When he was young, 101 year-old Dr. Walter Soboleff took care of the old person he has become; I visit Lt. Governor candidate Diane Benson, then rush off with an almost empty tank and the polls about to close
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 3:00AM 
When Dr. Walter Soboleff was in the fifth grade, he listened as a man gave advice to the young people his age:"Take good care of the old person you will become." He took the advice seriously. He always tried to eat right and to life an active life, with plenty of exercise. He tried cigarettes for just a little while when he was a college student in his early 20's, but quickly decided that he did not want to live with cigarettes and put them aside for good. As for alcohol, he's been sober for 101 years now - going on 102.
I had the privilege of having lunch with him yesterday and when he prayed over the food, I knew the blessing was good. In truth, I took many pictures of the eldest member of the Tlingit and Haida nation and recorded the words that he spoke to a gathering of Alaska tribal leaders and youth, but I have had no time to look at the pictures or review the words. I wanted to put something of him up today, though, and I only took one picture when he offered the blessing so I went straight to it and this is it. I will feature Dr. Soboleff again, as soon I can make the time. Sitting next to Dr. Soboleff on the left is Mike Williams, Chief of the Yupiit Nation and a famed Iditarod dog musher. Maggie Napoleon, right, served the Alaska Tribal Leaders Summit as host to Dr. Soboleff.
Just after the Alaska Tribal Leaders Summit ended about 5:00 pm, I got a call from my friend, Diane Benson, who has been running for the Democratic nomination. Tuesday was the primary election, the polls were still open, I had not yet voted and had to get back to Wasilla before my polling station closed at 8:00 PM.
Margie had the car and she was with Kalib and Jobe at Jacob and Lavina's, who were about to arrive home from Las Vegas. So I walked over to the Captain Cook Hotel to visit Diane for a bit and to wish her success. I found her with her son, Latseen, an Army veteran who lost both legs in Iraq, his wife Jessica and her special friend and campaign master Tony Vita. Diane, Latseen and Jessica paid sharp attention when the 6:00 PM news came on.
Many people were planning to come and be with her as the evening progressed and the vote tallies came in. I wanted to stay, but I could not - because that would mean I would not vote. Diane understood why I had to leave early. "Sometimes an election comes down to just one vote - you know it has happened here in Alaska," she said.
Jacob and Lavina got home at about 5:35. Margie then left Kalib and Jobe with them and headed towards the Cook to pick me up. I figured it would probably take her 15 to 20 minutes to get to me and that would give us barely enough time to drive back into Wasilla before the polls closed. I said goodbye to Diane, rode the elevator 16 floors down to the lobby, walked out onto 5th Avenue and pretty soon saw Margie, driving toward me.
Diane had fed me well, but Margie was hungry. I figured we had just enough time to pull through the drive-through at Taco Bell on the Glenn Highway and get her something that she could eat as I drove toward home. To get to Taco Bell, I had to pull into the left turn lane. At the moment I did, the light turned red. It stayed red a long time. We sat there and sat there. As we did, this truck came by in front of us.
Once there... the line at Taco Bell was slow... and then when we pulled back onto the highway and Margie had her food in hand (I had a little bit, too, even though I didn't need it), I suddenly noticed that the LCD on my dash said "46 miles to empty." Wasilla is a 45 mile drive from Anchorage. This launched a big debate in my head as to whether or not I should pull into a gas station and buy a couple of gallons, but I had this fear that the time it would take to activate the pump, put in the gas, then get back onto the road might be just enough to cause us to miss our chance to vote.
So I decided not to stop at a gas station, but to head straight to Wasilla and on to the voting booth.
We arrived just in time. We walked in, followed quickly by this man and this boy and then the poll workers closed the door behind us. Margie cast her vote just before I did and then I took a picture just before they opened the door to let us out. It looked like this man was the last to vote at our polling station.
The polling worker is showing him where to place his ballot and the boy, who would appear to be his son, is getting a civics lesson. Margie and I then walked back to the car and headed straight to the nearest gas station.
This is what it read when we pulled into the station: "I miles to E." One mile to empty. In fact, it had read this for close to mile. As I write these words, the on-line Anchorage Daily News reports that 339 of 438 precincts have reported in. So far, Diane has 65.21 percent of the vote, compared to 20.05 percent for Jack Powers, her nearest competitor. She has been declared the winner. She will be the Democratic candidate in the general election. Congratulations, Diane! PS: I will do a final photo report to wrap up Kalib and Jobe's stay with us. No time tonight.
They will appear larger and look better
Reader Comments (6)
Phew, that was close - glad you got your votes in! Speaking of living on the edge - remember what the good Dr Soboleff said - 'take good care of the old person you will become' - fast food 'you don't need' and is that a crack in your windshield? Glad Jacob and Lavina are back safe and sound with their adorable boys.
You are a braver fellow than I (altho I am not a fellow). I've let the gas tank get down to 16 miles to empty but I distrust the accuracy and so I have not been so close to empty as 1 mile. I'm glad you were able to get to the polls in time.
Congratulations Diane
that's a great post...dr. soboleff is the real deal...
Voting on empty....I was the first person at my polling place, the Loussac Library. The pollsters were confused about the procedure, not having done it yet, and I ended up with two ballots....I resisted the temptation to follow Mayor Daley's advice to "vote early and vote often," handing back the extra ballot. I did OK on the vote lottery, most of my votes being in the win column. But not all...
We have the privilege here in Alaska of NOT having to vote in only our registered precinct. Next time this happens just go to ANY polling place and ask for a question ballot.