Category Archives: Opinion Piece

May 16, 2021 · 6:54 pm

Talkeetna Lodging — The Good, the Bad (and the REALLY ugly)


The view from behind Susitna River Lodging

Special bonus blog article this week. In fact, you could call it a PSA (Public Service Announcement). Ursula and I just returned this past Saturday from a trip to Seattle and Anchorage. While based in Anchorage we rented a car and drove north to Talkeetna to view Denali.

Ursula enjoying Susitna River Lodging

So, what’s so special about that, you ask? While in Talkeetna on Wednesday, 12 May 2021, we ran into the inn keeper from hell, which I shall cover in depth during the second half of this article. Until then, just as a teaser, when was the last time you got the third degree on your political leanings, “failed” the test, and were instructed to move on? No. I’m not joking, as you’ll see shortly.

Susitna Views

But first let’s talk about the “Good”. After we were told to take our business elsewhere, we tried the lovely Susitna River Lodging establishment, where we were pleasantly greeted by a charming lady at the front desk. I assume this was Darlene Hunter, as the owners are listed as Howard and Darlene Hunter. The reason I make this assumption is because the next morning at checkout we had a wonderful visit with her equally charming visiting brother Jerry and his equally wonderful wife Pam. During this chat we made what I suspect may be lifelong friends, as we exchanged contact information and vowed to stay in touch.

What started out as a quick “Hi-and-Goodbye“ turned into an extended chat that must’ve lasted well over an hour, perhaps even closer to two.

Susitna River Lodging office

Sprinkled throughout this part of my two-part lodging review are photos not only of the cabins, but also the Susitna River which flowed just behind our cabin (Cabin #2). Along the river we snapped a few photos of the mountains to the north hoping the tall one was Denali. Alas, it was not, but we captured that view later in our journey.

Our Susitna River Lodging Cabin #2

The cabin was comfortable, clean, and inviting. As inviting as the people who own it and their relatives, I’m sure. Initially the cabin was on the cold side, but it warmed up quickly.

Another Susitna River Lodging cabin

Views from the cabin:

We cannot recommend this place highly enough. Especially in comparison to . . .

The Lodging from Hell. . .

. . . which cowers behind the alias Denali Fireside Cabins & Suites.

Denali Fireside Cabins & Suites

We drove up to office, which had a lighted “Open” sign outside, but a “Closed” card sign in the window. Unsure of what was what, we rang the doorbell. After a few minutes Donald Louis Devore (I looked up this clown later; I now assume “Devore” is an alias for “DimWit”) entered the office through a side doorway, then opened the main entrance to the masked Doug and Ursula. I’m assuming the facemasks may have been the initial trigger here, but who knows? It might have been Ursula’s Swiss accent that set off this small-minded bigot.

The conversation among the three of us went something along the lines of:

  • Me: We were wondering if you had anything available for one night?
  • DimWit: I’ll check.
  • Ursula, looking at some craftwork in the lobby: That’s some lovely things. Who did this?
  • DimWit: My wife.
  • DimWit, eyeing us suspiciously: Where are you from?
  • Ursula: El Paso, Texas
  • DimWit, with undisguised disgust: Oh. Beto O’Rourke. What do you think of him?
  • Ursula: He wasn’t a bad congressman.
  • DimWit, now glaring at me: You a liberal?
  • Me: I wouldn’t call myself that. (Because I’m not; I’m an independent who used to be a conservative Republican)
  • DimWit: We don’t have anything for you.

Okay. Now you get the gist of what sets off this childish snowflake who still hasn’t gotten over the presidential election some 6+ months after the fact. He had no idea who I was, for whom I voted, if I was a military veteran (why that’s relevant in a moment), or anything else about me. All he knew by this point was:

  1. Ursula (a Republican by the way) didn’t think Beto O’Rourke was a bad congressman and,
  2. Doug doesn’t consider himself a liberal

That’s it. That’s all it takes to fail Don Devore’s political litmus test for cabin rentals.

Denali Fireside Cabins & Suites

Why is the fact that I’m a military veteran relevant here? Ask any veteran and they’ll tell you that many businesses make a show of “supporting our military” even though we veterans can smell a phony and know many of them are doing to for PR purposes only. Devore Fireside Cabins & Suites has this line on their website: “We offer a 10% Discount for Active Military.”

Now, it’s true that Donald Devore had no clue as to my veteran status; he never thought to ask that, for he was far more interested in my politics than my service. But it’s equally true he didn’t care what my veteran status was. That, in my book, puts him on my list of people who feign being pro military for PR purposes rather than actually meaning it. And I make that statement not knowing, or more relevantly caring, what his veteran status might be. Whatever he might once have been, it’s now obvious to this veteran that Mr. Devore is just another pathetic loser who hasn’t a clue how to run a service-related business while hiding behind a patriotic, pro-military, façade.

Needless to say, excerpts from this review will soon be finding their way onto various and sundry lodging review sites in the upcoming weeks.

