Northern Exposure

We are reminded at regular intervals that we live in Alaska; not that we necessarily forget. Life is lived in some respects not unlike it might be anywhere else, but here it comes with an Alaskan twist. Our recent weekend reminded us of just that.

Friday Deb and I had tea and conversation with Governor Parnell and his wife, Sandy. Such nice people! We enjoyed a tour of the Governor's House and the pumpkin scones while Annie the yellow lab took a nap out our feet. We talked about their lives and how Deb and I could best be their friends. We laughed about their not-so-normal lives, about paying for daughters' weddings, and our personal histories. They laughed at my humor. We prayed with and over them, and made tentative plans to do it again.

Deb and I then went to our beloved Island Pub for pizza, and ran into people we know. That happens a lot here, running into people you know. Kind of a Juneau thing, if not an Alaskan thing.

Saturday, with the weather sunny but in the 20's we went for a hike on the Treadwell Mine trails. We felt so Alaskan, only because we felt so cold, I guess.

Saturday evening we enjoyed dinner with our friends Joe and Karen before the four of us made our way downtown to St. Anne's Catholic Church. It was there we "contra" and square danced to the melodic sounds of a band playing all your favorite French-Canadian dance tunes. The crowd was made up of long time Juneau residents, some with the requisite gray pony tails, with a few college students thrown in, (the room, not the pony tails.) Clearly a "northern exposure" moment for us.

Apparently we missed the rumblings of a 7.7 earthquake while we were busy pretending to be dancers. I received several texts from well-meaning friends warning us of a tsunami alert. Note: it would be a bigger than big deal if a tsunami hit our shores here in Juneau, protected by nearby landmass from such catastrophe as we are. Our friends south of us and closer to the epicenter perhaps had more cause for concern.

Sunday was devoted to our watching the Giants winning the World Series. Nothing uniquely Alaskan about that, but it does bear mention. And on Monday I was invited to go deer hunting, responding to that text while hearing duck-hunters shooting said ducks a half mile away.

Our northern exposure moments seem to come fast and furious at times, and more subtle at other times. For a couple of former Californians, we enthusiastically embrace all those moments.