Fire up those keyboards and don’t be afraid to (politely) comment
Published Sunday, May 25, 2008
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Stumble It!“And on the seventh day the News-Miner created a new Web site and it was good. And on that same day they launched the comments section of their Web site, and that was good as well.
And then on the next day readers started using the comments section of the Web site, and that was …”
Well, let’s just say the jury is still out on that one.
With the launch of the News-Miner’s new Web site, Fairbanksans and people around the world now have the opportunity to offer articulate, insightful and well-thought comments to the various stories that appear in the paper. Note that I said people have the opportunity to offer articulate, insightful and well-thought comments, as this is quite a bit different from actually writing articulate, insightful and well-thought comments. Perhaps I am a bit too harsh, and I need to think outside of the box so that I can understand the value to the community in having 90 plus postings belittling the dancing ability of the Grizzlies cheerleaders.
Like many other readers, I have found myself drawn in to the comments section in a manner that can best be described as perverse. Unlike frequent users such as out-in-the-cold, alaskastoryteller, The_Alaska_Curmudgeon and others, I am a mere lurker in this world, a world that is a bizarre mix of newspaper and AM radio talk show. Late nights will find me on the computer, scrolling through comments and trying to find just how far out of line people will go. Occasionally I will find a comment so out of whack I will comment “Oh no he didn’t!” out loud, as if I were in the audience of the Rikki Lake Show.
I am amazed by those people who post frequently on several articles throughout the day. I am not sure what to make of those people, but am left with one of two conclusions. One is that these people are passionate and highly opinionated individuals who want to engage in healthy discourse with a diversity of people, all because that is what the First Amendment is about. The second is that these people are unemployed. Most likely, it is a blend of the two.
This leads me to the main purpose of this column, and that is to announce the launching of the 2008 Scott McCrea Comment Contest.
I see you are intrigued, so let me explain.
I’m not sure what the record is to date for number of comments to a single article. It’s surprising to see which articles generate the most comments, but it is equally surprising to see which articles get ignored for the most part. As of last Friday, a story on the city firefighter’s contract had reached a whopping 237 comments, however, most of those comments came courtesy of a three-way verbal smackdown between posters by the names of BigMike, Aidey, and Sean White. I lost track of the thread, but Sean White should be the victor by virtue of the fact that he used his actual name.
For the 2008 Scott McCrea Comment Contest, I am encouraging readers to go the FDNM Web site (if you are already there, welcome, and by the way, by being on the site, the News-Miner is watching your every move) and post a comment to this column. I want to see if it is possible to hit the 200 mark on this column alone. If you are the person to post the 200th comment, I will mail you a check in the amount that the News-Miner pays me for this column. If you plan on being that 200th person, let me forewarn you: don’t think that this money is going to be a giant windfall you can use for your next vacation. You won’t get very far, and by “very far” I mean “out of your driveway.”
Now the rules:
1. You can only post a total of five times. This is to discourage someone from jumping on and making 200 total postings. If you were thinking of doing it, let me rephrase a point I made earlier: The check is not going to be that big.
2. The postings have to abide by the News-Miner’s rules for postings.
3. The postings have to be positive.
Yup. You heard me. Only those postings that are positive in tone will count in the contest. No trash talk and no dissing other posters. We’re keeping it clean with this one.
To make it easier, I am going to give you a topic to comment on, since one of the rules set forth by the News-Miner is that posters must keep their comments to the issue at had. So for this contest, the topic is as follows:
“I love living in Fairbanks because …”
That’s it. All you have to do is make a posting that explains why you love living in Fairbanks. If you don’t love living in Fairbanks, then this is probably not the right contest for you.
I’m pretty sure that out of the entire Fairbanks North Star Borough there are 200 people who love living in Fairbanks and could come up with one reason why they do. I don’t even need 200 people. At minimum, I need 40 people who can make five different comments on why they love living here.
I think you good people are up the challenge. I think you good people are eager to prove to us FDNM Web site “lurkers” that a majority of those comments does not reflect what the people in Fairbanks are about, and that at the end of the day, we are still truly the Golden Heart City.
This should be fun.
Scott McCrea is a local freelance writer. He will happily take comments at mccreas@ak.net.
