Letters to the Editor 26 June 2004 It’s always alarming to find oneself taken to task in The Ester Republic’s Letters column, even when it is done as gracefully as Mark Schubauer did to me (regarding my essay “Duty” from TER v. 6, no. 5) in the last issue. The immediate question that comes to mind is, Was what I said wrong-headed or merely wrongly written? Well, obviously I didn’t write clearly enough. A specific phrase to which Mr. Schubauer took exception, “Dave was not like most of us...” is in a sentence that ends with stating he “is career military.” More men and women who have made a lifetime commitment to serving in the nation’s armed forces may indeed be living in Ester and environs, but I think they are not numerous enough to constitute “most of us.” The intent was to provide a crucial descriptor, but not one weighted with the implicit moral superiority and separation ex-Mayor Mark evidently detected; unique we all inarguably are. Similarly, he apparently understands that I was attempting to speak for Dave Hyland, or at least so I interpret his urging the Republic’s writers “to resist the impulse to speak for anyone other than themselves.” In that essay, Dave spoke for himself in the opening quote, regarding his canceling his Republic subscription; thereafter it’s one of my typical ego-first, this-is-how-I-see-it bits of writing. That is, I thought he did the right thing, and went on at length to say why I thought so—not at all the same thing as putting words in his mouth, nor anyone else’s. (I am quite sure I do not think the way ex-Mayor Dave does, and expect I may well hear from him at length about some of those differences when he gets back from the war zone; in fact, I am looking forward to the lecture.) Something like the views I expressed can be (and have been) heard in Ester’s post office, bars, and park, but so have extremely different ones. I do have great faith that if my friends and neighbors find that the shoe of ideas I have crafted doesn’t fit, they won’t wear it. (Of course, like all opinion-mongers, I hope that my essays can change a few minds.) So that is the position from which I thought I was writing, and regret that what came across was—at least to some readers—judgmental and unpleasant. I shall try to write better next time, and thank Mr. Schubauer for trying to guide me toward improvement. As ever, Carla Helfferich
June 28, 2004 Governor Murkowski seems obsessed with tapping the Permanent Fund, and dead set against openly discussing standardizing oil revenues. Maybe it’s coincidental that Murkowski protects oil companies that contributed to his past campaigns. It’s difficult to watch him groping at the Permanent Fund when he’s helped to maintain oil revenues that are less than half those of other oil-producing countries. He accepted contributions from oil companies, then maintains sweetheart deals for those same companies, at a cost to his own constituency; ethically questionable.... Frank should remember we’re not ‘Bank of the North,’ and he’d be wise to read Article 8, sections 1 and 2 of the state constitution concerning managing our resources. He claims that we’re broke. The only reason that we're ‘broke’ is that he continues giving away our resources at bargain prices to companies that spend a pittance of their profits making sure they continue to fatten on Alaska’s oil trough. Some say “Alaskans don't pay taxes, and we’re naive of the costs of government;” nonsense!! Alaska’s citizens own Alaska’s subsurface minerals, and revenues from oil were supposed to meet our administrative needs. Persons curious about comparisons between Alaska’s oil revenues, versus other countries’ revenues, can go to http://www.recallmurkowski.com/ and read “Squandering Our Resources.” Our representatives have favored those who helped cultivate their political careers at our expense.
June 28, 2004 Wendy and I would like to thank the community of Ester for all the help and support they have given us since my accident. Special thanks to Nancy Gundlach for letting me stay at her wonderful home for a few days, and to the Deadly Dipnetting Dudes who were kind enough to get my load of salmon for me. We also profusely thank Ron, the cook at Paxson Lodge; Ray, a local EMT, Doc, Jeff, Don and the rest of the Gulkana Hatchery crew; the ambulance guys from Glennallen (Copper River EMS); and most importantly, the crew of the MAST helicopter from the 68th Medical Company at Fort Wainwright who risked their lives to come and get me. I’ll never forget how relieved I was upon hearing that chopper coming in. I’m not quite up for it yet but when I can I’d like to throw a barbecue for all these guys. The fractured vertebrae looks like it’s healing nicely and barring any unforeseen incidents, trips, falls, accidents, or overzealous back slapping by well-meaning friends (pay attention Frank!), should mend nicely. The crushed discs were fortunately pushed away from the spinal cord and with a little more luck may not cause too much of a problem in the future. I’m not having a whole lot of pain unless I’ve been more active than I should be, and so far my personal best has been 24 hours without any pain meds. So, thank you all again for all the good thoughts, drum beating, prayers and energy directed my way. It all must have worked because the doc’s can’t believe how fast I’m mending. All that being said, I’d like to share what I’ve learned by this. Strap your damn ramps down! I’m usually Mr. Cautious when playing in the backcountry and although I didn’t like the way I set up the ramp, I did think twice about it and thought it would be OK. It was only when I coasted back a little to line up the 4-wheeler better that it got me. Had the ramp been strapped down this would not have happened. Since the accident I’ve talked to lots of people who have had near misses loading or unloading machines and indeed I’ve done it thousands of times without strapping the ramp down. This was an extremely bad way to learn this lesson and the two minutes it would have taken me to strap in the ramp sure would have been worth it. So, save yourself the pain of getting hurt and the humiliation of being stupid like me and strap those ramps down! Chuck & Wendy
July 8, 2004 The piece written in response to Dave Hyland’s e-mail was excellent. [“Duty,” by Carla Helfferich, The Ester Republic, v. 6 n. 5] Thank you,
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