Deer dinner in cozy Klawock

Below marks my first column for the Capital City Weekly. This is my first winter back in Alaska after 14 years away for college and the beginning of a career teaching high school in California, so my Alaskanization is in full force.I now divide my year according to steelhead, salmon and deer seasons. Chopping firewood is a chore, not a novelty summer activity, and my skin is turning the powdery shade it was when I went to high school in Klawock.What hasn't changed much is the dinner table. Every summer I came home to stock up on fish (and if I was lucky, venison) for those vicious 45-degree California winters.I had friends in the Golden State who loved having - but not necessarily eating - fish, as if saving it in the freezer meant it was going to appreciate at an annual rate of 4.5 percent.Their cooking ignorance ruined plenty of fillets, so after a while I wouldn't give them any. If they felt like eating salmon, I'd take some over with me and prepare it for them. I'm realizing now that sounds like I was bribing people for friendship, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case.See full column at:http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/030514/out_1196726937.shtml