...will be done.

   Many good people pray some variation of these three words every day, often at the start of the day so as to allow no other thing to come before. The intent for most is to dedicate each day and all that is done that day to the will of Our Lord. We have not the imagination of Our Lord and that leads us to difficulty, at times, discerning just how our workings in life promote the will of His Kingdom. We ponder the decisions to be made when faced with multiple paths in our life, not to mention the small daily choices we make from seemingly endless offers that present themselves. The challenge then becomes ours, to look into what life offers us and determine if our choices will or will not bring glory to the Kingdom of God.
   Now repeat the same three words as a statement. As a statement, "will be done." takes on a whole new resonance, doesn't it? These are words of action. And as a statement of faith, who do you think is to carry out that will here on earth? That's right, as Christians, you and I, him and her, them and us, we are all to be doing his will in our everyday actions. If what we do each day is good and true, it will only bring glory to God's Kingdom. However, if our actions have become something that we have to defend to others and explain to our own conscience, perhaps they are no longer bringing glory to God. Will was freely given to us by Him, along with an honest measure of reason, and it is put upon us to utilize both of them to promote His Kingdom. If, by chance, we are not seeing His Glory reflected back in the works we do, maybe it's time to ask if there is other work to be done elsewhere.

He Leads Me

   I suppose there are a lot of people who wander through life often wondering, as I have, how they came to find themselves in their particular circumstances. How do good people sometimes end up in bad places? I used to say that if I were left to my own devices, every day would be a good and happy day. Forever the optimist, I realized that other people played a major factor in how my day turned out. But still I wondered why I seemed to go 'against the grain' of most of my surroundings. The obvious reason, I surmised at a young age, was that I didn't chase the almighty dollar as hard as many do. But now I'm beginning to understand that it has been something much deeper than that. It has been more the fact that I value human life and existence above money and the things it enables us to acquire. My Lord and Savior graciously made me as I am and has attempted to lead me every day of my life since. The trouble I and a lot of others have seen has been when the will of mankind has interfered with the will of God, and led us elsewhere.

   Since coming to this awareness, I have made it a point of only going where God sends me each day.  Sometimes that still leads me 'against the grain' and makes me stand out, but so be it. As He leads me, I'm sure He attempts to lead others around me also. However, when this fails and I am not accepted, I am learning to more easily shake that dust from my sandals and move on, for there is always work to be done.

Too Much Credit

   It would appear that I have been given too much personal credit. No, I do not refer to my financial credit score, but rather to the credit mistakenly given to me by some when their well laid plans go awry. Not everything is my fault. The funny thing is that I often feel as though I have pretty much stumbled my way through this life in much the same way as the character Forrest Gump did in the movie of the same name, without much direction, yet a person of the times regardless. Again, like Forrest, my mere presence at certain times and events in the history of life does not make me solely responsible for each and every outcome that arises from an event. Indeed, I can tell you that I have tried on occasion to change the course of some things, only to be shown how powerless I am.
   However, I have learned that those things that I truly give up to God, He does wonderful work with. He has the power and ability to move the obstacles that I cannot even see before me. He demolishes walls that I previously struggled to cut a window into in my sometimes feeble attempts to shed light into darkness. I find that I am now content to move through my life with Him in charge, for my trust in the Lord's ways is reflected back to me in the security of His love.

The First Thanks

   On this eve of local events to commemorate the twenty years since Miller's Reach Wildfire, it is appropriate to give thanks where thanks is due. When writing of those past events I must give the first thanks to God, for with his mercy alone there was no loss of human life, despite the fact that in excess of 300 structure did burn.
   But there are more thanks to go around on this earth. We thank the firefighters who were so patient as they awaited their orders to move, so many of them staged right up the road in a large parking lot. Patient they were, even as we screamed at them from our vehicles as we passed by during evacuation, not understanding in our trauma why they were waiting to start. For them we owe both a thanks and an apology. I was not alone on that one, so I said we. Nor am I alone in the thanks I have for the trooper who directed a large group of families to take shelter in an empty but relatively safe residence across the water from our burning neighborhood.
   However, I do personally thank those who did what they had to do to move some of us toward the eventual lifesaving exit out of Big Lake and on to further refuge. Thanks not only to the operator of the inn up the road, who freely gave shelter until we were able to return to what what we had left, but for the refuge and goods provided our families from schools and churches throughout Wasilla.
   For me, much thanks must go to my boss at the time, Mr. K., for not until he began to make phone calls on Tuesday morning to advise his employees of the proximity of the fire was I aware of the danger. Again, no thanks would be complete at this time without a thank you to those of you who commandeered the fire truck nearest my home, previously garaged due to mechanical issues, and kept most of an entire community of homes from burning out. There a special thanks goes to the local musher who took the fall later for the act of 'breaking out' that truck for community use.
   I have many thanks for God that resources available at the time were allotted to our area, even though someone in authority balked at the idea, believing the area was "nothing but pot smokers" who possibly did not deserve the help. Our children thank those that did not listen to her to this day, often with their vote.
   My last thanks also goes to God for not allowing violence to break out between neighbors in our situation, especially in front of the children, tense as the moments got sometimes. It was His mercy that carried all of us safely through the times.

