THE BUSH
This week I took my first trip outside of Anchorage, to the Alaskan Bush. We have a client in Ketchikan (in the southern tip of Alaska) who needed some trending too. Rex says clients are like babies, and you gotta pay attention to them every once and a while for no particular reason just to make them feel they are getting their money's worth.

So I flew down to Ketchikan for the day. Caught my flight out at 7:50. Now this was what they call a 'pond hopper', meaning we stopped in every two-bit fishing village and tourist trap from here to the tip of Alaska (Ketchikan). It took 5 hours, on way. I was not the last stop, as the plane made one final leap to Seattle before turning back.

It was beautiful there- lush green woods, little planes taking off from the water sounding like big lawn mowers. I was sad that I forgot my camera (as I am sure you are, readers of this boring, pictureless text). But I hardly would have even had time to, because right out of the airport I took the ferry to the island, to a taxi to the prison, talk with the client for 2 hours, back in a cab, back in the ferry, and back on the plane. Hardly time to look around.

TALK TO STRANGERS
The best part of the trip (I've mentioned before being a favorite of mine) was the conversation with the fellow sitting next to me on the ride back. He was great. Older fellow, about 50, told me about his life growing up in Alaska, becoming a barge master and traveling around the world. We talked about Minnesota (where he went to hockey camp), Sweden (where he's traveled). Now he's in construction. Owns a little plane, he says. Uses it like a truck to haul things to different sights and to his cabin. Maybe I'd like a ride in it sometime? Hecks yeah! I say.
In contrast to his blue collar background, his wife is a big time native rights lawyers, on some human rights panel at the UN. I talk with her (during a break in Juneau, I think) and in a continuing set of coincidences it turns out she knows and is friends with my torts professor from law school, Prof. Weisbrodt, who is also a human rights big wig at the UN and Geneva. Small world.
They say I should come over for dinner some night and we can argue politics and law. Double plus sweet.

Lesson being, talk to strangers on planes. Nothing beats it, I swear.

COMING ATTRACTIONS
Three weeks to go. Looks like we're finally going to go to trial in some cases next week or the one after. Rex promised.
Beyond that, I think I'm ready to go back to Minnesota. I'm even looking forward to law school (how weird is that?)

-The Wandering Norseman-