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Just follow the signs folks and you will be lead to where the Mayor lives! One of the most original mayors in the history of this world!
First there was the horse that #Caligula appointed to his #Senate during the good old Roman days… Not a very good memory of #AnimalRule but that’s the only real example in history that I know of… lol! Other than that, I have always enjoyed the pets of great leaders but never had I heard of one of those pets leading a whole town… Well, there’s a first for everything…
Believe it or not, this is actually a contentious subject in #TalkeetnaAlaska… There are people who support the election of an animal as #Mayor and some who completely oppose it…
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I myself think its a brilliant idea! And it’s one of the main reasons I was attracted to #Talkeetna in the first place! That and the fact that they had a population of around 700 to 800… Give or take a few…
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And I was eager to meet the mayor of this magnificent town… I certainly could see his #leadership has served this #community very well…
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He looks like one of those leaders that enjoys a huge following and enormous, mostly unopposed, fame yet it doesn’t go to his head… It’s almost like he is unaware of his fame, which is probably the only formula that allows such an unopposed rule in a #democratic system like ours… He lets the citizens of this great town make their own decisions, without hardly any #authority leering over them…
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But Mayor Stubbs was not easy to find… Unfortunately, I heard that #MayorStubs was in his later years and was very difficult to get a meeting with… It was practically impossible to get a picture of him… He very rarely leaves his office and home now… And his involvement in the community is very scarce at this time…
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Yet his fame in this community is very apparent… There are pictures of him every where… On post cards, signs, stickers and even restaurant menus…
I was very upset that I wouldn’t get to see this #FamousFelinePolitician… It was rumored that he had just recently turned 22 years old… But sometimes the legend of it all gets a little out of hand with exaggerations… Though a friend of my Mum’s cat lived until 22, so it can happen… But I would require a public display of his #BirthCertificate as proof considering we demand them from our #Presidents now…lol…
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#Nagley’sStore is where he is rumored to live above… I guess there is a living quarters with an office… Tracey and I frequented Nagley’s more than we wanted considering it was the only convenient store for miles… If you wanted groceries, you would have to drive 20 minutes out of town to a place called #Cubbies… Nagley’s was a little over priced but what do you expect out in the middle of nowhere…
Well, one day, Tracey and I were just farting around, on a day off, when we saw a #CameraCrew outside of Nagley’s… I knew instantly that it had to be regarding Stubbs… I was just hoping he didn’t pass away… But the #EagleEye was out today and spotted a little #OrangeHeaded creature crawling around, in front of Nagley’s…
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And no it wasn’t our #POTUS folks… I knew this because of his crawl… It was a crawl of sure confidence… not the fake, crawling, slithering, corrupt, untruthful confidence our POTUS oozes daily… and there weren’t any angry #citizens protesting around him… No, these citizens, residents and tourists were carefully crowding around this #FamousFigure, trying to get a peek without disturbing him in his final days…
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There was a definite respect for this Mayor and though he was withered and old, you could see #leadership qualites we haven’t seen for months in this country… There was no boasting or attacking for distraction… Nope, he just walked with a sure, silent confidence and let the town he helped govern be the example of his success…
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A leader of action and few words folks! And if for some reason you don’t like or agree with his abilities as a Mayor then you can just leave because Talkeetna has an open door policy… If you want to rough it up here with them and you are a pretty damn decent human being, then welcome to Talkeetna… they don’t care who you are or where you come from… An attitude that is a sure reflection of a town and its odd intimate governing, based on trust of their own #citizens and #residents…
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Stubbs even had his own special security detail… They were a little young but Stubbs likes the younger workers, who have a more enthusiastic progressive approach to the world… This security kept people from crowding around Stubbs… And they would help him get around a little also…
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For there wasn’t much of Stubbs left… All the years of his loyalty to this town shows through his shabby orange coat and ever skinny frame… He looked tired and old, yet at peace… Just a #GreatLeader enjoying one of his last strolls in the neighborhood he helped maintain…
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He surely didn’t feel too old to get a stroke from one of his Secret Service detail though… Hey, you have to remember, he’s still a cat…
Unfortunately folks, I have bad news, a couple weeks after Stubb’s last public appearance, he met his maker… When he passed, it was all over the local and #NationalNews.. Not to sound insensitive, but that’s the exact the reason why I believe having an animal as Mayor is ingenious because it brings so much #FreePublicity to a #SmallTown that many outside of Alaska don’t know about… That in turn stirs the #tourists’ interest in this town… I mean, if you are going to #travel all the way to #Alaska, why wouldn’t you stop in a town that has a cat for a mayor?
