I read this yesterday while I was at work and was simultaneously captivated and stunned and confused by the story. I found myself stopped at numerous points and just staring, gape mouthed, with thousands of micro-thoughts rushing through my mind. I have so many questions but I have yet to be able to formulate any of them beyond a "What.?" and "How?" I suppose when you are left with very few options, you can make otherwise outrageous decisions.

Maybe I'll revisit this in a couple days. My mind is really still processing it all.

I went to Alaska with my family when I was 8 or 9. We drove all over - Juno, Anchorage, Fairbanks, a little cabin in the woods where my mother gave me a lesson about decomposition via a dead log and fox that was behind the cabin. All I remember from the trip is that there were bald eagles, I had my own brand-spanking-new pair of binoculars, and there was a sweet fair with rides in Fairbanks. My brother and I went on the UFO one that spins you so you're stuck to the edge over and over and over again. An older boy managed to crawl near the center and we were enamored by him.

Last summer my brother lived and played baseball in Alaska for 3 months. As I had just started my first real job and was still broke, I never made it up there. I wish I had. He recently told me stories about drunk locals, the insane cultural difference, shooting guns, fishing, and the wild expanse of the state. I know my parents have a ton of airline miles on Alaska that I can use so maybe I'll go up there again in Spring.