Dark
nights gobble up the precious minutes of daylight.
Cheechakos
imagine that a curtain drops in Alaska when winter comes, six months of daylight, then six months of darkness.
However, the summer sunlight gradually surrenders to winter with
an average loss of six minutes of daylight per day.
Ice chunks float down the
Chena River,
and it's below freezing most of the day.
Snow may fall at any time.
Why would anyone want to come to Fairbanks in October?
October
is the month when the Permanent Fund dividend checks arrive.
Almost thirty years ago
the ten-year-old state government received about 900 million dollars when Alaska
auctioned the drilling rights at Prudhoe Bay.
Oil revenues deposited on February 28, 1977 created the
Permanent Fund savings account.
A portion of the income of this savings account is distributed each year.
A direct deposit
check for $1,540.88 is credited on October 7.
For those who wanted the check sent directly to them, the date is later.
Each application is processed in the order it is received.
Every resident of Alaska receives a check, every man, woman, and child.
Is that enough to convince you to move to Alaska?
If
not, maybe the beautiful northern lights, or the wildlife, or the snow in October will.
My
son, the chef catered an Octoberfest with his culinary arts class, his craving for polka music satiated until next year.
For some
the prospect of no more lawn mowing or gardening for the next seven or eight months lures them north.
Others come for the fresh air, bright stars and open spaces.
The
first snow comes on October 14.
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