Report From the CEO & Founder at Mylifeonearth

I think my favorite story about Alaska is the one about the state flag. It was designed by a thirteen-year-old boy in a 1927 contest, when Alaska had been a territory of the United States for sixty years. And this morning I was looking for something to excerpt from the twenty-ninth of July. Of course I can't guarantee this came out on that DAY, but when I was upstairs rummaging through the closet where I keep a lot of books and journals I came across some old National Geographic magazines that I'd bought at a used book sale and liked this July 1959 one which I'll excerpt parts of today.

Fiction and fantasy aside, the 49th is a state of superlatives. It is more than twice as large as Texas; 21 smaller states would fit within it. Its seacoast is longer than that of all the other States combined. (See the Atlas Map, State of Alaska, distributed to members with this issue of their magazine.)

Today. Martha. Pulled. A. Gray. Hair. From. My. Head.

I was with Sarah and Jeffrey and stopped at Martha's workplace to pick up some money that needed depositing right quick, and the kids of course were so glad to see her there and then walked to Grandma's with our copy of My Favorite Seuss that they'll take turns reading today for a summer competition. (There's thirteen stories in it, so among all the playing and eating and napping -- yeah right -- they'll do today they will also see things on Mulberry Street, fish in McElligot's Pool, have their birthday celebrations in Katroo ... but I digress.)

Alaska became the 49th State January 3, 1959, when the President [Dwight Eisenhower, in his second appearance this week - D.] signed the proclamation. His act, first of its kind since Arizona's admission in 1912, ended what the author [Thomas J. Abercrombie, with Ernest Gruening, for "Alaska Proudly Joins The Union"] describes as "Alaska's history of remote control." Vice President Richard Nixon (left) and House Speaker Sam Rayburn sit beside the President. Alaska's Representative Ralph J. Rivers and Senators Ernest Gruening and E. L. Bartlett stand at left.

Yesterday I finished my first SparkNotes. Like Facebook, SparkNotes was founded by some Harvard University students and unlike CliffsNotes you don't open them and find that warning about this not being a substitute for the text; I think it's assumed you know that, and I opened Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (ISBN 158663514X) introduced to "Stopping to Buy SparkNotes on a Snowy Evening" which plays off a Robert Frost poem and then reading a great work on its own. I've read both the story of Charlie Gordon and the expanded novel before, but I learned some new things.

Today Juneau, the State capital, once a center of hard-rock mining, relies on government payrolls, Federal and now State. And despite the new constitution which fixes the city as Alaska's capital, some local residents fear it may one day be moved. Already government employees in Anchorage far outnumber those in Juneau.

Today. Martha. Pulled. A. Gray. Hair. From. My. Head.

Today's title comes from the friend of mine whose birthday it is; that's what she lists as her occupation. And I like it. For aren't we ALL the chief executive officers of our lives on Earth? As for the founder -- with respect to my friend, I disagree. God being Who formed us in the womb and set us apart before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5), I would qualify HIM as our Founder. When we reach our age of maturity and to degrees as we grow up, we become accountable and responsible -- or should! -- for our actions. It's a step by step process, but we'll get there.

"I hope I never have to walk home," grinned my host in his lakeside cabin. "I figure it would take about four days!"

Which passes faster than you think, David