Community Discussion
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Mr. McCrea, let me suggest an alternate topic for people's posts: "What I love about living in Fairbanks is..."
If you have to start, "I love living in Fairbanks because...", that doesn't allow for the people who (like me) often have mixed feelings and serious frustration about living here. Perhaps every February or March, we may say, "That's it; I've had it with this place!" We may frequently think of our fellow citizens, "I can't stand living with these clowns!" (even when we ourselves may be the clowns). Our love is not always unalloyed -- yet we would choose no other place to live.
That said...
What I love about living in Fairbanks is the high level of civic engagement. Not too long ago, I was involved in a statewide issue campaign, a voter referendum. The campaign was run out of Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. The Anchorage people hired a professional staffer and wound up with very little volunteer involvement. Meanwhile, we in Fairbanks had a dozen or two core volunteers, with at least a hundred others writing letters to the editor, making phone calls, and waving signs on street corners. Knowing that we had far more volunteers than Anchorage (in raw numbers, not just per capita) made me proud.
I love living in Fairbanks because you can be sitting next to a millionaire or an unemployed bum and you cannot tell which is which and they are both equally respected.
I love living is Fairbanks because of little things like going to dinner at a wonderful local restaurant & running into people I know & haven't seen recently. After that then heading to an ice cream vendor that encourages 'loitering' & running into & catching up with even more friends & acquaintances. All capped off by driving home & enjoying the evening sunshine. A pretty nice night.
“I love living in Fairbanks because …”
It is the center of everything. The road starts and ends here so does the railroad. We are the nexus of commerce for the northern half of the state. Fairbanks is always moving 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I have watched Fairbanks grow as I grew. I can remember when 2 cars at a stop light was a Fairbanks traffic jam. I love the pulse of a city on the move. Fairbanks has some of the best people caring, giving, adventurous, hard working. We are a 15 or 20 minute drive from real woods, solitude and beauty. Recreation, fishing, hunting, trapping, skiing, snowshoeing…. We have a first class airport here with planes of every type. You can be sequenced in your 2 seat bug smasher behind a Lufthansa 747. We have living history in the planes the Everts fly’s. There is an engine from the first round the world flight in the Gold dome. Everyday you can look up and see Fairbanks past and future flying by. We have a education institution that people come from all over the world to learn in. People come here to experience what we take for granted everyday. Fairbanks is a place of opportunity you can feel it in the air.
I love living in Fairbanks because it shows how nice and tolerant people are that no one is complaining to the NewsMiner about them actually paying you for this column :).
Oh and I can call my parents and say I was in the paper, and not in the police blotter. Although this might be worse, my wife seems to think so.
I love living in Fairbanks because of the change in seasons. I can sleep in late and still be up before sunrise, sometimes.
A friend of mine just told me that I should try again as maybe I did not quite get into the proper spirit of things with my comment. So if it did not count does that mean I have 5 tries left? Also it is awfully hard to top what SeanWhite just said but I will try.
“I love living in Fairbanks because …”
All of the goverment officials in town work so hard deciding where to spend the $4,000 a year I pay in property taxes. All the stress that it would cause me if I had to decide which flowers to water and lawns to cut. I love living in Fairbanks because they are always looking out for us. Building big new schools just in case our population doubles over the summer so that there will be room for all the extra children. Taking time out of their busy schedules to actually fly to China to ask if they want to buy our natual gas. I would of never even thought of that. Most likely the best I could of come up with is sending them a letter or maybe a phone call. Makes me so proud to know that they unselfishly look out for our interests. Jay for instance did not want to take a chance that the same company from China that wanted to build a natural gas line and buy all the gas might not want gas anymore. You just can't find dedication like that outside of Fairbanks. A trip like that would of just tired me out. So “I love living in Fairbanks because …” we can trust our politicians to do what is right for us.
My unemployed friend thinks maybe I should take a little nap and give this a try later and she will try to explain what is wanted here. As much as I would like to take a nap I need to get back to cutting firewood so I can stay warm this winter.
Heh, heh: I don't live in Fairbanks, but I've always loved seeing it in my rear-view mirror as I'm going home.
