Alaska, Home of the Tall One

 

Denali:  Kuyokan Athabascan word meaning The High One or the Tall One.

My wife and I just spent 11 days in Alaska, not on a cruise either.  The original plan was to travel entirely by train and shuttle vans.  But I prefer to be in control, do not like crowds or being forced to spend untold hours with random strangers.  So, it’s best for me and other travelers that I rent a car.

We flew into Anchorage.  Took one guided tour from there to an abandoned mine site an hour or so northeast of Anchorage.  It was pretty much a “meh” day and my wife and I were regretting that we had not just gone back to Montana one more time.  

The next day we headed north toward Talkeetna on our own.   The first 50-60 miles was more “meh” and left us hoping it would get better.  And it did.  Finally, the mountains started to impress.  Fall colors were more vibrant as we drove farther north.  We arrived at the little tourist town of Talkeetna had lunch and then headed out for some dryland dog-sledding.  We were transported to Dallas Seavey’s Kennels. Seavey, six-time Iditarod champion, was not there but his team and his dogs were.  Seavey has a lot of dogs.  We got to meet most of them, which was great.  The handlers hitched four dogs up to a wheeled sled, showed us how to steer it and brake as needed and off we went.  It was a hoot and I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Alaska.

The next morning we took an airplane ride over Denali National Park and the clouds cleared enough that we flew over the summit of Mount Denali.  Definitely worth the time and a considerable amount of money.  That afternoon we drove north to the Denali Borough and the scenery did not disappoint.  The mountains are impressive, and it truly is a wilderness.   Few people and very little traffic.  My kind of place.  When we arrived at the park, there were more people but nothing like you would encounter at a big-name national park in the lower 48.

The following day we were on a bus tour of the park.  You can only drive personal vehicles a certain distance into the park and from there it’s hike or take one of the park’s hop-on/hop-off shuttle buses.  Had we known about that option, we would not have taken the bus tour.  After announcing that she would not talk too much, the tour bus driver/guide proceeded to talk non-stop for the next 5 hours.  She was particularly fascinated by Arctic Ground Squirrels, so at least half of her ramblings were about those little critters.  The scenery was great, we saw Dall Sheep and Moose.  But, on a scale of 1-10, I’d only give it a 5.  Could have been an 8 or 9 with a less talking from the driver.

The next day, Saturday, we headed back south toward Girdwood which is about 35 miles the other side of Anchorage.  We stayed at the Alyeska Resort and I would definitely recommend it. 

Sunday morning we took a helicopter ride into the mountains and made two landings on glaciers.  It was my first time in a helicopter and it was great.  We got to see things you could only see from a helicopter and the glacier landings were an unforgettable experience.  Again, it cost some money but was well worth it.

We finished up our trip in Seward with a cruise around the Kenai Fjords National Park. It ranked up there with the dog-sledding and airplane ride, but the helicopter ride was the best.  Then it was back to Anchorage the next day and an early flight out the following morning.

Alaska was on our bucket list and I am glad we went.  We had a great time.  But Alaska is one and done for us.  It’s definitely worth seeing if you can afford the airplane and helicopter rides and if you’re up to handling as dog sled.  If not, then I would suggest taking an Alaska cruise.  I’m not a cruiser, but I would think it’s the best way for most folks to see Alaska.

Alaska would be a tough place to live.  The long winters and limited sunshine would get to me.  Unless you’re a big-time hunter or fisherman, I couldn’t see much reason for living up there.  It’s definitely not a place for everyone.  We lived in Montana and loved it.  But Alaska is a whole other world.  Even in my prime, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it much.  But I could say the same thing about most major cities in the lower 48, so maybe I’m just too picky.

My Two Cents Worth While Sweating Out Another August in Texas

 

_It’s definitely hot here in North Texas.  It’s not record breaking, but it is news making.  It’s interesting how many of the record hot days here in Grayson County Texas are from the last century.  We have not yet become an urban heat island here.  So, what you see and feel is what you get; and it’s pretty close to what folks got 100 years ago or 50 years ago.  I’m not denying climate change, I’m just making an observation.

_The British are coming. It appears that our cousins in the UK have finally had enough.  Mass immigration combined with a lack of cultural assimilation have finally reached the boiling point.  Many British citizens, generational British citizens are fed up.  They have learned a lesson that inclusion is a hard pull when people come from entirely different cultures and religions.  And if they don’t look like each other it makes it even more difficult.  Not impossible, but not something that just happens because certain progressive elites think it’s a good idea.  Everyone must work together and want to get along.  And frankly, the newcomers end up having to want it the most and work harder to get it.  So far, that’s what we’ve seen here in the United States.  Perhaps because we are a nation of immigrants.  But it’s not easy.

_Donald Trump may have dodged the assassin’s bullet, but he is now shooting himself in the foot on a regular basis.  Ignoring the counsel of cooler heads and seasoned advisors, he’s making it personal. Trump is also showing signs that his age is catching up with him.  It’s not a good look.  The GOP, with Trump leading the charge, is on the way to losing the November election, not only for the White House, but “down-ticket” which means the Democrats will control the Executive Branch, The Senate and The House.

