Meet Ben. He’s my younger brother. In case you forget his name, it’s on his shirt.
Ben moved to Alaska three months ago to take a job as an electrician at the community college in Valdez. His job as an electrician with a company in Wisconsin had been slow in the recent year and he was perhaps up for a little adventure. He packed up his camper and drove to Valdez in four days [yeah. four days. it took me seven.] with his kayak, three different bicycles, and mounted buck head. Oh, and Jetta, the dog.
I think he kinda loves it here. He likes his job and his coworkers think he’s the bee’s knees. One of his coworkers, Chris, talked to me while we all hung out on Wednesday night. So you think he’s going to stick around for awhile? I think so, I said. We don’t want him to go. We love him here. Ben’s been doing a lot of cleaning house at the college, cleaning up previous messes and tidying up cords with the electrical. Apparently he got mad props during the inservice held for staff this past week because of the great work he’s been up to. They love the work he’s doing and he loves it too. He showed me the projector he just installed. He said it was fun. [silly boy.]
He rents a room in a cabin outside of town. As he explained it to me, it’s like our family’s cabin in Black River Falls but with plumbing and electricity. That it is. He built in a bunk for his rented room. There’s awesome wallpaper too. I couldn’t live like this day in and day out but for him, it works. He doesn’t need stuff to be happy. [Maybe that’s why he only has one bath towel? I know what I’ll be mailing him when I get home.]
When I graduated from seminary, Ben sent me a card. It was signed “from Ben and Jetta” and it said “proud of you” in his boyish printing. From Ben, that’s a lot. I’m proud of him too. It was quite a leap to pack up and move to Alaska but I think he’s found a place where his passions are put into practice each day. His passions and his gifts are seen in each day he re-wires a classroom or kayaks into the sound or fishes for salmon. He seems happy here and that, my friends, is a good thing. I’m glad I was able to visit and see what he’s been up to. [AAA] success.
there's no place like gnome. 
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