Michael Steckel

Once again it is that time of year when many — like myself — decide it is time to lose a few pounds, and start to work out to get back into shape. After taking a couple of years off, … Read more

I remember that when I was in school, I looked forward to recess. It was a period to get outside and play some kickball or other sport. One of the hardest things was picking teams so that we could play. … Read more

A few years back I did some work in Thule Air Base in Greenland. It was an interesting trip. One thing that was hard to deal with was the dark season there. For the whole of the winter there was … Read more

Recently I did some backpacking. I used to do a lot of hiking when I was younger, but it had been quite a few years since I had put a backpack on. When I got out on the trail and … Read more

I recently bought a .22 calibre rifle at a yard sale so I could do some target practising. The rifle looked pretty good and it was not a bad price. I went to the rifle range to do some shooting. … Read more

Last fall, I was able to get out hunting once again, which I enjoyed a great deal, but I did have a close call while I was out there. My father-in-law and I were setting up camp. One thing we … Read more

The other day I was looking at my "dog tags", which I got when I enlisted in the U.S. Navy. On the tags are my name, service number, religious preference and blood type. As I looked at them I noticed … Read more

I like living in an area where there is a lot of open territory. I enjoy camping and hiking a great deal. I saw in the paper one weekend recently that the Arctic Survival Training School recommended items to have … Read more

Lately, I have noticed something that I have been doing that I do not like all that much. I have been placing my son second to my own agenda. With the nice weather in Alaska, we try to get out … Read more

While I was in the service, I went through some anti-terrorist training. One phase of this training included serving on a five-person team which would be assigned to track down a security breach on a ship. Once we had found … Read more