Frankly, I'm With Frank
I used to dread visits from Frank32 total reviews
Comment from Marilyn Hamilton
oh my goodness! I am about to grab my can of Fabreeze and spray around my computer. lol Great story. I love stories about interesting people and although he was stinky, Frank was interesting! and his diet was the worst lol We used to have an old lady in our town who lived with probably a dozen cats. She would walk into the store and cause a mass exodus! She had literal cat poo on her sweater. The police finally had to speak with her. I mean how embarrassing for them to have to do that. Thanks for sharing, Tom.
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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oh my goodness! I am about to grab my can of Fabreeze and spray around my computer. lol Great story. I love stories about interesting people and although he was stinky, Frank was interesting! and his diet was the worst lol We used to have an old lady in our town who lived with probably a dozen cats. She would walk into the store and cause a mass exodus! She had literal cat poo on her sweater. The police finally had to speak with her. I mean how embarrassing for them to have to do that. Thanks for sharing, Tom.
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hello Marilyn,
thanks so much for the wonderful review. He was certainly an interesting man. At one time he worked for Walt Disney as an illustrator of sorts. He had linoleum blocks that he had to gouge out with a tool. If he was doing Mickey Mouse, he had to do make him backwards, so that when the block was inked, the picture came out right side up. He was no dummy, just a bit different.
Have a blessed day gal.
Tom
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Wow! So, he lived to be 99 years old. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing this interesting character, Frank with us. I've known some minimalist, and they did bathe often. LOL I enjoyed reading. You're great at telling stories.
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Wow! So, he lived to be 99 years old. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing this interesting character, Frank with us. I've known some minimalist, and they did bathe often. LOL I enjoyed reading. You're great at telling stories.
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hello Barbara,
thanks so much for the encouraging review. Living on a small boat in the wilderness, he didn't have access to many of the same things that most of us take for granted. I think that living alone, with the exception of the dog, probably didn't help his mental health much either. I spent ten years on a farm in the wilderness of Alaska, but we at least had easy access to a creek for water. During the salmon run it was a lot more challenging getting water to drink and bathe ect, but I don't recall anyone stinking anyway.
Have a blessed day gal.
Tom
Comment from Pam Lonsdale
Oh, my gosh, you had to open the doors and spray air freshener on every aisle! I can't imagine anyone smelling that bad.
You sure had some interesting characters in Hoonah, but Frank, frankly, takes the cake. Living that way - I guess just seeing the sun rise in the morning, and having his loyal dog by his side, was enough. We could all learn from Frank. But he could learn a thing or two about hygiene from us.
Makes me happy to see you posting something again, Tom:-)
xo
Pam
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Oh, my gosh, you had to open the doors and spray air freshener on every aisle! I can't imagine anyone smelling that bad.
You sure had some interesting characters in Hoonah, but Frank, frankly, takes the cake. Living that way - I guess just seeing the sun rise in the morning, and having his loyal dog by his side, was enough. We could all learn from Frank. But he could learn a thing or two about hygiene from us.
Makes me happy to see you posting something again, Tom:-)
xo
Pam
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hello Pam,
thanks so much for the delightful review. Frank was an old school Alaskan, insisting on wearing wool because it could keep you warm even if it was wet. I think living by himself for so long he might have gotten addle- brained a bit. Nonetheless, he was incredibly intelligent. At one time he worked for Disney, cutting out the characters on linoleum blocks. He also worked for a fish cannery as a master mechanic. I had heard he'd had a son, so at one time he'd been married. I don't know what drove him to Alaska, but the state was full of characters who came north for one reason or another- escape, fortune or adventure, and once here, they never left.
Have a blessed day gal.
Tom
Comment from Begin Again
Ole Frank was set in his ways, and I guess he didn't care what anyone else thought about it. He must have done something right since he lived to be 99...maybe that's because he kept all the other varmints - human or not - away by the smell. LOl Great storytelling. Thanks for sharing.
