We started traveling, exploring and volunteering for National Parks, US Fish & Wildlife and non-profit private bird and wildlife centers in 2008 and we're still on the road enjoying every minute!
Having lived on Kodiak for four years, you should know that there are people who live there for a very long time and never see a bear. You were there for three days, idiots. In addition, your disparaging comments about my other home are nasty, disrespectful, and just plain fucking rude. Who the fuck do you think you are? You should just keep your lame asses down in the lower 48. Oh, and if you really want to see a bear so fucking badly, go to a zoo. Assholes.
How very sad that you were unable to embrace the wonderful people of Kodiak. Instead, you ridiculed those you had never met and photographed those you knew nothing about. Never judge a person by their appearance, especially in Kodiak. Those "Darryl and Darryls, could very well have Ivy League educations with a net worth of millions. You sir, need to close your mouth and open your eyes. If you had, you may have even seen a bear.
Jeez, "bite me," lighten up. If you had read the whole post you'd have noticed the poor guy admitted he didn't really know the score about bears when he came to Kodiak, but he did educate himself once he was here. He says he didn't really understand the island was so big, so roadless, and that the bears were not wandering around downtown, until he got here. What's so idiotic about that? As for yourself, perhaps fortune will smile on Kodiak and you will go back to wherever he came from four years ago. Hopefully soon.
To the NTA bloggers- I've lived in Kodiak for three decades, not four years, and I apologize for this "bite me" person, whoever he or she is, for being pretty un-Alaskanly unfriendly. I hope the people you met in person in Kodiak not so rude. It also seems that if "bite me," got out and started digging Kodiak the way you did it might improve his mood.
It sounds like you saw Kodiak with a genuine sense of wonder, which far outweighs any ignorance you might have had about the island and the bears.
Oh, and those Russians you saw and took pictures of? They actually are "Old Beleivers," a sect of Russian Orthodoxy whose ancestors left Russia when the Commies took over in 1918 and lived in various countries for decades trying to maintain their Orthodox faith and liestyle until they came to Alaska in the 1960s. The original Russians who colonized Alaska in the 1700s left when the U.S. bought it in 1867. They left a lot of their blood in the local indgenous people, the Aluttiq, which is why we have a lot Russian names in the phone book. But the Russians you saw on the dock are fairly new here.
Thanks, Joshua for your comments. Your response to our blog is reflective of the vast majority of Alaskan’s we’ve met during the first two months of our four month work/travel journey here. Your remarks are representative of their pride in this incredibly vast and beautiful state and hospitality in sharing it with visitors; tolerant of newcomers’ misconceptions and willing to educate those of us who are genuinely interested in a better understanding of Alaska’s birds, wildlife, topography and history. It is in the same manner we endeavor to welcome visitors to our home state of New Mexico. I especially appreciated your clarification of the more recent immigration of Russian Old Believers to Alaska in contrast to the influences of earlier Russian settlers/fur traders. (In recent reading of Michener’s Alaska I found a good overview of that early history with the Aluttig.)
My reflections on our brief stay in Kodiak were intended to chide myself on expectations re. bears based on childhood experience - something friends and family; those who generally read this blog, would find amusing. The photograph of the Russian women and child on the dock were taken in response to their beauty. After their boarding, we visited and then slept in adjacent seats on the night crossing to Homer. Remarks about the disparity in old order dress and language vs use of modern devices such as cell phone text messaging was observation, not commentary, no disrespect was intended. Similarly my photograph of the two men reflected their posture in a moment in time which stimulated an association with actors on the wonderful Bob Newhart Show, not a judgement of the individuals. To the contrary, we have been impressed by Alaskan’s value of who an individual is, not who they seem to be in conformity to some consumer image.
Finally I want to clarify that I, not Erv, am the author of the Kodiak blog entry. Sandra
Dear Mr. "Bite me" ...may I call you bite? I found your comments interesting. Not many can call someone else disrespectful and -------rude in the same sentence. It's lonely mean spirited peole like you who ruin the internet for everyone else. Your comments were painful to my partner Sandra who posted the blog with no malice intended. I still wish I could see a bear. Preferably chasing you through the beautiful Sitka forest on "your" island. Have a nice day.
off2fish, thank you for your thoughtful comments, Sandra and I agree we were not fair to the people in the photos. We deserved to be chastised. The Old Believers were photographed with respect and admiration that in this day and age they are able to hold on to their beliefs. As for the Darryls, it just appeared to be a comic moment and reminiscent of th old Newhart show. I'm sure you are right about them. I asked Sandra to take the shot.Joshua, thanks for the support. People like you and "Bite Me" add to my belief that Alaska is a land of polar opposites.I hope more gravitate to your pole.
