Well certainly a mover anyway, but shaker? Depends on who you ask. In any case, I want to say I really (really) mean it this time – this move will put us at the finish line. Barring something truly extraordinary and unforeseen, we will never again move our primary home. Nine times in thirty-eight years is quite enough, thank you, and that doesn’t include two short term residences and moves. And lest anyone doubt my fondness for Alaska, let this history disabuse that once and for all. Alas, as I part ways with Anchorage, AK for the final time tomorrow morning, I don’t have mixed emotions, I’m grateful for what this place has meant to my professional and personal life, and at the same time I am excitedly looking forward to many new experiences. The last time I left AK in ’05, for good I had thought at the time, I blogged my feelings this way, and you know what, I feel exactly the same way eighteen years later…
I want to say goodbye to you, old friend. We will miss your glacial green rivers and streams, both womb and grave to your world class salmon. We will miss your lush forests in the south and your barren landscapes to the north. We will miss the peace and majesty of your mountain peaks, your lush green valleys and magical blue glaciers, the peerless variety and abundance of your wildlife, your midnight sun and dark cold winter nights. We will miss even your tempests, your restless quakes and volcanic ash, the bore tide, the hoar frost, and the dazzle of northern lights. We will never forget you. Keep yourself safe, your population spare, forever stay carved by wildness. Reveal your subterranean secrets to those who show you respect. Shun all others, scatter their probes, and forever hold tight your mysteries. Listen to Raven and always remain the Last Frontier.
We shall return to visit you, old friend. Until then, be well and take care of yourself. The time has come for us to move on down the road.
Because surely you understand: Beaten Paths Are For Beaten Men