I love living in Fairbanks. . . or close to it anyway. . . because it's home of the toughest people in America - like Lance Mackey, Toughest Man In the Sports World (even if SI did name Tiger Woods instead - crazy fools!)
Fairbanks in the winter time. The ice sculptures remind me of the scenery around my living room. But the good thing is there are not too many mosquitoes around that time of year.
Hey Scott,
You're a long way from 200 postings, so why don't we make a deal? I'll say what I love best about living in Fairbanks is reading your columns, and you give me all your money.
What's that laughing sound I hear coming from North Pole?
I love living in Fairbanks because of...
Family and friends. The Midnight Sun. Cold, crisp days. Unique people that I've known. Beautiful skies. Ravens. Summer gardens. Strangers that will stop to help others. Golf.
Fairbanks is a great place to live although I cant say how much i love living here but the people are wonderful which was a very welcoming sign and I have made some of the best friends in the world in this great town. Next year when my husband comes home from deployment we will PCS but this will for sure be somewhere I will come back to visit and I will defenitly keep in touch with the wonderful people here. Having worked at Sourdough on Airport Ive had the chance to get to know alot of terrific people and it has been a pleasure living here. I give all of you Alaskan's credit because I have experienced first hand how rough winters really are here and yet life continue's as normal but with alot more winter gear.
I dont live in Fairbanks.
Now I feel cheated.
Thanks Scott, I was having a good day...
uhmmmm if I read the article correctly.. aren't the "comments" suppose to be submitted to that email address? at least that is how I read it........ (I had to say something :c))
I love living near Fairbanks because of the people. People like Scott and his truly amusing and scarily accurate column. I love the weather and the diverse activities all year, but what keeps me here, thousands of miles from family, are all the wonderful people.
I love living here because no one cares about fashion or keeping up with the Joneses.
(Where else do people wear pajamas to the grocery store? Okay, maybe Delta...)
Chesapeakes - I think thats for comments on the article/the authors writing, not as part of the 200 comment challenge.
If I wasn't worried about professional repercussions I would happily post under my real name, and if anyone really thinks its that big of a deal they can contact me through my profile and I'll tell them who I am.
Now, so my post is on topic....
I love living in Fairbanks because I don't have to drive 60 miles to get groceries, but I can still live in a little house in the woods.
Hey Scott, you didn't mention that we would have to go through such a rigorous registration process...
But anything to help out my favorite columnist.
I love living in Fairbanks because there are people here like John Reeves, who makes incredible Ice Art Towers. (http://www.alaskanalpineclub.org/IceTowe...)
This Ice Art is world class and unique by any definition, and he does it out of the goodness of his heart for all of our enjoyment. (and is ignored by the news miner)
I have other things I like about Fairbanks, but you need more comments so I will put one thing in each of 4 more comments.
I love living in Fairbanks because going grocery shopping is a social event and I'll see friends every time I go. I love living here because people are generally down to earth and decent/kind! It's a wonderful town for raising children when one wants the sense of community.
OK, it's late Sunday night and we are at the 10% mark. I'm confident we will hit the 200 mark sometime this week. A couple of comments so far:
1. I like what poster #1 Paul Adasiak has to say and that the topic should state "What I love about living in Fairbanks is..."...or, to suit folks like DenaliGuy it could be "What I love about Fairbanks is...". Maybe I should just simplify it even further and ask that people post something positive about Fairbanks.
2. If people are unable to post something positive about Fairbanks I am willing to take postings from people who want to state what their favorite "Police Academy" movie is and why. Personally, I think they went downhill once Steve Guttenberg fled the scene after "Police Academy 3: Back in Training" but some of you might find merit in the acting endeavors that created the masterpiece "Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow"
3. Note to The_Alaska_Curmudgeon: While I appreciate the kind words, I am not going to send you money because you simply stated that what you like best about living in Fairbanks is my column. It creeps me out that you know I live in North Pole, though it does explain the black van parked in my driveway every night. Leave me alone, The_Alaska_Curmudgeon, leave me alone! (I will, however, send you my first born child because of your kind words. He will appear on your doorstop shortly. He enjoys chicken McNuggets and finds humor in the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie.
178 comments to go....