6 comments:
Having lived on Kodiak for four years, you should know that there are people who live there for a very long time and never see a bear. You were there for three days, idiots. In addition, your disparaging comments about my other home are nasty, disrespectful, and just plain fucking rude. Who the fuck do you think you are? You should just keep your lame asses down in the lower 48. Oh, and if you really want to see a bear so fucking badly, go to a zoo. Assholes.
How very sad that you were unable to embrace the wonderful people of Kodiak. Instead, you ridiculed those you had never met and photographed those you knew nothing about. Never judge a person by their appearance, especially in Kodiak. Those "Darryl and Darryls, could very well have Ivy League educations with a net worth of millions. You sir, need to close your mouth and open your eyes. If you had, you may have even seen a bear.
Jeez, "bite me," lighten up. If you had read the whole post you'd have noticed the poor guy admitted he didn't really know the score about bears when he came to Kodiak, but he did educate himself once he was here. He says he didn't really understand the island was so big, so roadless, and that the bears were not wandering around downtown, until he got here. What's so idiotic about that? As for yourself, perhaps fortune will smile on Kodiak and you will go back to wherever he came from four years ago. Hopefully soon.
To the NTA bloggers- I've lived in Kodiak for three decades, not four years, and I apologize for this "bite me" person, whoever he or she is, for being pretty un-Alaskanly unfriendly. I hope the people you met in person in Kodiak not so rude. It also seems that if "bite me," got out and started digging Kodiak the way you did it might improve his mood.
It sounds like you saw Kodiak with a genuine sense of wonder, which far outweighs any ignorance you might have had about the island and the bears.
Oh, and those Russians you saw and took pictures of? They actually are "Old Beleivers," a sect of Russian Orthodoxy whose ancestors left Russia when the Commies took over in 1918 and lived in various countries for decades trying to maintain their Orthodox faith and liestyle until they came to Alaska in the 1960s. The original Russians who colonized Alaska in the 1700s left when the U.S. bought it in 1867. They left a lot of their blood in the local indgenous people, the Aluttiq, which is why we have a lot Russian names in the phone book. But the Russians you saw on the dock are fairly new here.
Thanks, Joshua for your comments. Your response to our blog is reflective of the vast majority of Alaskan’s we’ve met during the first two months of our four month work/travel journey here. Your remarks are representative of their pride in this incredibly vast and beautiful state and hospitality in sharing it with visitors; tolerant of newcomers’ misconceptions and willing to educate those of us who are genuinely interested in a better understanding of Alaska’s birds, wildlife, topography and history. It is in the same manner we endeavor to welcome visitors to our home state of New Mexico. I especially appreciated your clarification of the more recent immigration of Russian Old Believers to Alaska in contrast to the influences of earlier Russian settlers/fur traders. (In recent reading of Michener’s Alaska I found a good overview of that early history with the Aluttig.)
My reflections on our brief stay in Kodiak were intended to chide myself on expectations re. bears based on childhood experience - something friends and family; those who generally read this blog, would find amusing. The photograph of the Russian women and child on the dock were taken in response to their beauty. After their boarding, we visited and then slept in adjacent seats on the night crossing to Homer. Remarks about the disparity in old order dress and language vs use of modern devices such as cell phone text messaging was observation, not commentary, no disrespect was intended. Similarly my photograph of the two men reflected their posture in a moment in time which stimulated an association with actors on the wonderful Bob Newhart Show, not a judgement of the individuals. To the contrary, we have been impressed by Alaskan’s value of who an individual is, not who they seem to be in conformity to some consumer image.
Finally I want to clarify that I, not Erv, am the author of the Kodiak blog entry. Sandra
Dear Mr. "Bite me" ...may I call you bite? I found your comments interesting. Not many can call someone else disrespectful and -------rude in the same sentence. It's lonely mean spirited peole like you who ruin the internet for everyone else. Your comments were painful to my partner Sandra who posted the blog with no malice intended. I still wish I could see a bear. Preferably chasing you through the beautiful Sitka forest on "your" island. Have a nice day.
off2fish, thank you for your thoughtful comments, Sandra and I agree we were not fair to the people in the photos. We deserved to be chastised. The Old Believers were photographed with respect and admiration that in this day and age they are able to hold on to their beliefs. As for the Darryls, it just appeared to be a comic moment and reminiscent of th old Newhart show. I'm sure you are right about them. I asked Sandra to take the shot.Joshua, thanks for the support. People like you and "Bite Me" add to my belief that Alaska is a land of polar opposites.I hope more gravitate to your pole.
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