_Excluding the bizarre opening ceremony, I enjoyed watching some of the Olympics, especially track and field.  The USA did well.  Those from Texas or developed in Texas showed up and showed out.  But the Olympics has too many events and too many participants with no chance of winning a medal or even being competitive.  Fewer events, fewer athletes and a shorter, classier opening ceremony would make the Olympics much better in my opinion.  (Old guy now pulls up his pants, slaps a newspaper against his leg and rattles the change in his pocket.)

"It is greencards that become blue passports. It is unlearning the language of our grandparents. It is knowing how to pronounce Arkansas and Illinois.  It is enjoying barbeques on somber national holidays."-Anamika Nair

 

More Than Money

Recruiting management and executive talent in the transportation/logistics world has been as much of a roller coaster ride as the industry itself.  We went from the Covid Freight Bonanza to the Great Freight Recession.  Like most roller coaster rides it’s been a combination of fun, fear and nausea.  That would certainly describe the transportation/logistics job market.  We quickly went from “Help Wanted” to layoffs and hiring freezes.

Overlooked in this mad scramble to hire talent and then reverse course to “right-sizing” are some fundamental changes in the Candidate Market.  These changes have been coming on for the last 10 or 15 years and have now come to define the candidate market.  And when this freight recession ends, and it will end, good luck finding help.

Much has changed and there are a lot of reasons why.  These reasons tend to fall under the heading of “changing expectations”.  I think this is particularly true for candidates who have come of age since 2000.  For management level and above this would be in the 25-45 age range.  They have grown up in a different world; the world of 911, the 2008-2010 recession, mergers and acquisitions, an increasingly polarized nation and, most recently, the Covid Pandemic.  To a large degree these events have shaped their outlook toward work and career advancement.

These candidates are reluctant to trust employers (or recruiters).  They have personally experienced or witnessed the impact of a recession on employment.  The escalation of merger and acquisition activity during the extended era of cheap money following the recession may have created some jobs, but even more job losses.  If this is how the marketplace works, why risk changing jobs or relocating for a career opportunity that is just as likely to evaporate as it is to materialize?  We have a prime age workforce that just doesn’t buy into pursuing career opportunities unless the overall payoff is large, highly probable and immediate.  They have good reason to be cynical about the long-term benefits of sacrificing too much for what may well turn out to be too little.

The offshoots of this are a desire for work-life balance and a resistance to relocation.  Furthermore, to make a job change; it must be the right position, with the right company, in the right place, at the right time…and for the right money.  Most candidates are no longer willing to take a “stepping-stone” job for a modest increase in pay, especially if it involves relocation and does not come with a significant improvement in work-life balance.  And those candidates who are genuinely career driven are looking for a bigger job, more responsibility and a lot more money.  Gone are the days of someone taking a job for a 10-15% increase in compensation.   Perhaps if there is no relocation, that might work.  Otherwise, it needs to be a 25-30% increase which likely puts them above current employees in similar positions.  So that’s not going to work.

For now there are enough unemployed or under-employed candidates who will accept any job if it pays close to what they were previously earning.  But that candidate pool will dry up quickly as the economy improves.  We are also seeing companies hire below “spec” in order to stay within their pay range for the position.  More often than not it does not turn out well for the company or the candidate.

Looking ahead, companies that have the talent will be the winners.  This means developing and retaining that talent.  Companies cannot rely on the marketplace to fill their needs.  This is coming from a headhunter who makes his living recruiting people away from one company to another. There will still be times when going to the market for talent is necessary.  Recruiting, whether internal or third-party, will still be around.  But companies best invest in new people and fill their needs internally.  Finding and hiring talent in the open market is not going to get any easier or more affordable.

You Might Need A Hearing Aid If...

                                                    

                                      

Hearing aids are just one more grudging concession to growing older.  It was a battle I could no longer fight, much less win.  My wife Kayla has needlessly put up with my poor hearing for years.  So, I now wear hearing aids.  Thus, for the sake of all you older men who might not hear as well as you used to and for the sake of your tortured wives even more so, I feel it is my duty to suggest “you might need a hearing aid if” certain things are happening.

You might need a hearing aid if you think your wife just mumbles all the time.  You may ask what happened to her? Why doesn’t she speak clearly anymore?  Did she have a stroke while I wasn’t watching?  Is she just mumbling to irritate me?  News flash:  She is not the problem.

You might need a hearing aid if you think kids these days don’t know how to talk.  Whatever happened to proper enunciation?  Too much texting and social media is ruining verbal communication.  No one can understand these kids, not even their parents.  Uh, sorry Boomer, the kids are not the problem.

You might need a hearing aid if restaurants and other public places have just gotten too noisy.  It’s impossible to carry on a decent conversation with the music and background noise.  They must not want customers to stay around too long unless they are spending money.  No wonder all these places are going out business.   The fact is these places are doing just fine.  That’s why so many people are there talking, eating and drinking.  

You might need a hearing aid if your neighbor starts commenting about the television show they heard you watching last night.  Or they ask if your wife is OK because they heard you loudly asking her why she mumbles all the time.

