Living on the last frontier

I lived on the last frontier for 14 years a single woman. I had to endure alot living in Alaska: homelessness, illness, cancer, and waiting for buses in -40 degree weather. But since coming to Idaho there have been hardships too: losing most of my belongings in Alaska and having to start over, going without a car for over 6 months, and living where the temperature was 109 degrees just the other day. I think of what my ancestors must have endured such as my Great Grandmother Mary Shuster. Her husband Charles Keeler was killed in cold blood as a City Marshall in 1867 in The Dalles, Oregon. She remarried Fred Wickman and had eight more children. Charles & Mary's daughter Emma Keeler was my grandmother. What were Mary's thoughts as she walked the Oregon trail as a young girl? And how heartbroken she must have felt when her husband was murdered. I too lost a man I loved who was killed in the Vietnam war. Never had a family of my own or children. Often made fun of by family members and strangers too. I too knew the heartache of trying to make it alone in this world where there are vultures everywhere.

Comments

Alaska Men's Magazine

I lived in Alaska 14 years and never saw guys that were this cute up there! But I did find a bunch of them who would try and run me over when waiting for a bus in Anchorage, and splash me with mud on purpose. I dated one who left me at a Mexican restaurant one time after having a severe acid reflux attack and called me a bunch of names because I had "embarrassed him." One time I was waiting for a bus in Anchorage and a guy went by and said --"Why don't you get a job barfly?" Amazing to me is that I was working two jobs at the time and have never drank a day in my life. When I lived in Wasilla I had one man follow me home and accuse me of drinking and driving! Maybe because I wasn't skinny enough for these men and wasn't blonde and blue eyed who knows? There is alot of alcoholism, wife abuse, and drunks in Alaska. I don't think the Alaska Men's Magazine mentions that however.

Fat women in America

I know being overweight or obese is unhealthy for us. I've been overweight for sometime now but not nearly as heavy as these poor ladies. I think being overweight is more of an "emotional" issue rather than just genetics or poor eating habits or not enough exercise. When I was in high school I was always told I was too fat and I weighed appromately 140-150 pounds and at almost 5 feet 7 inches tall that wasn't fat at all. I think the abuse of family members and my ex-husband and boyfriends caused me to gain weight more than anything. When you are beaten with a belt by a brother it causes emotional issues. When your sister screams at you all night long she hopes you become a prostitute when you are just 19 it causes emotional issues. Or when you are married and your husband constantly puts you down and calls you an educated idiot, that you can't do anything right causes emotional issues. I know this is why I've gained my weight. But again I'm on ano...

Provident Living

I think this would be a good book to have for Provident Living. Our pioneer ancestors didn't have supermarkets or farmer's markets to buy groceries, they didn't have washer & dryer's (I wash my clothes out by hand as I live in an apartment), they didn't have cars or buses to get around, they didn't have foodstamps or welfare or even social security checks. But families back then helped one-another. A sick aunt or mother was taken care of by their families. They had large families back then and everyone helped with the chores: from spring planting, to weeding the gardens, growing vegetables, and the many chores the mother's had such as cooking over a wood stove, ironing, washing clothes in hot boiling water than having to put them on clotheslines and iron. They didn't have microwave ovens back then either. A cake was made from scratch, bread was home-made, and the only treats the kids got were at Christmas time. My mother said for Christmas t...

Alaskanforgetmenot

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