"Say goodnight, Hazel."

   As I recall, it was twenty years ago today, the first Saturday in that June, when my friend and fellow bartender, Hazel passed away. I'm sure I probably thought what I so often do when I hear a loved one has passed, that we can be thankful that their pain has ended and they will suffer no more in this life. Never has that thought been shown to me to be more true, more quickly than when Hazel died. Her death that Saturday meant that she did not witness the events of the days which followed, for it was just the next day that what soon became known as the Miller's Reach Wildfire got it's start. Hazel just missed out on the sight of fifty foot flames devouring her community, neighbors put in handcuffs in the enforcement of forced evacuation, shelter which was denied to families being then given over to a family wedding dress. I simply use three of my own memories from the experience as example, I'm certain Hazel would have had her own.
   The timing also meant that Hazel's death did not garner its proper respect at the time. If there was a service held in a timely manner, I was unaware of it. So, as was custom to me at the time, for one last time, I do say "Say goodnight, Hazel.".

But For Her

   "Mama always said..." was intended to be the title of this blog, however, those words were already taken in the sphere of blog titles. Therefore, I was forced to change the name to something that would just as appropriately reflect my intentions, which were to honor the memory of my mother. The posed question of "Who's your mother?" certainly represents her and the times she lived in. She had no fear of the 'on the spot correction' of children or adults. Indeed, she recognized that many adults still needed the lessons. The advice she handed on was often commonsense, unless you had not heard it before. Most who know me have heard me quote her more than once.
   In a time much simpler than we live in today, my mother was a teacher of children who loved her. The children she taught never doubted that she cared for them and wanted only the best for them. She would never knowingly allow harm come to one if she could do anything about it. I credit my mother in my life with many things, from my sense of empathy and compassion to my attitudes of justice and knowledge.
   This most recent Mother's Day I was very pleased to host my brother and his wife for their Alaskan vacation. We were thrilled over and over again by the glory of God that was expressed in the views we had, not only of wildlife but mountains, rivers and glaciers, views that are themselves subject to God's reign of the weather. But for our mother, I considered, we may not have been together at all, much less at the right time and place to see all that we had been shown.

Empty Spaces

   As you read the growing list of empty spaces that our legislature draws up as possible replacement housing for the Anchorage Legislative Information Office, it does cause one to wonder how in the world we Alaskan's got stuck with that albatross, elegant as it is, in the first place. The fact that there is all that empty space available seems to reflect badly on many realtors who missed their golden opportunity to provide more government space, as if they were asleep at their own wheel when the deal was being made. Or, was it that some of our trusted legislature very cunningly worked behind the backs of those at large who are the realtors of Anchorage, in addition to the good people of the state who voted them into office? Somewhere in the back of my mind I can't help but think that much of the deal concerning the LIO was alcohol related. I mean no pun by that, but literally, for to me it always had the same smell as that of the Alcohol Beverage Control moving to the port area of Anchorage after the successful lobbying to move ABC from the Department of Public Safety and place it under the Department of Commerce. Added to that is the aroma of an historical yet distressed piece of property, that was not selling in the market as the licensed liquor establishment it was known as, that was brought into the contract to remodel the pre-existing LIO building.
   If you consider it was some of the same legislators involved with both the departmental move of the ABC and the contract deal that has become our nightmare LIO, then it begins to make a corrupt kind of sense. At least the ABC did get moved into available empty space at the Atwood Building, so we can hope.

Missed Opportunities

   Even as Alaska searches for new revenue streams, it's possible that some will be led far astray by the denial of the DeVilbi of Matanuska- Susitna Borough. There's been a lot of hoopla about years of study and research done on their part into the costs and effects of cannabis and it's use. Where are their good meaning words and actions when it comes to alcohol? Now there is some death and destruction looking for a remedy. Only now is there any real research able to be done on the subject of cannabis in our country, with the more recent loosening of controls. In the past, most of the accredited research was coming out of the Israeli army. They even go so far as to prescribe it for PTSD in the military. And if the DeVilbi really want to learn, may I suggest they delve into some ancient study on the subject. 

