crazy canadian

I was telling a friend about an incident on the way up to Alaska.

Let me paste it here so all can read:


"Bag says:
[let me] tell [you about] the crazy canadian asshole story
ok.
we're going on this dirt/mud/gravel road
i pass this guy in this truck going about 70
40 MILES later i notice the guy still following me
tailing my ass
we get to a straight stretch, he passes me
stops in the middle of the road and gets out
"YOU! GET OUT!"
he yells at me
this fucker's HUGE
looked like a pro wrestler
shaved head, hoop earring, fat biceps
luckily coming the other way is an rv.
so he tells his kid to move the truck
but as he's doing this, hes coming toward me
so i pop it in reverse and head backward
eventually i stop.
he comes up to my hood and slams both arms down on it
BAM. leaves two fat arm imprints in my hood
you can totally see each arm and hand
so i back up further.
he keeps coming.
this time i wait til he gets close
he comes to the front and i hit the gas
he slides off the side of the car
kinda grabs the mirror but it slips away from him
he totally slides all along the length of the car.
fuck that guy was pissed
so we blew past him and his truck and hauled ass.
didn't stop for 2 hrs.
crazyiest fucker evAr"


true story.
this happened somewhere in Northern BC, after Prince George and before Yukon.
all i can figure is that he didn't appreciated me passing him on a gravel road.
sorry. i don't know rural rules of the road.

hippies

i've always given thought to what it's like being a hippie.
being a minimalist, taking life as it comes.
even the further stereotypes of being smelly, hairy, and always munching on granola.

i thought this was a thing of the past. but i actually met a guy in Homer, Alaska that somewhat fits that description. This guy has traveled around the nation with nothing but a duffle bag and a guitar. He goes from town to town occasionally settling enough to find a job that will support his needs and habits for a while, until the lifestyle nags and him and he decides to move on.

Could I finagle this? So far I've got the beard. I'm reluctant to say, but on the whole trip up I wore deoderant once (sorry Air), and we did have a stash of granola on hand at all times.
So I could handle that. But as for the minimalist approach, I thought I could do it.
But then I got to thinking. There are certain things I don't really want to live without.
These aren't really what your avereage person sees as necessary amenities, they're more 'toys' that I've grown to love.

First off: internet. email and knowledge at my fingertips is the best invention in the world. If I could have a PDA or other such device that I could carry with me and always recieve a signal, I'd be a happy man. Running water and a bed. Yeah, those are nice, but I thrive on the internet.
I could live without those other menial conveniences.
There are a few more things I'd shed a tear over if I had to up and leave them behind:
my camera and my scuba gear.
Combined they take me, and indirectly, a lot of other people to places that aren't well known.
As a hippie, I'm sure I'd see some great and unusual sights, and I would be sad if I couldn't share that with the world.

With those few exceptions/luxuries, and a few changes of clothes,
I think I could pack up and travel the world leaving everything else behind.
However, motivation and timing are other things to consider...

post script

oh. did i also forget to mention...

under the whole lawlessness of Alaska--yesterday as i was driving into town on the Glen Highway, parked on the right side of the freeway were no less than 11 cop cars all with their flashing lights.
previously to this string of blue there was a large pickup tipped into the ditch of the median.
3 tires were touching the grass. the nose of the car was pointed down into the ditch. the owner was trying to weigh down the back left tire to maybe make it possible to back out of the ditch, but the weight of the vehicle kept nosing it back down into the ditch.

just past the row of flashing lights was a small red hatch-back. the driver and passenger were already put seperately in one of the 11 cop cars (don't know how it was chosen which they would go into, maybe the closest).

however, peering over at the red car that was leading the packed of parked vehicles, there was a scattered array of bullet holes neatly dispersed around the gas tank, about 6 holes in all.

that must have been some chase. although would cops really aim for the tank like that?
is that how the truck got in the ditch? they were run off the road? it seemed weird though that no one other than the driver was at the truck while all other 11 police officers were attending to the red hatch-back.