Also, a comment to akarmystrykerwife: I am glad that you have found a welcome and supportive home here in Fairbanks while your husband has been overseas. Thanks to you and your husband for your service to this country.
I love Fairbanks because of things like your article. I love the people in this community. Having been here close to 40 years, I know a lot of people who I like. My children grew up with your wife. Your mother-in-law is one of my favorite folks. I don't know you but I enjoy your column. If I'm the 200th person, I don't want your money. Donate it to the poor lady with lung cancer whose house was broken in to. I bet the folks in Fairbanks raise more money for her than she lost when that S.O.B. broke into her house. Cheers.
Bonnie Brody
Scott,
I don't drive a black van. I fly a black helicopter and I work for the UN. I know all there is to know about North Pole.
One thing that I like about living near Fairbanks is that when someone tells me to get dressed up for a formal get-to-gether, or jury duty, I know that one of two pairs of jeans that I own, and a clean t-shirt, will be accepted as adequate attire.. as long as the t-shirt has a pocket, and isn't confused with underwear..
I like the fact that I can burn less than a gallon of gasoline, and soon find myself staring out into wide open spaces, with nearly no one else to obstruct the view.
Living near Fairbanks means that most Borough ordinances are more or less advisory in nature, and I don't have to spend too much time fretting over what issue they might've voted to intrude upon tomorrow... yet.
Living near Fairbnaks provides me with a non-stop source of humor, observing and pondering how many persons CLEARLY need a refresher course with the driver's education folks.
Target shooting out my back door doesn't result in 65 calls to the local constabulary, and a SWAT helicopter hovering over my property.
I like living in Fairbanks because of the mornings. Listening to the chorus of birds, and having the chance to see a random moose or bunny crossing the road is wonderful.
you know what.... I am not legally able to post to this Topic on Loving Fairbanks..because I do not qualify since I do not live in Fairbanks ..however.. let me say this much... I love Fairbanks because its closer than Anchorage... (smile) but I dont love it enough to live there.... since I have my own home and love my own small town............ but IF I were to live in Fairbanks..what I love about it is that its spread out and HOMEY-ISH and where can you go and see and meet people from your own small town and catch up on things you don't in your own home town!! LOL... and I love meeting people I already know in Fairbanks in the stores or what have you other places....... its a SMALL SMALL world out there when you VISIT Fairbanks :)
I love living in Fairbanks because of all of you. Its not the birds or the bunnies, it is the all the unique people that I have met and know. Have a fun and safe Memorial Day!
I'm here to increase the count and post in this important thread.
I love living in Fairbanks because as the world goes to h#ll in a hand basket with all the wars and global warming - We are in a prime position for better growing season, no fear of floods, tornados, typhoons, hurricanes, and nuclear strikes (who wants to hit Fairbanks).
I love living in Fairbanks because, well, I mean after all, there must be some good reason?
Just kidding, just kidding and adding to the count. I've lived here most of my long life, every time I leave I really understand why I will never live anywhere else. The Arctic winter simply recharges my batteries, can't imagine wintering in a warm place. Summers aren't bad either.
I love living in Fairbanks because I have Moose in my yard at all seasons (Except hunting, darn it!), School is still in session when it snows 2 inches and at -60..YES!, I don't have to fight the real rush hour traffic they have in Anchorage and, in the summer, I can be outside and not realize it is 2 a.m. because the sun is still up :o).
I love Fairbanks for so many reasons! I will make four posts on this column, each will highlight a different season. SPRING: The geese are back! Time to till the garden. The friendly hello's when I'm out walking my basset hounds. Lot's of kids out on there bikes( I know this has been a hot topic lately, but I love some of the tricks these kids can pull off these days). The grill isn't frozen to the ground. The mosquito's aren't to bad. People out walking all night, and not just the drunks, but hey! They are a part of this community to. Spring is good, Fairbanks is great...I love this place!
i love living in the interior because i love the weather. we live in fairbanks because the wife refuses to be without the city amenities in life.... like running water and movie theaters etcetera. when i'm out in the woods in the deep of winter at -50f on snowshoes i feel much closer to god.
I came up here from Anchorage 10 years ago, kicking and screaming the whole way. And now, I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather live.