   As I see it, one part of the state, the Matanuska side of the Mat-SuValley, is going to lose out on what is their natural branding right, had they not turned their noses up at it. What has been commonly known as Matanuska Thunder#@%& will unfortunately end up being produced only on the Susitna side of the Mat-Su Valley, theirs to exploit the brand familiarity. Unfortunately carrots aren't taxable at fifty bucks a pound.

Fifty People

   When I learned that the many super-pacs in our country were more or less controlled by the same fifty familial names we recognize, it came as no shock. Money runs politics. Certainly in my state of Alaska you are more likely to get your legislative updates from a member of the business and commerce sector. Besides, I had long been aware of how individual politicians were overly invested in what they consider to be the industrial complex that is our lives, be it our healthcare or the corrections system.
   As we see the disparity growing between how those that are 'with' are well treated and how those that are 'without' are continuously left without, it should come as no surprise to those super-pac fifty that Mr. Trump is doing so well as he is among the common man. Here is a man who has everything they have going for them, but unlike the fifty, rather than throw his money at the problem and attempt to hire others to do his will, this man uses his own money to get himself hired for the job. Some people look at him and think thats how they would aspire to be if they had his money. He really sets quite the example for others looking to make their world better, not just grow their own wealth.

People Know

   It was with great sadness that I received the recent news that there would be no federal agreement to prosecute Bill Allen for his part in the past sex trafficking that allegedly happened both here in the state of Alaska and elsewhere. I agree with the state that there is a case to be made, both in evidence and solid witness testimony. Our news reports in recent months have shown us that sex trafficking is a crime that is rampant today throughout our state, despite current law enforcement's best efforts. I believe that it is so rampant because nothing seems to have been done about it for decades. There has been little to no fear in the perpetrators mind because most good Alaskans don't recognize this crime in their midst. Most of our society doesn't recognize drug trafficking when it is conducted in front of them and they don't see this either.

   You may have noticed that this week was declared Crime Victims Rights Week in Alaska by Gov. Bill Walker,  even as our legislature struggles to find the right balance between the rights of victims and those of our incarcerated citizens. When it comes to sex trafficking, the most common victim that I have witnessed in this state has been female and she seldom, if ever, sees her evildoer (usually male) brought to justice. When I hear the statistics about how the growth in the female population of Alaska's correctional industry has surpassed the male population by leaps and bounds, I am not surprised by the fact. 

   In balancing the weight of individuals rights, one against the other, please remember that many criminals were first victims of crime themselves who saw no justice in their own life. Often times their rights were first tread upon and the people who knew did nothing.u

Dangerous Times

   There has been much upheaval in the construct of corruption in our society these past few years, and with that has come an unsettling amongst those who were impacted the most. I refer mainly to changes that have come about with both internet sophistication and awareness by the FCC, as well as to the internet savvy which the IRS apppeared to implement a couple years ago. These two forces alone have the ability to bring most of the ongoing criminal enterprise to a halt, but especially when it came to online gaming conducted under guise of non-profit websites. The monies interrupted there are committed to better purposes and deserve the respect these agencies provide.
   There are many criminal minds who depend on making their lucre regardless of the laws of either FCC or IRS, and no doubt these same minds will adapt soon enough, but for a period of time now there has had to be more cutthroat competition for the lucre which exists within our state. You may have noticed, as I did, that many of your gaming friends have moved out of state in the recent years. They can't manage to hide here any longer and the competition for lucre is now too great for them.
   What this does mean for the rest of us? Our money may be a bit safer for the moment, however our personal safety may be at risk even more, for now there are a lot more broke and irritated persons of criminal mindset in our midst.

"licensed premises"

   For those of you not familiar with the concept of "licensed premises" as it pertains to alcohol in the state of Alaska, let me give you some basics here. Licensed premise means any or all designated portions of a building or structure, rooms or enclosures in the building or structure, or real estate leased, used, controlled, or operated by a licensee in the conduct of business for which the licensee is licensed by the board at the specific address for which the license is issued. 

   In this state, where laws against public intoxication are practically non-existant, it is illegal to be intoxicated on a licensed premise. Tricky, right? You can see that the burden is placed on proprietors to serve responsibly, for there is no burden on the public to drink responsibly. The business owner has chosen this burden because it is lucrative. However, there is now the burden of a possibly intoxicated person being placed on the unsuspecting; be it another guest at the time, a driver on the road, or as we have seen too often, a family waiting at home. This unsuspecting public never chooses the burden that is so often thrust on them when things go wrong with alcohol.

