BUMMER ALERT!!

Sam's Sourdough Cafe' Burned Down Today

OK, now everyone who lives in the Fairbanks vicinity is cursing and swearing, but please remember that I'm only the messenger. Heck, I'm just repeating what I read in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner. They even published a picture (shot by Eric Engman), perhaps recognizing that Sam's customers might think the story a prank in the absence of more definitive evidence.

I avoid going to town as much as possible, and breakfast at Sam's made those trips I can't avoid more bearable. Their grub traditional old-school stuff, sourdough hotcakes, eggs cooked to order, reindeer sausages, all well prepared and served in reasonable quantity.

That's the second bummer of the weekend. The first was news that an old and dear friend and historical reenacting buddy is moving Outside. The recent economic disaster has all but wiped out his savings and he hasn't been able to find decent paying work here in the area. He was recently retrained into a new trade, but the opportunities that new trade should have offered just haven't materialized locally. He and his family are headed down to Hobb's, New Mexico. No worries, I've already warned him that the new Mexicans don't drive any better than do the old ones.

There's an old saw that bad news comes in threes, so now I feel like the sword of Damocles is hanging over my head as I await the third bummer of the weekend.