You might need a hearing aid if your pets start running from you because you’re talking so loud they think you’re mad at them.

You might need a hearing aid if you are driving and discover that your turn signal has been on for the last five miles. 

You might need a hearing aid if a nurse ask you when is the last time you had anything to eat or drink and you answer by telling them your date of birth.

And you might need a hearing aid if you call a customer service help line and simply cannot understand what the person is saying.  Ok, bad example. Maybe you don’t need a hearing aid if that’s the only problem you’re having.

                  “Whoever has ears, let them hear” Matthew 11:15

Assassination Attempt, My Two Cents Worth

 

“Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can see the future.”- Marcus Aurelius.

_The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump will be THE STORY for the next few weeks and may turn out to be THE STORY of the 2024 Election.

 

_This event will push Trump even farther ahead of Biden in the polls, especially in the swing states.  Trump is now a lock to win the election.

 

_To not secure a building less than 200 yards away and then not have eyes on all rooftops in the area is an epic lapse in security.  That it happened in broad daylight only adds to the scope of this security failure.

 

_How long before The Left makes this about gun control? I’ll give it two weeks. And, oh by the way, expect a jump in the sale of guns and ammo.

 

_Democrats may rightly conclude they can’t win in November and just ride Biden/Harris to the finish line.  Why fight the Biden family and supporters only to end up with Harris/Whoever on a losing ticket?

 

_One can only hope there is no evidence that the assassin had ties to any radical groups.  The internet is already boiling over with conspiracy theories.  Even if there is “no evidence”, it’s not going to stop the MAGA hardcore from believing this was a Deep-State sponsored hit job.

 

_The political divide in this nation has been growing for the past 40 years, most of all in the last 8 years.  We cannot go on at this rate.  Our politicians, our journalists, our religious leaders, our educators and our entertainers need to tone down the rhetoric.  Just stop feeding the fire.

Two Cents Worth While Contemplating the meaning of Independence

 

Time for another installment of unrelated subject matter and commentary.

­_I doubt that the Founding Fathers of this nation ever envisioned piling up a federal debt that would be 25% greater than annual gross domestic product.  Or that the interest on debt would exceed National Defense spending.  Not a great formula for being “independent”.

_I look forward to seeing Kevin Costner’s “Horizon”.  But I don’t do movie theaters anymore and certainly not for a 3-hour Part I episode.  I’m spoiled by the big screen at home, my comfortable chair and most of all, a pause button.

_Health tip: Make sure you’re getting enough protein.  “Enough” depends on size, sex, age and activity level.  Most of us consume too many empty carbs and not enough protein.  Worldwide it’s estimated that over 1 billion people suffer from severe protein deficiency.  

_The Freight Recession continues.  While we are seeing some signs of improvement, the consensus of opinion is we will not see overall capacity/demand balance until mid-2025.

_Anyone who is just now realizing that President Biden is not up to the task has either not being paying attention or they have been in denial.  And Donald Trump isn’t far behind.  There really needs to be an age limit on the President and Vice-President positions.  Once a person gets past 70, even if they are very healthy, they begin to lose their edge.  Clearly there are big jobs a healthy, super senior can do.  Warren Buffet and the late Charlie Munger come to mind.  Clint Eastwood has done some very good work well past 70.  There are artists and entertainers who remain outstanding in their 70's and even into their 80's.  But being President of the United States is a whole other ballgame, if it’s done right.  And the risks are too great if it’s not done right.  We should not be rolling the dice against old age for the most important job in the world.

Bada Bing

 

Here we are in 2024 and it seems like it was only yesterday when “The Sopranos” landed on our not so big screens.  It was January 10, 1999.  And until the final episode in June 2007, it was must-see television.  For me, “Yellowstone” is the only series that has since come close.  And, as much as I like Yellowstone, it simply does not rate up there with “The Sopranos”.  

It was the acting and the dialogue that made "The Sopranos" so great.  The violence was graphic but never gratuitous and always seemed necessary.  And of course there were plenty of F-bombs dropping all over the place.  But the way those Jersey guys said F—K, F—king, F—ker and of course the “mother” of all F-bombs, it just seemed natural. 

The larger-than-life actor James Gandolfini left us way too soon.  But had he lived he would have forever been Tony Soprano no matter what other roles he played.  Even great actors find it difficult to break away from an iconic character.  Most of the Soprano regulars are forever linked to that series, but none more so than Gandolfini.

The Sopranos struck a chord with Americans.  We were stepping into a new millennium.  There was money to be made and life was not bad for most of us.  But we were haunted by the emptiness of our pursuits.  The Sopranos reflected what we had become.  Living in a wealthy suburban neighborhood, the kids doing normal kid stuff, Mom taking care of everyone and everything; and Dad heading off to work in his big, shiny SUV.  He just happened to be a Crime Boss. 

Tony Soprano was like one of us, only different.  Like us in that he was a blend of good and bad.  He hoped to be more good than bad.  But he had a job to do and people were counting on him.  If he had to do bad things to those who got in his way, they had it coming.  Like us, it was just business. The only difference being that he didn’t just kill careers, he killed the people.  And we rooted for him every week.