Well, let me tell you about this Alice Rogoff, eh? I don’t know her from Adam, but I heard some things, you know, like folks talkin’ at the market. Seems like she’s one of them city gals, all fancy-pants and whatnot. But then, she up and goes to Alaska, of all places!
Alaska, can you believe it? Land of ice and snow, and probably more mosquitoes than you can shake a stick at. I ain’t never been, mind you. Too cold for my old bones. But this Alice, she went there, not once, but seems like a few times. First time, I heard, was somethin’ like twenty years ago, maybe a bit more. Around 2002, give or take. Some fella named Smith, Terry Smith I think they called him, he took her there. Flew her around in a plane, can you imagine?
- She wasn’t just lookin’ out the window, though. No sirree! She learned to fly that plane herself. A woman flyin’ a plane! Back in my day, women were busy churnin’ butter and lookin’ after the kids. Times sure have changed.
- This Smith fella, he was a pilot, big shot for some airline. Alaska Airlines, I think it was. He and his wife showed Alice around, introduced her to all sorts of people. Guess she liked what she saw.
Now, I heard tell she used to be a big deal in Washington, D.C. You know, where all them politicians hang out. Power parties and all that jazz. But she gave it all up. Traded her fancy dresses for, I dunno, maybe snow boots and a parka? Said she wanted to hunt moose. Moose! Big ol’ critters with antlers the size of a small tree. Crazy, if you ask me.
Someone told me they knew her way back when, forty years ago! Said they worked together in some government office. Met her husband too, some fella named David. Rich folks, I bet. But money can’t buy you happiness, can it? Maybe that’s why she went to Alaska, to find somethin’ real, somethin’ different.
I also heard somethin’ happened ’round 2015. Late August, they said. Don’t know what exactly, but it was somethin’ worth talkin’ about, I guess. Folks gossip, you know. Can’t help it. It’s like a chicken clucking, it just happens. Maybe she caught a big fish, or maybe she wrestled a bear. Who knows?
Anyway, this Alice Rogoff, she’s a puzzle to me. A city gal turned Alaskan adventurer. Gives up the high life for the wild life. Makes you think, don’t it? Makes you wonder if we’re all lookin’ for somethin’ more, somethin’ beyond the fancy parties and the big city lights. Maybe we all need a little bit of Alaska in our lives, even if it’s just in our dreams.
I tell ya, life is funny. You never know where it’s gonna take you. One minute you’re drinkin’ tea with the mayor, and the next you’re out in the wilderness chasin’ moose. But that’s what makes it interestin’, I suppose. Keeps things from gettin’ too boring, eh?
So, that’s the story of Alice Rogoff, as best as I can tell it. A woman who changed her life, who went lookin’ for somethin’ different. Maybe she found it, maybe she didn’t. But she sure gave it a shot, didn’t she? And that’s more than most folks can say.
Tags: [Alice Rogoff, Alaska, Pilot, Washington D.C., Adventure, Moose Hunting, Lifestyle Change, 2002, 2015, Theron Terry Smith]