Rush "hour" in Fairbanks lasts all of - maybe - five minutes. A person can live in the "country" yet be just a few minutes away from town, a few minutes worth of a commute to a great job. This isn't possible even in Anchorage anymore, much less anywhere in the Lower 48.
I LOVE the resilience, self-sufficiency, and "can do" attitude of people in Fairbanks and the Interior. There's a strong sense of "we can take care of our own" up here.
I love that there's only one fashion code - stay warm! Anything else is trivial.
And this has got to be one of the dog-friendliest towns I've ever been in.
Frank Costello, I mostly agree with you, that we may just be in a better position/place than anywhere else to deal with things going to hell in a handbasket, but our relative isolation by no means protects us completely from strikes. Who wants to hit Fairbanks? I don't exactly know. But with two military bases, and an oil pipeline within close proximity, as well as Alaska's general location as a strategic access point to the North American continent . . . I'm sure we're on somebody's radar. No place is "safe." But I think this place is safer than most others.
Then . . . another thing I love about living here . . .
Being able to see the auroras on most winter nights.
The way the ice fog makes all the trees look like they're all covered with sugar frosting. The winters are cold here, but they are beautiful.
I love living in Fairbanks because of the brilliant blue sky, the warm people, the rolling hills of birch that highlight the seasons, the moose, the technicolor sunrises and sunsets, skiing with my dogs, and the general dog-friendliness. :)
Another thing I like about Fairbanks is that driving out near Chatanika last night after dinner at the Gulch (where I of course ran into people I knew) I saw a Snowshoe Hare & a cute, still changing fox (out & back). The hills were so green, it was a gorgeous Fairbanks night!
Dear Scott, What I love about the Fairbanks area is the extreme slow-paced lifestyle. Everytime I go Outside, I feel swarmed and rushed and my heart beats too fast, and for what? I love living here because like what many people are saying....you can dress like a bum and still be respected. I love the weather extremes. I love the bragging rights of plugging in my car, then leaving it running (have to re-think this one next winter). I love burning wood. I love big BBQ parties where too many people show up and after its over we have 14 case of beer leftover. I love boating and I love the Chena. I love the Salcha River, I love the Tanana. I love the little lakes and ponds. I love all the camping spots on the way to Chena Hot Springs. I love complaining about BIG BOX stores and the downfall of mom and pop. I love ordering stuff on the internet and flipping a mental bird to the box stores, cause I got it cheaper. I love Hot Licks grapenut ice cream (but not the price sorry). I love the clouds when they roll in over the hills. I love a clear day when you can see the Alaska Range. I love low-flying over the river on my way into Fairbanks from the west. I love being cleared to land 15 minutes before I can see the airport. I love the wind, its perfect to learn to fly. I love my husbands well paying job from a local employer. I love the trees. I love that crazy ice sculpture on the Steese Hwy. I love Hilltop Truck Stop and their pies! I love to drink water from the Fox well. I love the sighting of the first canada goose or crane at Creamers Field and how everyone goes crazy over it. I love walking on the frozen slough. I love how our reps and gov officials routinely stop in and we can meet them, as if they are friends. I love the arctic-cam and I love to wave at it when I go by. I love my Fairbanks Friends. I love all the moms groups I belong too. I love the sound of the train at night. I love the sound of jets overhead from the AFB and post. I love the helicopters. I love our local radio shows and local tv broadcasts. I simply just love it here and Im happy I moved here. Thanks for asking.
I love Fairbanks because I run into many folks who left Montana for the same reason I did--too crowded and "Californicated." I took me a while to get used not seeing the sun rise on St. Mary's mountain every morning or hearing the western meadowlark sing or watching whitetail deer grazing in the hay fields. I enjoy going back to the Bitterroot Valley to visit, but HOME is the Tanana Valley.
I love living in Fairbanks because I can wear the latest in fashions from 10 years ago and wear them up here and be considered avant garde.
Heh.
I love Fairbanks because I love 40 below! Let me explain. I love being inside, with the woodstove going, something baking in the oven, kids are playing happily, I'm working on a craft, when it's 40 below outside. We are all nice and safe. I love calling family in the midwest and saying, "We had to watch out for a moose while we were waiting for the bus today!" I love Mocha Dan's! I love being a big fish in a small pond. There are only a few people who have my skills up here, so I'm able to be working at a job I love. I love all the beards on the guys.:) I love the tough, strong WOMEN. I love driving around and seeing everyone's version of the Alaskan home. I love NOT having to keep a perfect yard. I love...