Enjoy your review, Don Devore. You worked hard for it, and you deserve every last word of it.

The Alaska Range

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February 7, 2021 · 5:35 am

Book Review — Outside Looking In: High-functioning autism from one mother’s perspective


In August a fellow author asked me to beta-read and review her book. I was a bit hesitant, as the subject matter was something that normally would not interest me. Well, I’m glad I consented to the review, which you’ll see in just a moment. What I will tell you is this — if you have in your circle someone who is searching for information on raising a child on the autism spectrum, this is the book you need to recommend.

The book is Outside Looking In: High-functioning autism from one mother’s perspective, and it was a finalist for the Parenting & Family category of the 2020 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest.

Alas, Vivian’s book did not win, but the mere fact that it was one of the seven finalists to make the cut is indeed impressive. So, without further ado, here is my review of this delightfully wonderful read:

* * *

REVIEW:
Outside Looking In: High-functioning autism from one mother’s perspective
by
Vivian M. Lumbard

Outside Looking In is an entertaining and very enlightening look into raising a child with autism. This book belongs in the collection of anyone in the educational system, as it provides in exquisite detail the aspects of accommodating the needs of an autistic student. At the very least, a copy should find its way into every teachers’ lounge and school library in the country.

But while educators will find much meaningful information in this book, the target audience will gain even more. Outside Looking In contains myriad tales of life with an autistic child beginning from before the first correct diagnoses through adolescence and into preparation for college and beyond. If you know someone raising a child with this condition, you simply must consider steering them toward a copy. The style of writing is at times fun, occasionally humorous, frequently insightful, always informative, and never dull. The charming family anecdotes sprinkled throughout provide wonderful incentive to propel the reader forward into tackling this sometimes-difficult topic. I learned more about autism from this single source than I have reading countless articles over the course of my lifetime.

As a bonus, the back-of-book material cites many resources for additional information for anyone wanting to learn more on this subject, or for any family who finds themselves raising a child diagnosed anywhere within the autistic spectrum.

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January 11, 2021 · 5:35 am

Washington, D.C. Seditious Insurrection — a letter to my Senator Ted Cruz


9 January 2021

The Honorable Ted Cruz
United States Senator for Texas
United States Senate
404 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Cruz:

I am a proud American patriot who, over the course of my 34 years, five months of government service, has taken three times the oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The first time was upon my military enlistment. The second was during my reenlistment. The third and final time was upon my entry into the federal civil service.

I am therefore disheartened, angered, and totally disgusted with you for so totally and completely abrogating the oath you took to do the same. You have disgraced not only the oath I took with such solemnity on those three occasions, but you have also disgraced your position in the United States Senate, the Great State of Texas, yourself, and even your family.

Despite your post-insurrection proclamations to the contrary, you knew to be false the election conspiracy theories you were propagating upon the floor of the United States Senate before a national audience. You had to know. You were advised as such by Attorney General William P. Barr, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and myriad other federal sources that were well acquainted with the facts.

You knew that the conspiracy theories you were propagating upon the floor of the United States Senate before a national audience were false because you were advised as such by the Secretaries of State for Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

You knew that the conspiracy theories you were propagating upon the floor of the United States Senate before a national audience were false because you were advised by legitimate news sources in both print and broadcast media.

And yet, knowing all that, you chose to give credence to contemptable and dangerous falsehoods that were all but guaranteed to incite violence.

You did so not out of any real conviction that there was validity to what you were telling potentially violent insurrectionists. Rather, you chose to do so to gain political capital with President Donald J. Trump’s base. You chose to fund raise on misinformation you knew to be false. You chose to peddle falsehoods to the gullible — those who obtain their “information” from social media, bogus sources such as Newsmax and OANN, and media hosts such as Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, and others who intentionally mislead their audiences for profit.

You, sir, had a duty to correct this misinformation rather than propagate it. That duty was not only to yourself and your family, but also to your constituents, to your oath, to your position in the United States Senate, to our country, and to the Constitution of the United States of America. You chose to disregard all that for political expediency and personal gain.

I fully understand this correspondence will fall upon deaf ears, for this is far from the first time you have prostituted yourself publicly for personal political gain. But I live in vain hope that perhaps these words will one day reach into that fathomless, dark pit of your heartless, mercenary soul. I pray that you will one day self-assess your actions of this past week and take note of the damage you have heaped upon this country, both domestically and internationally.

Your actions directly benefitted our enemies, both foreign and domestic. Five people lie dead. Our beloved Capitol was desecrated. Our international reputation lies in tatters, destined in our lifetimes to never again return to what it was even one week, ago. And all this lies at your feet, the feet of Donald J. Trump, the feet of Senator Josh Hawley, and others who chose to betray their oaths and, in so doing, disgrace themselves for all time.

If you had even an ounce of self-respect remaining, you would resign. Alas, both you and I know that self-respect, a sense of duty, and an obligation to your country are virtues that your parents obviously failed to instill in you.

Sincerely,

R. Doug Wicker

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