Haines, Alaska

After 14 long weeks of anxiously awaiting my passport (imagining, of course, that I must be on a list, of sorts, with an accompanying black file, for some dissenting blog posts and certain past experiences long ago that may, or may not, deem me unfit to, uh, travel?) it finally arrived yesterday. And if you think, perhaps, that when you scroll down you will be treated to my terrible passport photo, you are mistaken.

Coincidentally, yesterday was also Jerry’s birthday. I’m not quite sure why this is a coincidence, except that Jerry helped to open up an entire universe to me, which I had explored a bit pre-Jerry, but not quite to the depths as I did a la “The Dead scene.” And over the many years, I have distanced myself from that very scene for various reasons, but have come back around to looking upon my memories of those experiences as good life lessons. And mostly fun, with many adventures along the way. I am hoping that my new passport will help to facilitate the opening of more new and profound universes of which I have yet to discover.

Speaking of, my sweets and I leave for Vancouver in a couple of weeks. Then, on to Alaska and into Denali. I am salivating right now just thinking about it. Seriously. While I have spent almost two months living in a tent in the sweet town of Haines, Alaska 16 years ago, it seems like that was another lifetime. (oh, my Alaska comrades, where are you now? How I wish I knew…) And I never did make it into the interior of this magnificent land.

But I did meet some very interesting Haines folk. At this very moment, while creating this post, I found one of them. Tony Tengs is a bit like Willy Wonka, and has owned the Chilkat Chocolate Blanket Company (of which I was one of the singers for their local radio spot) since 1990. I have just learned that the shop moved from Haines to Juneau, but that his sister still runs the family restaurant started by his parents called The Pioneer Bar and Bamboo Room Restaurant. I was a proud dishwasher there for a short spell; a young lass in need of some quick cash.

Moot, Meisha, Tony, and a sweet boy from the Netherlands whose name I can’t remember, in front of the Haines Chocolate Blanket shop

How I long to see those kindred souls again, along with the Northern Lights. I also remember Gordon, a man who plays the stand-up bass and built his own home and ran the radio station in Haines and made me one of the best mixed tapes ever which included Mose Allison, whom I hadn’t heard of until he gave me that gift of a tape.

Nostalgia is an amazing, beautiful, tricky, prickly phenomonon, and I am stricken with it. Godspeed to all, until we meet again.

And in the spirit of sharing at least one semi-embarassing photo of myself…

Meisha, Moot, and a very young Me (what alliteration!)