08 August 2007

Alaskan Man

There's this guy at work who exudes the external air of an old-timer Alaskan male. He's got a beard half way down his chest, grizzled and gray, he exudes a grumpy sort of air, wears scruffy clothes and makes jokes about his grandson cutting wood for the teachers some day instead of bringing them apples. You know what else? He crochets. That's right, huge beautiful rugs (& he'll sell you one if you beg). If you met him you would be floored by this fact, it would be the absolute last thing you would ever expect this man to do. Run a trap line? Build a cabin from scratch? Drink too much too often? Curse the rabble (whoever they are)? These are all things you would expect of him just from the view. This, I think, is what makes him a typical Alaskan: he's quirky in unexpected ways.

7 comments:

  1. Crocheting? Who'd a thunk it. I guess if you look closely,most of us have an interest that is uncharacteristic of our stereotype, but we have a habit of not looking beneath a person's surface.

    Quirky is cool.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello there! Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I'm glad to find you here. I am certainly learning things about Alaska (and seals, and orcas and....). I'll be back!

    ReplyDelete
  3. he's hot, right? he's quirky alaskan hot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ms chica ~ yep! At least the most interesting people do (in my opinion).

    painted maypole ~ glad to hear it!

    jen ~ yup. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aaah, cursing the rabble. One of my favourite pass-times. That and sitting on my front porch yelling at the neighbor's kids to stay off my lawn.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How cool, I love stories like this. I wish I could sit near him for a while and just get to know him.

    ReplyDelete
  7. irrelephant ~ yelling at the neighbor's kids might consitute cursing at the rabble :) How else does one keep up the cantankerous fascade?

    dj kirby ~ yeah, he's great.

    ReplyDelete

Please leave your messages here...I am always delighted to have comments!