The Helen T

shelter

David Randlett untangles cascading nasturtiums at the Driftwood Inn, where he is a maintenance employee in Juneau. Although he recently rented an apartment in town, he's holding off on moving until the weather turns. Randlett says he prefers staying out at the Thane Campground.
"I don't like living in a box," he said. "They want us in boxes."
When Randlett lived in Georgia, a code enforcement officer came by his campsite and asked him, "Why do you want to live like this?"
"Because I can see the deer in the morning, the different waves of birds who stop by to feed, and sit by the campfire and play guitar at night," Randlett said.
"You couldn't camp out for more than two weeks even on your own property and they were going to take my landlord to court," he said. "When they made me tear my camp down, it tore my heart out of me.
"And that's why I came to Alaska, but I'm finding out now it's not free. The wave of political correctness has finally hit Juneau."

Red Clover and Cointreau

"You used to lead a dignified life," Ron R., a troller in Sitka, said to me when I saw him at the ferry terminal. Ron R. and Linda D., a troller as well, toast to their reunion with an aperatif served in thrift shop glasses.

Summoning the Book

yabah

These youths build affordable housing while they simultaneously study for their GED in a supportive laid-back environment. There's time for skiff adventures and guitar hero too.

The Fair

The proverbial cracked windshield - you know you're in Alaska.

Out the Road

Burn

When Burn Thompson was homeless in Juneau, her possessions were often stolen, so she kept the most important ones - her poems - in her memory. Now she owns her own condominium and writes her work down each morning at a small desk in her bedroom.