Yes, I am a native Alaskan. That puts me into a pretty small club. My twin sister and I were the first twins born in the Fort Richardson Army Hospital. I’m told we made the local newspaper, but I don’t have a clipping.
The coverage Alaska is getting as a result of the naming of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as McCain’s veep choice is what’s caused me to realize that, yeah, I’m proud to have been born there. Even an effete Brit, dispatched to the tundra for a first-hand look, can’t help but show grudging respect for the place:
At the age of 10, Sarah Palin got her very own bunny rabbit. Which means to say that she crouched down in the grass outside her family home, aimed her shotgun and blew its furry little head off. That’s how things work in Alaska. You kill stuff. You freeze it. You turn it into stew. Even as a pre-pubescent, the future Governor of Alaska – and now, perhaps, the future Vice-President of the United States – was able to fully exercise her Second-Amendment right to keep and bear arms. There’s no doubt about it: even by the standards of the Deep South or the Wild West, America’s 49th state is an intense place.
It’s interesting that three very popular cable TV shows involve Alaska: “Deadliest Catch,” “Ice Road Truckers” and “Tough in Alaska.” These shows have been on for several seasons, so there is no Palinj connection, only an evident interest in the 49th State’s lifestyles and toughness.
“Northern Exposure” a few years ago and “Men in Trees” now are two more that mined the Alaska ethos on the way to hit shows. It’s obvious there is an affinity abroad in the land for things Alaskan. Whether that translates into Palin support, is another matter. But, as they say, it couldn’t hoit.
I left Alaska when i was a year old and have never been back. I’ve thought about trading out my timeshare in Orlando for one in Alaska, but that’s the problem: There’s only one in Alaska, timeshare, I mean. And it’s a long way from Anchorage, which is where I was born and, therefore, what I’d like to see.
Growing up, kids used to kid me about not being born in America. In 1959 that all changed, of course. Being born in Alaska doesn’t get much of a reaction from people anymore. But recently, while having my passport scrutinized by a Canadian border official, she looked at me and said, “Born in Alaska, eh? Cool.”
One Great White Northerner to another, I guess. Check out the opening scenery of this YouTube vid and you’ll see why I’m going to trade out that timeshare real soon.
