On Saturday I was in a bad mood. "Got up on the left leg" as they say in a country I once studied in. I thought maybe a hot dog would make things better. The wonderful folks at the South High camp cooked me this dog and wouldn't take any money. Instant karma for South! Not that their skiers needed it....anyway, while eating the dog I thought of the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. I wondered if I should try eating the hot dog the same way those guys in the contest eat them...and then I'd ask South for another. Since they were free....I wondered how many they'd feed me if I ate one every 10 seconds, like in the contest. Just as I finished this wonderful hot dog the national anthem began to play over the stadium sound system. One thing I like about living in Alaska is people are respectful during the national anthem. When I lived in San Francisco I remember people sitting down and conversing loudly when the Star Spangled Banner was played. And in 1971 I was on an Army base in Germany and at the theatre before the movie a group of soldiers refused to stand up. Eight MPs were brought in. They stood on the stage in front of the crowd and when ordered chambered a round in their M16s....the song was started over and everybody stood up....