Solitude

One of the things I've always been most fearful of is being alone. I never thought that would be an issue in an urban situation. I live in Alaska, yet I also live in a neighborhood that is situated along a very busy road. The fact that we are also located at the intersection of this busy road and one of two entrances to an "exclusive" community complete with a neighborhood association is a subject that causes much thought for me.

There are RULES! Great!

You can't park you vehicle on the side of the street; your motorcycle in the drive-way unless it's summer,(what's that in Alaska; about two months?!)or your RV/travel trailer. If your fence blows down due to 80+ mile an hour winds; they expect you to at least remove the frozen to-the-ground-debris and stack inside your remaining fence-line so as not to offend the other home-owners. If you don't, the neighborhood hooligans will toss them unceremoniously into aforementioned busy road for shits-n-giggles. Having no fence on the corner of this corner lot means less privacy and more traffic noise from the much traveled road and a considerable increase in traffic noise. Have I mentioned that everyone who uses this road seems to have a four wheel drive TRUCK with a HEMI, that sounds like a semi with a souped-up exhaust system, a boom-bass stereo, and an amplified jake-brake system? Kinda brings a whole new light to that "Life is a Hi-way" thang! Yet; you can very well host a moose in your side-yard, and there have been bears sighted in the walking path just below our house. Those things are cool, and what one might expect in this neck of the woods.

Neat! Fun!

Did I mention that I spend a lot of time alone? Right! All of this traffic noise bugs the crap out of me! Not what I would have thought Alaska would hold for an Outside Greenhorn like me! (Outside=Not in/from Alaska)

Living in an urban environment such as Anchorage/Eagle River, I never would have imagined the difficulty in forming friendships. Not so. I know virtually no-one on my street. Great! I still get the "Where are you frum" query when going about my everyday activities. I've lived here over a year; after residing in Valdez, Alaska for two years. I actually loved living in Valdez; Anchorage-not so much. I may as well live off Copper and Wyoming in Albuquerque!

In all of my life, I've never felt so isolated. My kids are far away; my friends are far away; K. works shift work: I think my pets are growing tired of my constant prater.

Can't say that I blame them: so am I.

Come on Spring!