   The public knows that a license is in place because it is posted prominently (along with all the other licenses, permits, and public notices that are required to be posted) where the business is conducted with the public. That is the little assurance provided to the general walk-in public of who is conducting the business at that premise. It assures us that the governing bodies are aware of and endorse the operation of that business at that site by that entity.

Big Brother

   My peers and I have spent many moments of our youth in great wonder and worry over the future of Big Brother and just what that would look like in our communities. Here's a glimpse of what it looks like in my neck of the woods.
   It was not many years ago that a prominent business person in my community was the victim of a lying in wait assault on a commercial property I owned at the time. There was an investigator assigned to the case and in speaking with him I advised that I had cameras both inside and outside the building, but he never made any attempt to view the footage. I had installed the cameras for reasons of safety and security of both employees and patrons. Since this was outside of any city limits, law enforcement was and is nonexistent. We can put cameras up all day long, and of course that is good for the economy, but we can't force anyone to pay attention.
   However, I did see in the news that our Mat-Su Borough has taken the initiative to install cameras on some local contractor's worksite. This occurred only after they had both been cited by OSHA.
   Who's afraid of Big Brother now?

Conservative Irony

   The irony of some people calling themselves conservative is laughable to a truly conservative person like myself. In my decades as a bartender in Alaska I have often been the most conservative one in the room, you can imagine. But my conservativism made it easier for me to apply the rules of liquor service in a beverage dispensary setting. I've often wondered why it was that, throughout my career, I was told, after I had discontinued service to an individual, that I was the only bartender who had ever cut them off. I had heard it from so many guests, sometimes quite elderly, that I was left with one nagging question. Am I the only one that ever refuses to sell someone a drink?
   That question was practically answered for me a few years ago, by the offspring of a guest of mine from the past. This adult child explained that their parent had finally ended up sober, in prison for vehicular manslaughter. At that point, they began to identify me to their family as the only friend they ever had, for I was the only one in their life that had ever refused to sell them a drink.
   Now, I am just one conservative person with my own conservative thoughts, but it would seem to me that if there had been one good conservative lawyer in the business of alcohol representation, I might not have had this experience. Bartenders all over this state would have been refusing service to many guests. I imagine, also, that the people of my great state would not be nearly as oppressed, as so many are, by their life experiences with this legal drug.
   The biggest irony is that the lawyer who had had the most input, dare I say the "go to" lawyer in our alcohol industry, now claims to be a conservative running for mayor of Anchorage, complete with the endorsements of both current and past mayors support. I haven't checked the records, but I'm pretty certain some of those endorsers have a stake in a liquor license here and there.

Confidence Games

   Many people alive today are not familiar with the fact that much of our personal security measures mandated in federal law were in part based on the existence of 'con men' as they were called then, short for confidence men. The reference relates to the actions of gaining a persons confidence long enough to gather the information they require to operate their game. In the last century of American culture they had begun to make 'marks' out of much of the disabled and disadvantaged of our society, because their friendship and confidence were so easily gained. Progressive people have sought ways, through law and legislation, to protect those whom needed it the most. These con's operate a criminal life on the backs of some of the neediest of our neighbors and loved ones and they continue today.

   However, there is a side to the con game that some are not aware of that affects our culture as much or sometimes even more, in this information age. That is the withholding of information from the general public who could benefit, while making sure that those they want to have the information are provided it in a timely manner. The information is now the confidence that is kept. We complain, at times, about lousy news reporting, for we know that there are always lots of things going on, but no media reports all the information for delivery to the public. More and more information is being held close to the vest, as they say. Confidence games are alive and well, especially with some of our politicians. 

When Whispers Are The Loudest

   If there is one thing I've certainly learned in my life, it is that the whispers are the loudest voices in our subconscious. Why is it that a person can be subjected to many people with many voices throughout the day, yet, when the day gets quiet again, the voices that linger are the whispers you heard throughout the day, rather than those who were yelling at you? Maybe it's just me, but working with the public has taught me to listen closely for the whispers, for there lie the things some people want to keep to themselves, when the same information could be advantageous to all, if they were to hear it.

Name Recognition

   I understand some people are spending a lot of money to make sure their favorite candidate names are recognized in the upcoming mayoral election in Anchorage. I say names because, for some people, that's all they are. We, especially in the Mat-Su Valley really don't know you personally. For those of you who don't travel in the circles it would take to know these people, let me give you some free advice.