But that’s the money side of it… I think the #LegendOfStubbsTheCat is worth a way lot more than any money could buy… the reason I and many others love the story of Mayor Stubbs is because it creates an odd mystique to a town… that brings attention to Talkeetna’s originality and its own way of doing things…
Stubbs isn’t just a gimmick! He represents a small, famous town in the middle of a mysterious Alaska, that does things differently than most… And when you hear they have a cat for a mayor, it’s not just odd and intriguing, it also says a lot about Talkeetna and tells Talkeetna’s story through a fantasy that supports the towns own #ideology and beliefs… which states basically, we don’t want to be governed by #BigGovernment…
The people who oppose this free publicity are the same who complain about all of the tourists in the summer… So, it’s pretty clear those people don’t have the small town’s interest in mind considering its survival relies on its mega busy tourist season… Sorry if I sound harsh but this town would have a really hard time surviving without the tourists and it would be completely unrecognizable without tourists because all of the shops and industry are built to tackle the #TouristSeason… I think that’s a no brainer… And those same people are the same ones who benefit from the same exact tourism they complain about yet they want to stop a major factor that brings some of that tourism in… Sounds like the blind leading the blind to me… lol…
Do people make any sense anymore? If you’re going to take such an obstructionist stance on such a simple, fun issue then at least have a viable excuse for your position… I don’t think the demise of your tourist financed small town is a feasible stance… Sorry… It actually reminds me of the book called #Guliver’sTravels… When Guliver visits the island of the little people and they are at war because they can’t agree on how to properly crack an egg… This is exactly what #JonathanSwift was making fun of… Fighting over things that are so stupid and have no reason to be addressed…
The ten people who follow this blog can protest on my comment page, if you feel so passionate about it… lol! And please, I would love to hear your defense… Please explain to me how Talkeetna would benefit without this neat little story… The way I look at it, it’s a neat little harmless, fun playful gimmick that adds to an already original, charming small town… I don’t see how anyone would benefit from destroying such a cool little legend…
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So, with the unfortunate exit of Mayor Stubbs, this leaves a huge political vacancy in Talkeetna… Without the governance of Stubbs, the free feel of this town is definitely in jeopardy… Especially considering some slimy, corrupt human could try to fill its vacancy! Exactly the last thing I would want to happen if I lived here permanently…
So, I thought up a little campaign for fun! I know I don’t have any power or residence in Talkeetna but its just for fun…
Our first candidate is above… And her name is #Penny… And what a great laid back dog she is!
She’s very involved in the touring part of the community in Talkeetna… though not as popular and well known as the other candidates, she has this sense of relaxation that mirrors Stubbs… which gives the impression she would be a great leader for this special town considering they encourage their #politicians to be so relaxed with their leadership…
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It’s not difficult to find penny… You just pass Stubbs home and she hangs out infront of #AlaskaOffRoadATVAdventures, right next door… A great adventure Tracey and #TheTravelingMac went on for her birthday but that we will address in a future post…
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Whenever I went to the store, I would eagerly check to see if Penny was there… She loves a good stroke and will trustingly expose her belly for a nice scratch if she likes you… If the ATV stand is open, you better bet Penny will be there… But Penny is running as a #ThirdParty member because there are two other members of this amazing town who are really stirring the #PoliticalEnvironment here…
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And that brings us to a very controversial #candidate in Talkeetna named #Denali… You can tell by the name that she was being groomed for some political hopes in the near future… It’s kind of funny that the #DenaliMountain was first wrongly named after #PresidentMcKinley and now that they have the name changed back to Denali, another politician is trying gobble up that fame…
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For #DenaliTheCat is all about her name… She likes to see it plastered everywhere… be it good news or bad… she doesn’t care! She is a master of publicity and her name is her most important tool, branding everything she is associated with, every time it is mentioned…
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She makes her rounds and expects the loyalty that she demands… And if you get in her way, she will let you know…
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Denali has been known to hop on tables at restaurants that didn’t give her the special attention she needed… And she wasn’t shy about knocking things over in protest either… If you didn’t cater to her needs perfectly, from time to time, she is known to send a leaping clawed paw your way… Her force and presence is what she relies on to rule…
