Author Archives: Wayne Mergler

“I used to sit on the porch steps, usually with a stick in my hand, digging at the dirt by the brick-lined walk. My parents and aunts and uncles sat on benches or straight-back wicker chairs; my grandfather always got the rocker and my grandmother usually sat in the swing. Sometimes, I would sit with […]

“The ground is frozen solid, and no amount of shoveling, hacking, or pick-axing is going to create a grave. In Alaska, a corpse is ‘put on ice’ until summer, usually July or August, when the ground has thawed sufficiently to allow a grave to be dug. It has its drawbacks, of course. Bev’s daughter told […]

“Most of what I saw there is now forgotten, and rightly so, but I did find myself somewhat hooked on a courtroom show called ‘Judge Judy.’ I, of course, knew of Judge Judy, but I’d never paid her or her show much attention until my long, unexpected sojourn in the hospital. However, since she seemed […]

“Together, they were amazing. And they were always together, always laughing, singing, sometimes holding court, telling stories, regaling their fans with the sheer joy they felt in the presence of each other. They were genuinely happy people, largely because they were living their lives exactly the way they wanted to. They did not care a […]

Above The Timberline By Wayne Mergler Note: Wayne Mergler is still “on sick leave” in the frozen north, so we are sharing one of his 2010 columns for your delectation till he’s back on board. ANCHORAGE AK—(Weekly Hubris)—11/4/2013—Anyone who has been to Anchorage, Alaska knows that we’re surrounded by mountain ranges here, most notably the […]

“When I first came to Alaska in 1968, tourists were a rarity. Some adventurous types came up here, sure, but, for the most part, Alaska was not on anybody’s ‘must visit’ list. For the first 20 years I lived here, Alaska was the country’s best kept secret. No one had any idea what it was […]

“I used to sit on the porch steps, usually with a stick in my hand, digging at the dirt by the brick-lined walk. My parents and aunts and uncles sat on benches or straight-back wicker chairs; my grandfather always got the rocker and my grandmother usually sat in the swing. Sometimes, I would sit with […]

“Now, if Jaiziriquon is reading this column (seems unlikely), I should start out by apologizing. I have no idea how to spell his name or even if I heard it quite right, but this is the closest I can come to accuracy. I hope he will forgive me.” Wayne Mergler Above The Timberline by Wayne […]

Above The Timberline by Wayne Mergler ANCHORAGE Alaska—(Weekly Hubris)—3/5/12—A moose fell on my car today. Probably, most Americans don’t have that experience but, in Alaska, where I live, it is not so rare an occurrence. And the winter of 2012 has been more “moose-active” than most. At the time of this writing, the city of […]

Above The Timberline by Wayne Mergler Editor’s Note: Since Wayne’s still convalescing, Weekly Hubris offers up yet another of his early columns for the –zine. ANCHORAGE Alaska—(Weekly Hubris)—1/23/12—Anyone who has been to Anchorage, Alaska knows that we are surrounded by mountain ranges, most notably the spectacular Chugach Range, which looms over the city like protective […]