Wednesday, October 31. 2007
I enjoyed this post by Subarctic Mama so much, I'm reposting it in full. Please visit her site for a great narrative on life in Fairbanks!
Anchored Down in Fanchorage: Welcome to What Was Once Fairbanks
Published October 29th, 2007
Hey Fairbanksans, here’s a new word for you. Coined two days ago by my banjo-pickin’, chicken-raisin’, wine-makin’ husband:
Fanchorage: 1. (noun) the east end of the Johansen Expressway in Fairbanks, Alaska, once an empty lot filled with willow, now sprouting box stores like Fairbanks men sprout beards in October. 2. (noun) locations in Alaska suffering from tendency to become more and more like Outside (and thus more and more like Anchorage). Note: with the change of a letter this can be applied to other towns. i.e. Juneau = Janchorage, Wasilla = Wanchorage.
Related Term:
Fanchorageites: (noun) the people who populate the box stores at the end of the Johansen Expressway. They seem to have been imported. A Fairbanksan can go into these stores and see no one that he or she knows. Going anywhere in Fairbanks and not bumping into five people you know is not normal.
Suggested usage: “Wow, since I drove past Fanchorage on my to work this morning, they’ve added three new box stores.”
Fairbanksans, please forward this post and use this word often, until it is as well-seated in our local lexicon as “ice fog,” “dry cabin” “Outside,” and “bunny boot.” While you’re at it, remember to work in “ruralsexual” as well. If we work together, we can enrich our vocabulary.
A word of explanation for my readers Outside: In the past two years our town, long ignored by the box store phenomenon, has become infested. The flare up is currently located at the intersection of the Old Steese Highway and the Johansen Expressway. If any of you have an ointment or poultice we can apply to rid ourselves of this, please send the recipe along.
My personal apologies to all my good friends who live in Anchorage and read this blog. The dark is already getting to me.
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