I'm so happy the paper is having this contest. Who cares about the money! I'm happy that it may make the website a cleaner, safer place to enjoy ones city, enjoy the kindness of people's views, and most of all TO NEVER BE AFRAID OF POSTING A COMMENT in fear that someone else will belittle you're passionate, kind, sometimes naive views. I'll still spend an average of ten minutes editing my comments for humility, understanding, and kindness, but I will try not to hesitate in leaving a meaningful comment! Thank you!
NORTHERN LIGHTS or should I be more formal and say the "Aurora Borealis" might be a good topic for Scott's contest today. Where else in the world would you have nineteen 747 jets full of tourist coming to a little town to look up at the sky, at minus temperatures even a old sourdough might think about putting on a coat.
I love[d] living in Fairbanks because of my two FANTASTIC grandsons, Forrest and Harrison! (I also love the rest of you)
CREAMER'S FIELD in the spring time, with the arrival of flocks of geese, ducks and other good things to eat. Talk about a teaser, after a long winter of not much else for a change of diet. And what do they do...stick Fish & Games office right in the middle...to make sure hungry folks just get to look.
I was up at 4am last night with my best friend of twelve years and my daughter's half-siblings' mother recounting our childhood and reconnecting our families while we laughed, learned, fretted and preached as the sun shone through my south facing window. THAT's Fairbanks. It's beautiful.
I love living in Fairbanks because it's not too big and it's not too small. I've lived in large cities in the lower 48 and small villages in Alaska, and I pick Fairbanks. There's a sense of community here that gets lost in larger places, but Fairbanks is big enough to have the things I love. Hot Licks. Creamer's Field. The Panners and the Nanooks. The Nutcracker. Alaskaland (which it will ALWAYS be!). And so much more.
I love living in Fairbanks, because the people in this town truly have a golden heart. And you really don't have to look very far to find it.
I love that Fairbanks is a major hub, with all of the necessary amenities, yet significantly closer to the North Pole's magnetic pull, permitting the handful of persons I know who wear tin-foil beanies, to get even better reception from the aliens' transmitters in space, so they can tell me the world's coming to an end well before their contemporaries in Los Anchorage find out.
I love living in Fairbanks, because you can meet a hippy and a trapper in the same bar. (I'm saving my words for the next four posts.)
I love Fairbanks for the stories people have lived both in their journey here and after arrival. I love the hospitality of those that have been around awhile and a shared history. I love seeing the old buildings being rejuvenated and starting a new life. I love Fairbanks for its diversity and live and let live attitude.
I love living in Fairbanks because during the winter its like living in a snow globe and the summer is a color pallet of vivid colors!
(And the relatives can't just stop by)
i luff fairbanks
what i love about fairbanks is the lack of disgusting and deadly bugs. i can handle a mosquito any day!
I Win.
I had to register for this one! I was born and raised in Florida. Too hot,humid and the people are not friendly(no such thing as "southern hospitality!) What I love about living in Fairbanks is the helpfulness of the people!! A BIG thankyou to the family who let us stay with them for a couple of weeks,for the man who allowed us to live in his homestead cabin for free, to the neighbor who took it upon himself to cut firewood for us (in November), to the couple who befriended us and helped us on numerous occasions,to the midwife who delivered our baby on the day CHRd was closed, to the woman who brought a meal over after our baby was born! I love the water from Fox! Didn't care for the "honey pot" but I do love the rented "port a potty"!!I love the fact that roaches are NOT crawling in my house! I love the way people drive-slow and easy,not trying to run over me to get to the next red light! I love being able to leave my car running while I'm in he store. I love it that I can wear my pajamas under my Carharts and nobody knows it. I love living in the country but having city comforts! And for our black lab who was given to us five and a half years ago! She does her job well-barking!