   The one they call Dan Coffey has made his name in alcohol litigation, typically on the corporate side of things. What that translates to, by definition, is that he has most often stood against the good people of this state in courtrooms for decades. If he had wanted to make a better impact on society and the status of crime that Anchorage experiences now, he has not shown that in his works of the past. He was even the attorney of record back when Rumrunner's was found to be building another bar downstairs without securing a permit first. That event alone, which was prior to the famous assault on premise that eventually led to the closing of Rumrunner's, seemed like a no-go for Alcohol 101. Seeing as how they haven't quite given corporations a vote in Anchorage yet, it is still up to the voters to help themselves and their neighbors by doing the right thing when casting their ballots. 

   Speaking of your neighbors, for those who wonder about the newfound support in the valley for rival Amy Demboski, I myself was foolish enough to think I was the only one in the valley getting the prank campaign calls being made in her name. I thought perhaps I should contact her campaign team to alert them, but I didn't. I wonder if APOC knows.

Opening Acts

   From the outside looking inward to Anchorage, many rural people get a good laugh out of what goes on within that municipality. For many years now I have heard the adulterated slang Anchuragua used to describe it, especially out in the Mat-Su Valley. It seemed to me at the time that most of it was payback for being called valley trash. However, I would then caution people not to laugh, my experience has been that whatever happened in Anchorage, unlike Vegas, soon enough spreads throughout this entire state. Now, most of the folks in this valley live rural because they like it that way, but you can be sure that living rural presents different challenges that residents in a first class city like Anchorage could not imagine. I also know that many valley residents shy away from the public processes that go on around them. We must stop looking at everything as politics and look at it as you are stepping up for your friends that can't do so for themselves. It is up to us, as a borough, to fight for ourselves to bring our rural perspectives to the forefront of the discussions that will eventually affect all Alaskans.

   I might add, that if you think you know state politics because you closely keep up with the Legislative sessions, you know not. It was not in Juneau that I learned that the building they gutted for the new Legislative Information Office in Anchorage had been available for sale only two years earlier for a million and change. If you truly care for this state, keep an close eye on Anchorage. There lie the opening acts of whatever politics are to come for the rest of us, scattered throughout this great state as we are.

 

The Price of Free Drinks

   Why is it that what society recognizes so readily in one industry it refuses to see in another? Many good people are aware that the street drug dealers often give away product to entice new or reluctant clients to those habits. We see this for what it is and consider it to be one of the ills of their trade. It's a form of preying on the the addicted in our neighborhoods, especially when they are vulnerable and often trying hard to stay clean. For this reason, if we were to assess a sin tax to drugs it would be wiser to tax the product at wholesale rather than at retail, for that is where most of the actual sin is taking place. The drug dealer is not ill, as is the addict. The dealer is greedy and makes his money taking advantage of the ill.

   By the same token, it seems that a sin tax on alcohol would work better at the wholesale level rather than the retail. Alaska is reported at some of the highest tax rates on alcohol in the country, yet we see little evidence of the money helping the peoples situation. Many alcoholics work in the industry for their access to alcohol, just as a drug addict may work for the dealer. If licensees were taxed at wholesale instead of at retail, in my opinion, it would eliminate a lot of loose or free alcohol in between. However we have been taxing has not helped the people of this state, only the wholesalers.

Best and Worse of Years in One

   It's been decades since I've seen my country in this much social turmoil.
   Like a lot of others, I had those high hopes for change several years ago, but those hopes have long since been dashed. This man of such Nobel peace that I thought he had the potential of bringing all our nation together abandoned the ideology of forward thinking that, in my opinion, brought him to office. He let valuable time pass without addressing himself to the upcoming youth of our country. Had he been as aggressive in that area as I had hoped at the time, I like to imagine he may well have inspired many of todays young men in such a timely fashion that a particular child of yesterday did not grow to the age he did, only to be shot down in the streets of Ferguson, MO in the manner he did this past year.
   Despite that, my own state appears to have made some great strides towards the respect we would think all peoples garnered. My once choice for Governor is instead the Lt. Governor, with a position to make a difference in all our lives. Our new Governor has made some key appointments in departments that have an enormous effect on the quality of life of so many Alaskans, like Health and Social Services and Corrections. Last year also saw a new Director appointed to the Alcohol Beverage Control agency that seems not to be a mere figurehead. She apparently understands that documentation is not enforcement. Documentation does not save lives, enforcement does. Between that agency and the aforementioned two departments alone, what an impact these appointments have on our society. For starters, perhaps we can stop treating "those people" worse than we treat "those animals" in our society.