It would be difficult to overstate the significance of our friends and family in making this arctic sojourn possible. It is ironic that we must rely so heavily on friends and family to make possible this journey to a place so isolated from the outside world. We have taken money, encouragement, lodging, and patience. At work, at home, and along the road we have relied on the kindness and generosity of others.
As the actual day arrives, I feel a kind of aching. It is hard to leave behind such good friends. It is hard to leave behind families. In a momentary existence, it is hard to make a choice that will separate us from the ones we love by a full continent's width. It is a fitting artifact of the human condition; for it is in our separateness that we fully realize our connectedness. The greater the separation, whether in time or space, the more fully and often painfully we realize the depth of our connections to each other. Or put more succinctly, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Thank you. My Mom and Dad, for just about everything. To Megan's Mom and Dad for the winter gear, enthusiasm about Alaska, and forthcoming hunting advice. Matt and Rachel, for a place to stay, and the friendship that made it feel like my home for a brief time. Ann, Roy, and Jane for all your support, worldly and otherwise. Adam, for your memory. Margreta, for being a fellow traveler on a challenging journey. Spencer for being a friend from the first day of law school to this. Michael, for being a true Kinsmen. And all my friends and family who have been nothing but supportive in the face of such a radical white-knuckled plan.
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