The end of the road? My last blog
How cool is that to be able to post on my blog from the afterlife!
I guess I spent too many years in that cabin in the woods and learned to ignore pain and discomfort because apparently the pain I have been experiencing over the last few days was a serious indication that I was in real trouble.
Then again with the coronavirus pandemic in full swing one just does not call up and go and see his doctor…. either way I messed up and hopefully my thick headedness will be an example to all of you my fellow readers to not delay is and when you think something is wrong with your body.
I’ve had 74 years of walking this ‘road of life’ and have seen and done a myriad of things some good and some not so, but the all add up to a life that I should not in totality have any regrets. I tell you typing with this pain in my left side of my chest can be a problem but let me continue. Actually its not my heart but surgery for a gallbladder that may be what takes me down.
I am thankful for my family and my friends all of whom made up a wonderful life. From marrying Teresa twice, the second time for 28 years, ( I had to get it right so I did it twice) to the birth of my children Anthony and Tricia and grandchildren Sky, Sophia, and Kai you all have made this old man very happy and proud.
My friends Chet, Claudia, Rose, Kara, Jerry, Sam, Paul, Bill, Clara, Floyd – though just a few named here – I think should be cherished all the more because they were always there whether for a conversation or some help, they made the latter part of my life all the better.
I only wish there was a way to reach out back to you all to let you know what to expect at the end of that road, but alas we have to accept that end on faith.
The one thing I know about my end of the road it will not be like I have said about other days definitely not SSDD.
Here’s hoping I’ll see you all past that end of the road.
Pete.
Pete's Alaska 
Hello everyone.
For those wondering how this came to be… I am Pete’s son, and I happen to be the WordPress creator who built dad’s blog back when he was posting via a pc laptop, through a 2-meter radio, a 1200 baud simplex packet modem, and a 70 mile journey through the air over a mountain, to a tower with a connection to Winlink, a ham radio communications program. One post would take 5 long minutes, just to send.
While it’s been easier these past few years for dad to access the world with his own cable internet access since he moved down to Texas, conversely, it was the lack of being in Alaska that made it harder to write about things.
Texas is certainly not bush Alaska, and all the everyday adventure that goes along with that.
Dad left this post on his desktop, with this image. I assumed he meant for me to post it, so I did. He left it next to documents for my sister and me.
Since I created the blog, I am able to post his final thoughts, and adjust it so it’s actually at the right place… because, for some reason, he had gotten into the habit of making a post “sticky” which is supposed to put _one_ post at the top, but he’s been making each post sticky, for so long, that now every post has to be “sticky” if you are ever going to see it at all.
In as much as he and I differed, widely, on our viewpoints, this was his blog and he said what he believed- to the end.
Thank you all for being part of his life because I know he had an enjoyable dialog in the comments with many of you. You made his days brighter and more entertaining, as much as he may have entertained you as well.
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Andy & Trisha,
Even though all of us on here knew Pete’s time was near it’s still hard to believe & accept as it is all those who pass on that we knew & liked & considered good friends.
When one has the health issues like he did, a lot of times it’s best to let them go. They are suffering as are all of those who are close. Let go & let God. It was the same with my Dad. Too many problems & even surviving them would have meant more of an existence than a life.
Can’t think of anything more to say so I’ll sign off for now.
Our sympathies to both of you & your families. God bless Pete & all of you.
Jon & Margie Rukavina
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Forgot to mention something about the pic posted of Pete. Looks like he’s saying goodbye to us. A fitting picture.
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Hello Anthony – THANK you so much for posting this and for assisting your father in his last years! Pete is an amazing man, and I am so privileged to have met him in person and shared of his wisdom and perspective!! He and I are both ‘Alaskan spirits’ and while I am glad he elected to return to the lower 48 for his last few years to be with family I know a part of him always longed to return to ‘The Great Land’. When Pete finally sheds his ‘mortal coil’ our world will be a darker, heavy place without his presence. And I, along with many others, will be without an amazing friend and a steady, guiding presence…
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Happy trails, Pete
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Rest In Peace , Pete and to all family and friends, God Bless sk 73 john w8wej
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Your father had, lived a full life, following the values that are, true to him, and you should be, proud, of the legacy he’s, left.
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Anthony and Trish you both are in our prayers… And as icefogger said ” Happy Trails Pete”
Del
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God bless you Pete. Thanks Anthony for posting this for your pops.
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Thank you for sharing these last thoughts and words. Pete seems to have lived a full life and ended it with gratitude. God bless and comfort
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This is the post I have been hoping never to see, I think. Certainly Pete and I did not see eye to eye on many things. What we did agree on was the absolute beauty and breathtaking spirituality of Alaska. The importance of family. The necessity of taking care of the land. It sometimes was they how to get ‘er done that made us butt heads. But I enjoyed his writing. It enabled me to see a differing viewpoint and, if I waltzed around just right, I could meet him in the middle. So very sorry for your loss, Anthony. May your Dad’s memory be eternal and his soul rest with the blessed.
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This is very sad news for me. I visited Pete during my Alaska Trip in 2012. I drove along the road when I saw his sign “Snack in the Shack”. I was a bit tired due to the long ride back to Fairbanks and used the chance for a stop. I remember his wife calling him across the garden “Pete? Here’s one of your friends!”. Acually me, Stefan, DH5FFL. Pete showed me the rural life in the cabin, told me about snow hights in winter time where just Moose came by. His transceiver worked only with two old car batteries. Another crazy story – for me as a european – which I remember very well: Pete told me that when you boarded airplanes in the far north it was matadory to take a gun in the cabin – just in case of an emergency that you can protect yourself from bad animals in the wild. A gun in the cabin? Everybody who has flown in planes over the last years will know that this is a no go. To summerize it up, thank you Pete, even 10 years after my trip to Alaska for this nice afternoon! Rest in peace and 73, Stefan :-(
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