The January news comes to you from snowy Anchorage where more than 110 inches of snow have fallen this winter. Of course the snow pack outside is not that high because of settling and a couple of thawing days mixed in, but this is the view out the window as this is written.
Even the moose have figured out it doesn’t pay to wander off the sidewalk. This excellent photo by Dolly shows the neighborhood moose walking the sidewalk that leads from the Angstman house to the Park Strip.
In addition to the snow, Alaska had a recent cold snap that made for some chilly racing at the Kuskokwim 300, won again by Pete Kaiser. Here is a still shot of Pete taken by a professional photographer who goes by the business name of 907Drones on the Kuskokwim River approaching Bethel.
And this video was recorded by DaDa Fredericks as Pete approached the finish line at high speed.
The cold weather prompted long time contributor Mark Schwantes to demonstrate an old Alaska cold weather trick that is always entertaining.
Mandatory Moose & Other Characters
This two-tone moose earns the title of Mandatory Moose for January.
This wolf hunting beaver is a rarely seen sight.
And this Grey Owl photo from many time contributor Kristoff Druva is stunning.
A poster on Facebook shared this photo of Mt. Drum from one of Alaska’s few roads that greets travelers when they approach. What a sight!
ALO Update
Angstman Law Office, despite featuring only one seriously old attorney, just completed its most successful year ever when the books were tallied in January. Some would attribute that to elder wisdom, others would suggest dumb luck, but for whatever reason the fancy phone through which almost all legal business flows stays busy. For example, yesterday there were about 50 emails, 30 texts and 40 calls. And despite all of that, Jack got a couple hours of lap time. A couple of cases resolved in January. A major case involving the rape of a dementia patient at a care facility resolved and another case involving a nasty fall on ice at a retail chain store parking lot also settled. That fall resulted in serious injuries to a man who now is mainly stuck in a wheel chair. Both cases were confidential settlements, meaning the defendants don’t want people to hear about lawsuits involving their companies. Another way to keep people from hearing about lawsuits against their companies would be to operate their companies with more care.
ALO has rehired a former employee who took an unauthorized 30 year leave of absence. Sandy Rolan was among the best employees ever at ALO back in the early 90s, and topped off her stay at the office by competing in the Akiak Dash with a total of seven practice runs. She finished the race and still has her race bib hanging in her house in Montana. She will be working remotely as are all the people now involved with ALO, and she is a welcome addition.
In Other News
Here are three cartoons that need to be shared, from Rick Hanson, Lamont Albertson, and Jeff King.
A visitor at the K300 this year told one story worthy of the ALO News. It seems a guy was traveling from McGrath with a private pilot well known in the area. They boarded his airplane and the passenger shut the passenger side door which immediately fell to the ground. The pilot said he knew a guy who could fix it and went to find him. He returned with the man to fix the door, and the passenger watched as the two of them put the door back into place and then placed a two by four across the door, screwing it into the frame on both ends. With that repair, the passenger was invited to re-board the aircraft (this time from the other side of course), and they flew off to their destination. It's doubtful that repair was recorded in the airplane log book.
Laureli Ivanoff continues to write articles for High Country News and those articles usually make their way into ALO news. This one involves a bear hunt, but not a typical bear hunt in Alaska. Read the article here.
This photo from the 1920's shows an early tavern in Princeton, Minnesota where a young farm kid went with his Dad to watch him play pool with his buddies in the 1950s.
The place was off limits to kids unless with their parent, and only one parent in the Angstman family would ever be seen there. It was a valuable learning experience, especially if you value learning to play pool and use profanity. Dad didn’t drink, so it was also a chance to see that a person could gain an edge on other pool players by remaining sober. All three of those lessons have been put to use at various times by the attentive youngster who tagged along.
In The Political Realm
It would be hard to ignore the Taylor Swift conspiracy. It appears a certain segment of patriotic Americans believe she is secretly manipulating the electorate to defeat Trump while at the same time rigging the Super Bowl. Conspiracy theories are rampant these days, but this is the most ridiculous waste of time yet. The basis for this argument is that such a prominent figure, who appeals to a wide swath of Americans, couldn’t possibly take sides in an election, but if she did she would have to support Trump because, well just because. Like everyone else she has a choice, and she will make that choice. But this controversy fully explains what the Trump movement doesn’t understand about politics. Attacking a immensely popular figure like Swift is political suicide, just like some other recent moves such as trying to ban all abortions. Trumpers need to do nothing to solidify support among the Republican base, but they sure need some help with moderates and with women. Going after Swift offends both groups, and not just a little. And this quote posted by Trump supporter Roseanne Barr might just offend a few Swift fans.
