Odd people in Anchorage

February 11, 2007

Hello,

It has been a wild winter so far, and there are still 3 months left before spring is really in full swing around here. We've experienced the "other half" of life in Anchorage, here at the "Chalet" and we are looking forward to leaving the Chalet behind. Life is still good for us, though, and there are good things in the works. Linda, Chris's mother came to visit us in January, and we had a great time. While she was here we took a weekend trip up to Hatcher Pass, and hour North of Anchorage, and stayed in a very cute log cabin b&b run by a very nice lady named Liz. While in Hatcher Pass, we went snow shoeing with the dogs, and narrowly avoided most of the snow machines that were high-marking up on the hillside in the area. We were graced with the warmest weather this winter during that trip, and we found ourselves stripping of our hats, and unbuttoning our coats in the balmy 38 degree sunshine. It was a beautiful weekend! On the way back to Anchorage, we stopped off at the Eagle River Nature Center, and went on a 4 mile stroll through the woods with the dogs in tow. The trails there are well groomed, and very quiet, and closed to snow machines in most areas- so it was a nice peaceful way to see the back side of the Chugach Mountains. We had a very nice time, and we were both sad to see Linda go back to Florida. Hopefully, she'll come and visit in the summer.

On a different note, I am thoroughly enjoying my work, Chris has started his new job back in Boise (while still living here), we have found a house, and I'm in process of moving now. Chris is conveniently in Boise this week, so he'll miss the fun and excitement of packing and moving boxes. I wish I could figure out how he manages to do that. I know he didn't plan it that way- not to worry though, there will be plenty of furniture left for him to help move when he gets back. At any rate, the house we found is strikingly similar to our Boise home, pre-remodel. It has a nice fenced yard, garden area, dog run, a single car garage, and aside from the 70's clad wall paper, wood paneling and stylish red, semi-shag carpeting- it's a gem! Our new landlords conveniently live next door, and we are their first tenants ever. They seem to be a very nice couple, and both times that I've been to the house this weekend; Ken (the husband) has been up on the roof either removing snow or trimming the tree by the front door. I think he enjoys being on the roof, because he seems to spend an awful lot of time up there according to his wife. They also have an adorable blind Boston terrier named Bugsy who walks into walls. We were pleased that they are going to allow all three of our critters into the house without even charging a pet deposit! So with that we will no longer be dwelling in the basement of the "Hillside Chalet" with the homeless, the laundry basket thieves, and the heard of elephants above us. I can't wait to get my first real night's sleep.

In other news- unrelated to the move, Chris and I have not lost our knack for attracting strange people. Last week, we went to one our favorite places, Phyllis’s Cafe & Bar, to say hello to our friend Apollo, the manager. He poured my usual glass of red wine and Chris his choice of draught beer. Normally, when we go to Phyllis’s (either to eat crab or drink), things are relatively quiet, and we chat about normal, mundane, everyday things. Well, last week was anything but usual. Before I could sit at our table, I heard a loud knocking sound coming from the women's restroom and a male voice inside hollering loudly for someone to help. That should have been my first clue. I apparently, still having some concern for other human life, and being the closest to the women's door, was unaware that I was about to open the door to Aart (pronounced art). Out stumbled this bumbling man, thanking me for rescuing him from his mock injury, and promptly invited himself to sit at our table. Chris tried to introduce himself politely to "Aart with 2 A's", but was brushed off by him. Instead, Aart looked me straight in the eye, and asked in a dead pan voice- "how is your womb ma'am?" I started to look around to see if there were any cameras present, or any sign of a joke being played, but no, he really wanted to know the health of my womb. In a previous life, I'm sure I would have reacted harshly to such an odd question, but I was laughing so hard, that I couldn't really be mad at it. It wasn't really rude- just strange, and woefully inappropriate- oh yes, and funny.

Chris's reaction to the odd question was almost as funny as the question itself. He rolled his eyes, turned his head to laugh, and murmured under his breath an...uh oh...oops buddy, wrong question.... or something like that. So Aart's one-sided conversation took many interesting turns- 1st- that he was a musher from Fairbanks, 2nd- that he was a crab fisherman, 3rd- poet, and so on and so on. I sat motionless for nearly a half of an hour listening to the strange man in front of me. And, then... just as quickly as he'd started the rant, he turned his interests to another patron- an equally odd, openly gay military man who was wearing a lime green muscle shirt and tight black pants waiting for his partner to come pick him up. Needless to say, their conversation was even more odd than ours. I was glad to pass the torch to someone else. So, that ended our night, and we headed home shortly thereafter, shaking our heads and wondering what we had done to attract people like this. We seem to have it stamped on our forehead in large letters "odd people- welcome"

That's it for now- I'll write more later....

Vered...
(and Zev too)