Word: townes
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This tiny town wedged between the Chugach and Talkeetna mountain ranges has intrigued the whole country since John McCain's surprise Friday announcement that Wasilla's favorite daughter, Sarah Palin, would be his running mate. Sure, some of the interest was a prelude to attacks on Palin's readiness for national office. But Wasilla also offered a welcome chance to get specific about the geography of a politician. It's one of our most cherished myths, that a leader can come from somewhere and you can guess at their qualities not just by what they say, but by where they...
Wasilla seems at times to be utterly without guile. It's a large part of the town's charm, and it's exactly the quality that could make an unorthodox pick like Palin pay off. Don't get me wrong - she's a tough politician with sharp enough elbows on her own. But still, she appears to be more steeped in the values of her hometown than any politician I've ever come across...
...Palin family lives on Lake Lucille on the western end of town - she's always maintained her residence here, even though the Capitol is a long flight away in Juneau. It's a perfectly Alaskan lake: still waters ringed by evergreens and saw-toothed peaks, staged beneath a wolf-colored sky. You can just make out Palin's house a stone's throw from the public launch at the Best Western Hotel, by the red and white floatplane on the small dock out front (the governor's husband is a pilot in addition to being an oil worker, commercial fisherman...
...Normal small-town life for the First Dude and his wife is over. Even as Governor, Palin was still spotted at the market, driving her SUV around town, or worshiping at the nondenominational Wasilla Bible Church. On Friday afternoon, I was able to just pick up the phone and call Palin's parents, who live in town. They had just heard the news Friday morning themselves; they had been out caribou hunting and gold mining - how Alaska is that? - so there wasn't any advance warning for them. Her mother Sally told me this before remembering that...
...when Marty and Cheryl Metiva, a power couple in town (he's on city council, running for mayor, and she leads the Chamber of Commerce), take me up the Palin's driveway to look at the house, we are met by police officers in two Wasilla patrol cars, who then spend a while copying down our drivers license information. "We're on watch now, you bet," one of the officers said with a smile...