Some of the best cinematic quotes of my generation have come from the former Governor of California—the Austrian Oak himself—Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Come with me if you want to live." "I'll be back." "It's not a tumor!" Even in his 1977 documentary, Pumping Iron, he commanded a line with a certain panache that asserted himself as the chiseled actor that every little kid wanted to see on the big screen. "Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer." But it is the movie Predator where Arnold furiously yelled, "Get to da choppa!" that I recalled when the helicopter from Tanalian Aviation touched down to greet me at the Knik River Lodge.
Read MoreLiving in Alaska has its advantages...and its disadvantages. Wildlife, pristine landscapes, and the allure of the Last Frontier—all advantages. But like most transplants that have moved to Alaska, family is far away. That became very apparent several years ago.
I try and talk to my parents at least once or twice a week. Typically, I give them a ring after work as I'm trying to meander through traffic on the Glenn Highway. 50,000 cars on a 2-lane highway all trying to make it home before the next episode of the Voice. Several years ago, however, I received a phone call from my mother on the way home that forever changed my family. My uncle, mom's brother, had fallen in his house and was in critical condition. This was one of those times living in Alaska that proved disadvantageous.
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