The Congressman is on his 25th term. I met him for the first time in 1987 when I was a young intern for Senator Ted Stevens in his D.C. office. And in 2021I was determined to visit with him before I traveled back home to Alaska from Washington D.C. and I was scheduled for a 1/2 hour visit. Although its been quite awhile since I’ve seen him in person it was good to see him in good shape. I met his second wife as well. What I didn’t know when I got to his office on the House side of the Capitol was that there is a picture printer and photographer snapping pictures of the visit. I had no idea that I would get a signed picture with him. It was a good surprise. He told me his stories of his start in Alaska and showed me a picture hanging on his wall of the little school house he taught at. And there was also a picture of a barge that he had worked on during his early days.
Although the visit was a short half hour it will be one of my favorite memories in 2021. I shared some topics I was interested in, which included Education, the By Catch in the Gulf of Alaska, and Climate changes and its effects. I shared a personal incident on the increasing strength of the wind in Southeast Alaska. My childhood home in the late eve of January 2020 the roof blew off and due to the ongoing storm the inside of the house was water damaged throughout. The tides are also increasingly getting higher and since the house is on the beach the tide comes up and under the house during the Fall and Winter months. Our hope is to build another home for my mom on the property that has been handed down through the generations in our family.
As our time wrapped up and we chatted a bit more about Alaska. And as I waited for my signed picture, a staffer came out and introduced herself. She told me about her work in policy and we chatted about current issues. Its always good to meet new Alaskans. I am grateful to the staff for arranging the 1/2 hour with the Dean and will look back on our visit often.