Cicely, Alaska

Recognize this place? Here’s a clue, it’s fictional.

Did you ever read a book and felt drawn into the location and the characters so much that you want to live there? Beartown is my book.

Did you ever look at a painting and imagine yourself in it? Check out “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by George Seurat. You will be choosing your spot on the grass.

How about a television show? Did you ever want to live in Mayfield with the Cleavers or Mayberry with the Taylors. My place is Cicely, Alaska, with Joel and Maggie, Ed, Marilyn Whirlwind, Chris, Maurice, Holling, and Shelly.

I just completed the six seasons of Northern Exposure, now on Prime. I loved the show when it first aired, in the early nineties. I love it still. Yesterday, I watched the last episode. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a series that concluded so beautifully. It brought a tear to my eye. In case you’re not a Northern Exposure fan or never even heard of it, I won’t go into any details.

But what I took from watching this series again was this lesson. Art gives us these moments, these experiences. But we have to be open to them. We have to allow ourselves this escape into other worlds. Life isn’t only about wealth accumulation every hour of every day. Life isn’t just about celebrity worship. Life isn’t only about elections and politics. Especially not that last one!

There are many worlds out there, in all of the arts. Let’s go find them. As for me, on this very hot July day, I’ll spend a little more time in Cicely and the episode when the town came out to see winter’s first snowfall. They all greeted each other with “Bon Iver”, which apparently means good winter. Just like the folks of Cicely, we are all in this crazy world together. Let’s all wish each other well.