R apparently had little luck with local ladies and, in his own words, had "imported" his wife. Yes, I was also thinking mail-order bride, but R simply meant that he had met his wife in the Lower 48 and brought her back here to live with him. R also shared his friend's belief that women were in short supply in these parts and told me that men would approach his pregnant wife when she ventured out without him. According to R, there's an Alaskan saying that you don't lose your woman, you lose your turn. That was a new one for me, as I'd been told that the saying in Alaska (as it relates to Alaskan men) is that "the odds are good, but the goods are odd!"

R didn't fear losing his spouse or his turn and actually leaves his wife home alone for a month in the fall while he goes hunting. Perhaps he's comfortable that his imported bride would not stray given that her options were limited to "odd goods". Then again, he views hunting as a necessity. One month's hunting can feed his family for the entire winter. Sounded awfully prehistoric to me. After all, why hunt when there's a local Safeway or Fred Meyer, but R's perspective was quite different. As he put it, "why purchase food when you can go out and catch it yourself?"

It is R who tells me that Alaska is a land of extremes - extreme weather and, in most cases, extreme living conditions. Those that live here do things for themselves. R believes that Alaskans like it that way. At least R himself must, as he'd rather shoot his food than buy it.

Amid all this, survival of the fittest is the prevailing doctrine. It's all about where one falls along the food chain and remembering that in Alaska, unlike most places, we are not atop the chain. Wild animals such as moose and bear, which often wander into Alaskan cities, hold that place above humans. It's important to remember and respect that.

But survival of the fittest doesn't mean everyone for themselves. There's a strong sense of community here. Not only is Anchorage small enough that everyone knows nearly everyone, these people depend on each other, and, hence the friendliness and hospitality that is characteristic of Alaskans. As R explained, you may need your neighbor to help pull your car out of a snowbank or to jump start your battery in the dead of winter, so it's best to be friendly with everyone because you never know when you'll need their help.

I was quickly able to attest to this friendliness and - let's face it - I wasn't going to be much help dragging anyone or anything out of a snowbank. My new single friend T invited me to take a floatplane ride to Lake Hood on Tuesday. I had to decline as the thought of flying in a small plane scared me, although I had the face-saving excuse that I would be at the other end of the peninsula by Tuesday. R and T departed with T saying I should "look him up" if I changed my mind on the floatplane ride.

I bade my new friends farewell and wandered around the very crowded F. Street, watching the everyone-knows-everyone crowd clustered around tables and chatting. I then met S, an Anchorage native and professional athlete. S and his friends promised me the inside scoop on Anchorage nightlife, so I grabbed my journal and followed eagerly.

I've grown accustomed to the fact that people in small towns generally obey the traffic laws, especially when it comes to jaywalking. Being from Miami, where you cross the street wherever and whenever you can, not paying attention to the lights because the drivers aren't either, I have learned that most other places take the concept of jaywalking seriously. But not in Anchorage. While I patiently waited for the light at the crosswalk, S and his friends charged across the street, playing human dodge ball with a speeding pick-up. But that's life over here. Everyone has somewhere to go, especially in the summer. For us, it was the extremely popular Bernies Bungalow.

Turned out S knew everyone in Anchorage, so venturing out with him meant meeting tons of locals. All were friendly, and, with little or no prompting, were eager to share their stories about why they lived here and what they thought of the opposite sex.

There was K, a female Anchorage native, who left for a few years to attend school in the Lower 48 but eagerly returned. She believes that life in Anchorage is better than anywhere else because it is real, and lacks the superficiality, or, as she put it "the bullshit and pretense of the Lower 48". She was equally forthright on Alaskan men, describing them as "grizzly", referring to the beards worn by nearly all. K had to cut the conversation short as she had an early start planned for a day of fishing. But, with characteristic Alaskan hospitality, she invited us to join her group on Sunday for a rafting trip. She was extremely jealous when someone told her about the Lake Iliamna fishing expedition they had planned for the following day. This was followed by a 15 minute discussion about the best places to go fly fishing and the best methods for tying flies in order to catch the most fish. There was no doubt I was in Alaska.

S, despite having traveled the world for competitions, said he wants to live in Anchorage, because it's the best place in the world. Mind you, he also said that you have to travel if you live here because you need to leave the state in order to truly appreciate it. As for his ideal woman, he likes a woman who combines femininity with a love of recreational activities - i.e., someone who looks good in hip boots but still gets a manicure every week! And, speaking of recreational activities, S told me about what he called the famous "Shag Shack". Apparently, this is a lakeside retreat with private apartments complete with a hot tub and a full bar. And who said Alaskan men aren't romantic?

Well, actually several women I talked to said just that. Two Anchorage natives simultaneously gave Alaskan males a thumbs down. In the words of one, "Alaskan men take a primitive approach to dating and make no effort at all". And, in aggregate, Alaskan men are "a bunch of classless a**..." well, you get the idea. The other girl shed some light on the male:female ratio. She explained that even though there are more men than women, the women are far more attractive than the men and that the men basically want nothing more than sex and someone to take care of them. Guess that Alaskan men are not much into chivalry in the traditional sense. So much for passion and romance.

Whether or not they are passionate about each other, they are certainly passionate about their state. They love it and all it has to offer. S told me that he was taught from an early age to "get up and do something" - at least on days when the sun was out and the weather was cooperating. All this passion for life, extreme sports and seizing the moment should translate into something on a romantic level. But that's not what the women seemed to think. Then again, perhaps it's just that summer is not the season of love in Alaska. After all, if people are in such a hurry in the summer to climb mountains, fish the many lakes, raft the numerous rivers and still find time to work and perform necessary repairs to their houses, well, maybe summer is not the time for any, shall we say, indoor recreation. Perhaps in winter, during those endlessly dark days and colder than chilly weather, the pace slows a bit. But, then again, there's skiing at Alyeska, snomobiling, snowboarding and climbing the Great One, so maybe the pace doesn't fall off that much.