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And when doors do open for her, at her request, she will then decide to sit in protest… For the whole principle of it all is completely ignored, it’s the chaos she wants… She could care less about facts and policy, as long as she is distracting… hoping to show a town that she can make it great again by bringing attention to its disrespect of her, the town and her colleagues…
Outsiders better be weary when they approach Denali because she doesn’t like them… Even though the town she lives in makes most of their money off of these outsiders, she feels the residents are getting the short end of the deal… More rights for the residents and complete cooperation from the outsiders is all she will accept and her actions have been shown to follow this hardliner view… Denali will make Talkeetna great again by giving all the privileges and protections to its residents… and if any group of people shows to be trouble then she is for ejecting them all… Better to get rid of the whole possible problem than try to deal with it on a ‘one on one’ basis… Courts and justice take too much time and money… Just get rid of them all and then the problem won’t exist…
#MakeTalkeetnaGreatAgain!!! When it didn’t have foreigners and tourists crowding its streets! More rights for the citizens and residents! Screw the foreigners who milk Talkeetna’s tourist attractions and national monuments for their own touristy needs! Get out! We don’t need you! If you want to stay, you have to sign a letter of complete loyalty to #MayorDenali… NO EXCEPTIONS!
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This brings me to my favorite candidate of them all! And what a special dog she is! Her name is a sure indication of her attitude… For whenever you see #Wagley approaching you, she for sure will have her tail wagging… this ever so special creature would bring an ‘ear to ear’ grin on my face every time I saw her…
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A very enthusiastic candidate with a good amount of humility… Wagley is not afraid of getting dirty or wet unlike his competition Denali the Cat… Wagley is a ‘one on one’ kind of dog… She will approach you with all kinds of enthusiasm but is yet still a little weary of who you are… But when she comes to the conclusion you are a decent human being, she will become a nice addition to your day and life in Talkeetna…
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For Wagley is always ready to get into the thick of it… She’s an ‘all in’ kind of dog’ that doesn’t just participate with her citizens but lives their everyday life by being apart of it.. She knows the solution to things because she is apart of the many problems and successes this town enjoys… She doesn’t like to govern from a throne, the town of Talkeetna is the only throne she knows… And she is constantly on that throne… Making people smile, making them feel good about themselves and always there if you are down and need a friend to stroke…
Her competition likes to paint her as a failure because she is so involved in this town… and yet it still has problems… But the wise know this is just a tactic of distraction, trying to create and bring attention to problems that are so small and insignificant compared to the success this town enjoys from its past and current governance…
For #Wagley has full confidence in his people… He never doubts them and knows that even if Denali gets a hold of this precious town, although it will suffer, it will survive such ridiculousness eventually… For Wagley doesn’t discuss the demise of this town because she knows there is no demise to discuss… She just wants to improve on what they already have, which is amazing in itself without addressing any improvements…
Wagley knows that you should always be weary of those who paint a dark picture to gain power, knowing that leadership of fear leads to war, destruction and corruption… Exactly what politicians like Denali need to distract the public while she takes more power…
Wagley is your everyday dog for everyone! He governs the people by being one of them… even though he is a dog…
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Folks, we are not going to label these candidates by party… I want you to vote based on image, content and ideology… All the rest of it is distraction and is about as useful as kids calling each other names on the playground… This country has gotten to obsessed with symbols and labels… the exact thing the corrupt powerful want you to do so they can identify you easier and distract you from what you should really be focusing on…So, here they are folks!
You have the laid back Penny, who mirrors Stubbs relaxed approach to governing… Making her a very viable candidate even though she doesn’t have the fame the other two have…
Then you have Denali, who is about name and reputation by catering to the residents of Talkeetna only and solving its problems by ejecting the groups of people, as a whole, who supposedly cause these problems…
And then you have Wagley… A good old neighborhood dog who likes to jump into the mud of the problems knowing he won’t always come out clean but knows the only way to address and understand the problems is to live them with the residents he governs…
Please feel free to pick on FaceBook or on my actual blog… I want to know what candidate you would pick!
As for Mayor Stubbs… Thank you for your many years of great, nonintrusive leadership that has shaped and helped form this miraculously special original town of Talkeetna… You will always be in my memories and I will make sure your story will be remembered and told…