The best part of writing as a career . . .

is when you get notes like this. Jordan, in the Air Force, just got orders to Eielson Air Force Base south of Fairbanks:

Mr Rozell,

I'm sure you don't remember me, but a few years ago as a kid out of a Texas high school dreaming of the Alaskan wilderness, I exchanged some emails with you about Alaska. I was especially close to my dog, Jane, growing up, so your story stuck out to me for obvious reasons, but I was mainly fascinated by your writing of the wild frontier of Alaska . . . I wanted to see the world, so I joined the Air Force, not knowing the world I would see was Louisiana and Iraq. Well, a bit of luck finally fell my way a few days ago, and I have orders to Eielson AFB not too far from Fairbanks. I'll get there in May, so thankfully I'll miss the full force of the winter, but I am fascinated by what I'll get to experiance there. 

While deployed to Iraq, I would read your articles online about the animals, people, terrain, northern lights, and use them as my little 5 minute vacation from all that was going on. I guess I just wanted to say thank you.

As far as your writing, I want you, if you can, to imagine the opposite of where you are, 130 degrees with 100% humidity. Instead of the wide open spaces, you can't leave a compound without a convoy, and it's in a place where no one wants to be in a convoy. And you don't worry about accidentally spooking a bear, you worry about accidentally walking into the cross hairs of someone who isn't as easily fended off with pepper spray. And then you have someone writing these short, easy to follow articles or blogs about the sun not quite producing any heat yet, or the companionship of a dog (Chloe, or Jane, depending if I'm reading a blog or a book). Maybe it's an article on the northern lights, or a picture of a live human's face covered in ice. It's just a complete escape from reality into a world that I can't imagine, but instead of Tolkien's Middle Earth, it's an obtainable solid place that I could one day have the dumb luck of walking into. I guess my dumb luck finally came through.