Center for the last four years The cold has crept into Alaska over the last couple of days making things interesting again. The interior is even colder with their temperatures around the minus 40˚ to - 60˚F below zero. On top of that some areas are getting high winds for the next two days. Texas and Louisiana has their hurricanes but for most people I think they could not even fathom hurricane winds at 40 below. That probably puts the wind chill factor below minus 100+ below zero. That’s Alaska tonight and I do not see the Weather Channel or Today Show doing any live broadcasts from here. They’re wussies I guess as I talked to one of my contacts in Fairbanks earlier today who said several people came into his store wearing shorts. Yeah, we are slightly off kilter here. I had several who made comments to me today about wearing my Hawaiian shirts at minus 20 below. I told them “it’s a dry cold” but really it was colder than...