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Viewpoints

Alaska Marine Highway
By Michael Nelson

 

February 21, 2008
Thursday


I was seriously considering taking my 6 year old daughter to Ketchikan and then out to Craig this coming summer so that she could meet friends and family. Having grown up in Ketchikan, I have been riding on the blue canoes since the days of the Wickersham, so nostalgia was driving my decision to take my daughter to Southeast on the AMHS. Yet, even before I started reading all of the letters regarding the AMHS, I did some date crunching and pricing and frankly realized that the AMHS was narrowing my window of opportunity and also pricing me right out of the trip.

Since, the so-called "bridge to nowhere" was torpedoed, the funding should have been used for the "ferries to somewhere." As a side note: Governor Palin, everyone in Southeast knows that your staffers read SITNEWS, so please take care of the Alaskans in Southeast!!

Begrudgingly, I gave up my plans to attend my 30th class reunion at Kayhi and to bring my daughter to my hometown of Ketchikan this summer, but not before I asked my daughter if she would like to see where Daddy grew up, or to go see Mickey Mouse in Anaheim. She made the choice that was easy for me.... and understandably, I knew what her answer would be before she even opened her mouth, so Alaska Airlines will get our business for the trip to Anaheim, and I will be left with my memories of the fun rides that I had on the blue canoes.

Oh yeah, it is raining cats and dogs today in Suva, reminds me of Ketchikan.

Michael Nelson
Suva, Fiji

 

Received February 18, 2008 - Published February 21, 2008

 

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