I love living in Fairbanks 'cause when it's -50, going 2 miles outside of town can kill you. I don't know anyone with a "aura" that warm.
oh yeah and because that same cold keeps the whineys out! ;)
Another thing I love about living here is that Fairbanksans are not so DRIVEN as people in many other places. When my wife was in grad school, we lived in Boulder (Colo.), ostensibly a place for hippies. But people's schedules were so stinking full! "I can't join you for dinner; I'm doing my cleanse this week. And I'm going rock-climbing tonight. Tomorrow night it's yoga; then I've got swing dancing; then I've got my mandolin lesson; then I'm going to hear Sogyal Rinpoche's talk; then there's my reiki appointment; and at any point between, I have to train for the marathon -- so, you see, there's no time!"
Although I know a few locals here who fill their schedules like that, we are by and large a people who appreciate some down time. There's not much pressure to *achieve*, and there's more leisure to enjoy what may come.
I love fairbanks becuase of the sky. No one else has what we have in the morning, spring, fall and fifty below.
I love Fairbanks for how it used to be..Social occasions were where you got to have some of Mrs. so&so's cookies that you knew were going to be there (& had been looking forward to for months)because no one else made them, instead of something bought at Sam's Club... How Tommy's was always a place I could go and knew everybody & downtown was FUN, Foodland was where you went while doing laundry at Coin King, the bowling alley where dad fed us hotdogs while mom was doing laundry at Busy Bee downstairs, the Gavora Mall with it's circle around the snack shop, the old Goldstream theatre where we used to spend all day watching movies that had been released 2 or 3 years before & we had waited so patiently for, where you didn't have to walk a mile to get more popcorn(It was right outside the door), my first library card at the cabin library on first and Cowles. Co-Op being the best place to go...it had a TOY STORE! JC Penny's and it's once a year Christmas Department with TOYS..The Sears Catalog that my sister and I agonized over because dad said we could only pick three things, ordering all our new school clothes from Wards Catalog store, Woolworths...When you had to wait, it wasn't instant gratification..I miss it.
Variety. Diversity. Innovation. Adventure. Zest for life. What's not to like!
what i love about fairbanks, summer; 'round the clock daylight, the lack of sleep makes everyone a little crazy(in a good way), fat ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden, using less fuel oil! The Bmx track is open, did you even know there is an ABA sanctioned BMX track this far north? I love the fact that just a few month's ago it was a hundred degrees colder! A hundred degrees, man that is extreme! I LOVE this place!
I love Fairbanks because it will always be home!
NativeAlaskan, I was born and raised in Fairbanks but moved away in the eighties.You've brought back some awesome memories. Thank You.
tattoohombre
Where is the BMX track? I still love Fairbanks!
I have to absolutely agree with what Paul Adasiak said ... my years in Chicago were full of people to busy to relate to one another.
But as far as the other things I love about Fairbanks...
I love that I'm not always sitting in traffic, waiting for the trains to go by, that I don't have to worry about a "schedule" that I'm frantically trying to meet ...
I love that the airport is small and you don't have to worry about super long lines ...
I love that I run into people I know almost anywhere I go, and they are mostly friendly and ready to chat ...
And I love the extreme seasons that are so different, and so beautiful!
This one may be controversial, but it is true. I love looking at ice fog. Yes it is cold & cranky, but drive next to the river on a sunny day & the trees sparkle prettier than diamonds. Definitely one of the prettiest things about a Fairbanks winter!
I have to agree with akprincess72: Ice fog is fantastic. Even though January is miserably cold, I think it's our most beautiful month. When the sun comes in at that low angle and casts an orange-pink glow across the city, which is covered in thick frost -- it's like we've stepped into some enchanted land.
what i love about Fairbanks, Fall; the geese are coming back through, the colors are spectacular! Blueberries! And best of all.......MOOSE SEASON!!!Not in downtown Fairbanks of course.(those moose are off limits)The harvest from the garden, this is the best place in the world to garden! Thers is so much to love here!
akbushratt, the BMX track is off Peger, across from the DMV, take 19th ave, follow it to Kiana st. Take a right and its your first left.
I love Fairbanks because, well, look out the window. The summers here make up for the winters ten-fold. In Fairbanks (and the surrounding areas, may I note) it's not a suprise to hear a friendly hello from a total stranger. In Fairbanks when you stick your rig in the ditch you know help is not far away. Someone is always willing to pull over and help.
