July 4^th.  Independence Day.  Fireworks, hotdogs, and beer.  That’s what it’s all about, right?  In our broken society, we have forgotten the true meaning of this day.  On this day in 1776 the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was signed.  That’s all well and good but we as a country have been giving our freedoms and liberty away at an alarming rate as of late.

That’s enough for my political soap box.  Let me tell you what Independence Day means to me.  Freedom to be my own person.  The ability to be me.  Autistic and proud of it.  I’m finally comfortable with me.  I’ve been fortunate throughout my life to have been able to do many things that I shouldn’t be able to do.  When I was young, nobody had a clue what higher functioning autism and associated learning disabilities were.  I was just the weird kid that supposedly didn’t apply myself.  I was a hard worker but didn’t understand a lot of what was going on around me.  I was my own worst enemy.  No more.

Independence Day.  I had everything taken away from me because I did it wrong.  I worked for the man. I toiled and I slaved.  I worked from sun up to sun down for most of my life.  I thought I was happy.  I was ‘living’ the American Dream.  All my money was pissed away paying bills and trying to keep up with the Jones.  Just like everybody else.  The company I worked for pulled out of Alaska.  I was done.  Lost nearly everything. 

Independence Day.  The ability to fend for myself and take care of my wife.  That day is today.  I’ve been learning for quite a while now.  It’s been an uphill struggle.  I’m not out of the woods yet.  We still have a way to go but are getting there.  My problem was that I was never taught to think outside the box.  After all these years, I didn’t know how to improvise, adapt, and overcome when times got hard and things went bad.

Kitty has been a very good teacher.  Truth be known, if it hadn’t been for her patience, guidance, and chasing me with a machete once when I really needed it, I wouldn’t be here writing.  If it hadn’t been for Kitty, I would have hightailed it back to Missouri and been miserable for the rest of my life.  If it hadn’t been for Kitty, I wouldn’t have learned how to think outside the box and make my own income when my age turned me into a workforce liability in a long down economy. 

My time with AeroTech will soon be coming to a close.  Ted and Patti have been good to me and are very special people in my life.  They helped me when I needed it.  Our contract here in Galena will be finished at the end of this month.  Most likely the helicopter will be repositioned to the Lower 48 once again.  Kitty needs me now.  I won’t be traveling with my machine. 

Pay no attention to the firefighter in the background!

We have one more move to make.  I hope this will be the last one.  We are waiting for word on a small place that has a shop outside of Fairbanks. This place also has water.  Kitty can’t live dry anymore.  It makes things really tough.  If you are not in or from Alaska the concept of living in a dry cabin is most likely a foreign concept.  It is very normal here.  Hauling water and hunny buckets takes a lot of time though. I am hoping to move my wife next week when my break comes again. 

So, with the end of my employment and no ability to get cash saved, what the heck am I going to do, you are most likely thinking.  I’m going to do anything and everything I have to do.  I’ll dig ditches till the ground gets too hard.  I’ll scrub toilets wherever they need to be scrubbed.  I’ll do what I have to do to earn my income.

Arctic Artique is going to be a very big endeavor this year.  Last winter was bad but it did sustain us for the two winters prior.  I didn’t know what I was doing then.  I am now learning to becoming an online entrepreneur.  I enjoy photography, woodworking, and making art.  I also learned how to sell on eBay.  I’ve learned all of the different aspects at different times.  Now it’s time to put the whole package together. 

Almost finished.  What could they be?

I’m currently starting to build my inventory to get ready for this.  I take pictures.  Lots of them.  I’ve been told I’m good.  One of my projects is my original photography in custom handmade reclaimed material frames.  If you make enough of them you get quick. These and many other recycle, repurpose, reuse projects are going to propel us forward. 

I’ll put my art in every vendor spot I can find.  What good tourist wouldn’t want an original custom Alaska memory?  I’m also going to sell online.  In addition to eBay which is not the best outlet these days we will be moving into Etsy for Kitties unique brand of vintage and antique artifacts.

I also just started my own website. 

ArcticArtique.Com

This site is currently under construction but is open. Enjoy!    It will incorporate a little of everything I have learned through the years.  I guess you could call it the central nervous system for an ever-growing social media presence.  What the heck.  Digital is the way to go these days.  Make sure you check it out and be sure to like us on Facebook at

Arctic Artique!

You’re probably wondering what happened to the herbal and curio shop.  That place turned out to be a scam.  We got took.  We were able to get a lot of our merchandise out but much of it was withheld from us.  You can see our stuff in her new pictures.  The stuff we did get back was damaged.  That’s okay though.  We move forward.  We leave that gal in the dust.  She’s in for a rude awakening as soon as the tax collector comes anyway!

As I said before, we’re not out of the woods yet.  I can see the forest through the trees now!

ArcticArtique.BlogSpot.Com

Fear Not.  You Will Be Prosperous.