i may never know what happened.

also. in retelling this story to my hosts, they informed me of a shooting downtown that resulted in a stray bullet that hit one of the people rallying for the support of a current Alaskan senator.
From what they say, this man needs all the help he can get. Allegedly he has the lowest approval rating in the nation: 20%. GW should take some pointers.

now people are saying that if the guy does get re-elected, it will be from pity points for the gunned-down supporter.

i don't even know who this guy is or what he stands for. maybe i should look into it.
although i was told that he put his sister in power (my earlier reference to nepotism) and he bought a jet with the people's money all in the name of visiting the small towns of Alaska.
the catch: it can't land on any gravel runways.

well. that's the government for you.
rock on.

Alaska

god. everything's getting so elitist.
paper has gone by the wayside. everything's online now.
generally i would say good for them. good for not wasting our resources for one paperwork pile upon another.

but being homeless has made me realize what this is doing to everyone else. it's making it harder for people with lower income to function in society. granted many libraries have facilities that have internet connections, but that can be a hassle to smaller-town residents.

or in my case, today when i went to the anchorage library, i was met with a down-pour at the entrance. the flood-inducing rains were seeping through the windowed roof and running down through the light sockets onto the floors. light bulbs were filling, and somehow in all that drama, the internet went down.

so there i was. in a library, ready to do business, but unable. all because people (like myself) hate a paper trail.
but how am i supposed to pay tuition if i can't access the internet?!
how am i supposed to look for a job with fred meyer if all they accept now are online applications

(ok. so that's another story in and of itself. i swore i'd never go back to FM, and i told many-a-person that if i did, they could give me a swift kick to the balls to remind me how much i enjoyed the place. but seriously, looking at cost of living, or just food prices alone, have me scared. produce prices are through the roof. anything in seattle that was $5 is $6 here.
maybe it actually all comes out in the wash since there's no sales tax here, but the numbers still look daunting. i have a lot saved [not paying rent for over a year was nice] but it's still unnerving to not have even the slightest bit of steady income. so maybe if i do bite the bullet and ready myself for a nut-shot, i'll only work about 16 hrs a week. just something to counteract high food prices.)

with that said. fuck the internet. i'm being which ever Alaskan senator blamed the internet for all his problems. that's why i moved here, and that's why i'm never moving back. nepotism is alive and well here, it's the last frontier. shit still goes up here, and i'm glad to be a part of it.

on an additional note:
migration seems to be a mainstay where ever you go. being a california transplant in washington, i got shit. nearly everyone who wasn't native in seattle was from california. you know what? fuck that. everyone in california who wasn't native was from fucking mexico!
now i get up to alaska and i'm hearing the same shit. everyone who isn't from alaska is from seattle! maybe eventually i'll fuck with everyone by moving to mexico. then what are you going to tell me!?!

but i do have to say, alaska is definitely a different breed. downtown you have a few roads that look like they should be found further up in the mountains. potholes that will send you bouncing.
people take them in stride and pound right over them. if it were anywhere in the lower 48, people would piss themselves and be mad at the city for allowing such a thing to happen without red flags and construction workers giving immediate attention to the situation.

but. maybe i'll get used to this place.
or. i'll just hole myself up in my room (once i get a room) and hide until the sunlight comes back for the spring.

if anything though. this is definitely an adventure.
i was looking to get away from the monotony of my mediocre life down south. but looking back now, it may not have been so bad.
i was the king of slackers and my balls wouldn't ever freeze to my leg if i stayed out in the elements too long.

oh well. i'll become more of an independent person in this 2-year stint.
it'll be good for me. i don't really need to find myself anymore though. i think the pool did a fine job of that. i was forced out of my shell and i'm loving it.

so i guess, Alaska, bring on whatever you've got and i'll take it in stride.

oh. and to all you out there who care--i'm doing alright.
hope you're doing the same.

peace.

GPO

Kathryn got some really nice pictures of a GPO (octopus).
I guess this will be the last one of these I'll be putting up...