I love Fairbanks because we have more than just the bare necessities, but we still have that small town feel. You can drive 30 miles and be in the middle of nowhere.
What's not to love!?
Fairbanks is the biggest small town in America. It has everything you need, want, like to have...in moderation. You cannot beat the summers up here, heaven on earth. The winters aint so bad perhaps a little fun if you have a sense of adventure. Even the people are the best, always there to help and not all up in your business. What's not to love about this town?
The midnight sun!
i really enjoy Fairbanks days when i hear reports like:
"103 degrees in oregon"
"highs expected for arizona this week to be 110"
it just makes me feel so "cool"
p.s. ***!!!GO*GRIZZLIES!!!***
Other people have said this already, but one thing I love about living here is that we don't have to dress up so much as in some other places.
I remember going to Hering Auditorium to see the St. Petersburg Ballet, a show that would require fancy dress in another city. Some people donned their fancy plumage -- frilly dresses, suits-and-ties, and whatnot -- and others went in flannel shirts and denim overalls. And who really gave a rip? Nobody!
We recognize pretty well that the primped-up, finely dressed man next to us may be a useless, empty-headed bimbo, and that the slightly smelly, dreadlocked, grunge queen on our other side may direct a successful business or a major public agency.
I love living near Fairbanks because it's so easy to think of reasons that you love living here.
I love Fairbanks because I have never met a stranger here. Everyone seems to smile and say hello.
The gold in the hills of our valley in September that has nothing to do with rocks :o). Being able to see Denali even though, technically, we shouldn't be able to. Being proud to tell people I am from North Pole, Alaska which is South of Fairbanks...Really...no kidding!
I hate bagpipers... especially those who live in Fairbanks.
In a room full of people doing exactly what they're told to do, I'll be the one wondering why everybody's doing the same thing. I love that there are a lot of people like that in this town.
My 10 year old would like to add her thoughts..>
I love Fairbanks because of the awsome animals we have here, fox, moose, beavers(yum!), wolves, bears rabbits, salmon and all the birds! I think Fairbanks is beautiful in a lot of ways. I love Fairbanks because its always light in the summer(I'm afraid of the dark). And in the winter's darkness you can see the billions of stars. I love the trees and the beautiful leaves that grow(except for the cottonwood). I love the sound of the little chickadee looking for a wife, or the sound of the river streaming down or around the rocks. I love the feeling of the warm summer breeze stroking the back of your neck, or the feeling of the soft foxtail weed. I love the taste of the nice juicy rasberries that grow here, or the taste of the sour cranberries. I love the smell of the spring when everything is awakening from the ice cold winter. I just love everything about Fairbanks.
Guess I messed up when I registered with my real name, looks like the thing to do is make up a cool "handle". Can I re-register? First I have to think up a nifty one. Until then, here is my second what I love about Fairbanks.
There are crazy people here who dream up a ridiculously hard "race" straight up Ester Dome, then back down, forwarn us by naming it the "Ester Dome Ass Kicker" and people still show up for it! Crazy people!
I like the sunny days and bright nights.
I love that there are races in the middle of the winter that are run regardless of temperature...and people show up to those too!
Rush hour lasts 22 minutes.
The local watering hole is actually a watering hole.
Even the cops own a Harley.
The Homer halibut and seafood shack at the Tanana Valley State Fair.
The mosquitos more or less vanish by the last three weeks of summer, leaving us to little more than horse flies and yellow jackets.
You can walk across the street from the Catholic Church, get a beer, a hair-cut, a tostado, a newspaper, and a pair of pliers, without getting the ol' heart rate up, or breaking a sweat, 'cause the respective businesses are all just right there.
What I love about Fairbanks, is how it resembles Homer, AK in the diversity of people and the togetherness of community, but not feeling as small.
Another thing I love about living here is the University. Not only do locals have additional chances to improve themselves personally and advance their careers, but the U. brings a tremendous number of cultural events to Fairbanks: speakers, concerts, sports, conferences, et cetera. Not every city of 90,000 can boast of a large university -- and too much of their cultural and intellectual life gets sucked up by more-populou