The choice of a lifetime

This is always what you might call an interesting time of year.

As usual the numbers for the state budget appear to be in flux even as the calendar suggests the time to decide is upon us. And the big number most people would like to pin down is the amount of the Permanent Fund dividend.

As of deadline time for this column the dividend checks appear likely to be somewhere between $2,600 and $4,200. And that would be on top of a $1,300 check for relief from high energy costs.

I was an English major in my college days so I can’t make any claim to understand the economic implications of such checks. All I can claim is an annual sigh of relief when the Permanent Fund deposit lands in my account.

Alaska is a great place to live because of its climate, its scenery, its many sunshiny days and its people, who are for the most part friendly and generally willing to help others. There are, of course, exceptions and the relatively few cranks can make life difficult for other people. But, overall, those who willingly commit themselves to life in the Far North do so because Alaska is one of the world’s better places to spend your time.

The sunshiny days are seasonal, of course, but a long string of them can make up for a lot of calendar-related mischief in the colder and darker days. There are many parts of the United States where the weather is often balmy and generally comfortable. And those who choose to live there are certainly welcome to do so. But I’ll gladly take what we have and can say I am privileged to live here because my wife likes the place, so we stay. Otherwise I would almost certainly be writing my columns somewhere far south of Alaska.

I chose her and she was an adventurous woman who liked the idea of life on the frontier, which I suggested with my fingers crossed. We came here in 1967 to work for The Anchorage Times, a decision I have never regretted. The Times is long gone, of course, but the tradition of journalistic life on the Last Frontier is filled these days by newspapers like the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Journalism is a worthy profession and good people still devote their working lives to it. I can’t and won’t fault those who are more interested in higher-paying professions in distant places. Those drawn to such work often spend their time struggling to earn enough money to pay for expensive educations and enjoyable vacations.

Those who do and are successful in the effort are generally to be commended. But my wife and I were drawn to the challenge of life in the Far North and are quite happy with our choice. Not everyone can make that claim and there are, of course, people for whom Alaska is not the right choice.

To those folks I say good luck with whatever you settle on. If you can wake up in the morning, look out your window and be glad you are in Alaska, you can hopefully tell yourself you did the right thing for yourself and the ones you love.

Tom Brennan is an Anchorage columnist and author of six books. He was a reporter/columnist for The Anchorage Times and an editor and columnist at The Voice of The Times.