Surviving Alaska

Tifani Davids

4/2/14

EN002/Essay 3 Draft

Surviving Alaska

                If you want to survive living in Alaska you must first understand there are three seasons: day, night, and summer.  Well known for its extreme climate, Alaska is more than just snow all the time.  Summer can last for about three months with average temperatures of about sixty-five degrees, but can reach as high as eighty at times.  During the summer months there are about eighteen to twenty-one hours of sunlight.  During the winter months it remains dark for about six hours.  The temperatures can drop below negative thirty degrees in the winter with an average snowfall of about seventy-six feet per year.  Granted, these clearly are in fact extremes, there are ways that you can survive, and enjoy, living in Alaska.

            The possibility of living in an igloo in Alaska is an option, but not the norm.  The suburbs and rural areas of Alaska are much like the rest of the lower forty-eight states.  There are houses, town homes, and apartments.  Many homes offer a mudroom, which is necessary for all the snow boots, winter coats, and snow suits for the kids.  Although the cost of living is higher for most things, especially utilities, housing is lower.  If you want to save money on your utility bills, you will benefit from covering your windows with tin foil, an inexpensive way to keep out the everlasting sun during the long days.  Residents of Alaska also receive a Permanent Fund (PFD) each year that you could use towards your heating costs.  Most schools are equipped with stadium lights on the playground so the children can still play outside even after the sun goes down around 3pm.  If you are a fan of homeschooling your children, you will have a lot of support as many families in Alaska home school their children.  You will want to lean to take high steps through the snow so you don’t lose your boots, or you could fashion yourself with some nice snow shoes.  Summer offers midnight fishing as a bonus to the long summer days as well as hunting, so if you are looking for an opportunity for year round hunting, this is the place to be.  Seafood is of an abundance in Alaska and a favorite among the natives since it doesn't have to be shipped up from other states.  Other meats available that you will not have easy access to in other states are bear, moose, caribou, and elk.  If you see a moose, which chances are you will since they are as common as deer are here in Maryland, take a picture from afar.  Do not be fooled to think you can pet the moose.  They are very aggresive and territorial.

            In order to survive an avalanche it would be best to have at least three days of food storage for each member of your family.  An avalanche can occur usually about twenty four hours after about twelve feet of snow drops.  You know an avalanche is nearby if you hear a distant thunder rolling through the mountains.  If you get a bit of cabin fever during the winter months you can always take advantage of the slops.  Skiing and sledding are great for a family activity.  When summer breaks, you can go and check out the State Fair which is offered in June. 

            Although an extreme climate to take on, there are ways you can survive living in Alaska.  I had the opportunity to live there with my family from the ages of five through seven.  No, we didn’t live in an Igloo and I never met an Eskimo, but I do remember getting caught up in the house after an avalanche, attending the State Fair, and even getting my boot stuck in the snow when I didn’t step high enough.  My school was equipped with stadium lighting as well on our school playground and I remember digging fort holes in the piles of snow.  Surviving Alaska is easy if you follow my basic tips.  Pick up some foil, buy a house with a mudroom, and don’t forget to plug your car in at night when those temperatures drop so your car will start in the morning.

Essay 2

                                                            The Stink of Government Aid

            Welfare, as defined in Webster’s Dictionary is: the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity.  The second definition it gives is that welfare can come as aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need, also as an agency or program through which such aid is distributed.  Welfare has been around for nearly two hundred years.  In the 1800’s, the government focused on creating programs for the poor to be able to work.  The government did not just want to hand out money to the poor, they wanted to assist the poor with training, education and work ethic.  During the Great Depression, possibly the most well-known era in which Government Aid was a great necessity, many families who previously were self-sustained, relied on Government Aid to get them by.  In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.  Under the act, the federal government gives annual lump sums to the states to use to assist the poor.  In turn the states must adhere to certain criteria to ensure that those receiving aid are being encouraged to move from welfare to work.(welfareinfo.org)

           Currently, there are more than twelve million Americans on welfare.  This does not include food stamp, medical assistance, or unemployment, according to the data listed on the website, Statistics Brain/welfare.  The unemployment rate in America right now is around ten million, according to the latest research updated in February of 2014 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Department of Labor.  As you can see, only two million out of the twelve are out of work.  That means, that even though people are working, they are not being able to get by without some help.  So the question is, are American’s lazy and unwilling to work, or is it a larger problem across the board that needs to be addressed?

         Throughout history, as pointed out, the poor have always been among us, and the government has worked hard to assist them.  Then why are we still continuing to require such programs to assist the poor?  What isn't working?  Chances are you will either know someone who is receiving aid in some form, or you will find yourself requiring some government aid, in your lifetime.  What factors may cause this?  The single parent in which it is nearly impossible to be able to take care of household and employment obligations.  The lawyer, who at one time was making over $100,000 a year, more than enough to sustain a comfortable lifestyle, involved in an automobile accident in which he lost both of his legs, and his car, and is now unable to work.  Maybe a young couple in love decided to get married, the husband joins the military to be able to take care of his family and he loses his life.  Now, the wife, a lonely widow, possibly pregnant, with no income and now a new baby on the way to support.

            When we are at the grocery store waiting behind someone paying with food stamps, or WIC checks, do we get impatient?  Do we scan over their items on the belt with judging eyes?  Do we judge them for getting “free” food and feeling a bit bitter that we have to pay for our food with our own hard earned money?

            As someone who is currently finding themselves in a new position of requiring assistance, I have to remind myself every day of the years of work, and taxes paid, I have behind me.  That even though I may be in a position of need at the moment, the bridge of Government Aid that I receive right now will help me get back to a self-sustaining position.  As an American citizen utilizing every skill I possess to follow President Clinton’s Act of 1996, I hope to be able to remember this time in my life, and the next time I am at the grocery store waiting in line behind someone taking extra time to pay for their food with WIC, I will have a bit more patience and be less quick to judge how this person got to a place of requiring a hand out.