Smiles, Carol
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Ole Frank was set in his ways, and I guess he didn't care what anyone else thought about it. He must have done something right since he lived to be 99...maybe that's because he kept all the other varmints - human or not - away by the smell. LOl Great storytelling. Thanks for sharing.
Smiles, Carol
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hi Carol,
he used to tell me to never get old. I imagine spending so much time on that small boat taxed his body. I imagine he must have eaten something aside from corn flakes, but I don't know. That's all he ever bought, that and the dog food. Maybe he discovered the secret to long life. It's probably a good thing he didn't meander around in the woods, smelling the way he did, he would most definitely would have attracted the brown bears. Thanks for the delightful review gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from patcelaw
I enjoyed your story very much in this old man sounded like he was very eccentric. I could not identify with you as far as the smell I have had times when I have just been talking with somebody whose breath was so bad that I had a hard time even continuing with the talk, but to have body odor that bad would've been awful. Have a good day and may God bless you and bless your writing.
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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I enjoyed your story very much in this old man sounded like he was very eccentric. I could not identify with you as far as the smell I have had times when I have just been talking with somebody whose breath was so bad that I had a hard time even continuing with the talk, but to have body odor that bad would've been awful. Have a good day and may God bless you and bless your writing.
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hello Patricia,
If a person was outside talking to him, it was tolerable, but in an enclosed environment, it took your breath away. He wasn't a stupid man. He was an accomplished mechanic and had worked as an illustrator for Walt Disney way back in the early years, but I think living alone for so long he forgot about things like hygiene. Thanks so much for the wonderful review gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from zanya
This is an enthralling tale of a person who lived in a different way, perhaps. sharing life with his precious dog, Blackie. So well told here with color and insight and most of all candor.
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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This is an enthralling tale of a person who lived in a different way, perhaps. sharing life with his precious dog, Blackie. So well told here with color and insight and most of all candor.
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hi Zanya,
I'm so glad you enjoyed this account of ol' Frank. Alaska has been blessed with a number of very interesting characters. I'd read an account of one fisherman who refused to wear boots. He would stand in the cockpit of his boat pulling and cleaning fish barefooted. It's a bloody, slippery job, to say nothing of cold, so I don't know how or why he chose to go barefoot, but that's what made him a character I guess.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Tom Horonzy
I feel this was more fact than fiction, and that here was a man as described. I net some people quite alike, but not 5% as bad which was bad enough to maintain a distance.
This story was well written and kept me engaged. Well done.
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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I feel this was more fact than fiction, and that here was a man as described. I net some people quite alike, but not 5% as bad which was bad enough to maintain a distance.
This story was well written and kept me engaged. Well done.
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hi Tom,
oh this is absolutely true. Frank was really not all that uncommon here in Alaska, with perhaps the situation of cleanliness. A number of people made their way up here for one reason or another who wanted nothing more than to be left alone. I recall one other fellow who had bought a boat that he kept at the downtown float. When he came into the store his hands were always black from working on the engine, and he smelled of a combination of diesel fuel, oil and something else I couldn't place. Eventually he left, and I think they got rid of his boat.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
I love hearing about your seafaring adventures Tom, and Frank sounded like quite a character and he should have named his boat as it is unlucky not to. I dare say you met some odd souls in the shop too, a fine post, I was thoroughly entertained.
An extra (I) here Tom:
. . . . .let someone know (I) where I was.
Love Dolly x
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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I love hearing about your seafaring adventures Tom, and Frank sounded like quite a character and he should have named his boat as it is unlucky not to. I dare say you met some odd souls in the shop too, a fine post, I was thoroughly entertained.
An extra (I) here Tom:
. . . . .let someone know (I) where I was.
Love Dolly x
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hello Dolly,
thanks so much for your encouraging review gal. Hoonah, like many small towns in Alaska, used to attract a wide variety of characters. Many were fairly transient, but some were home grown. Many people came to get away from their past. Some were criminals trying to escape the law. One summer the FBI came to the local cold storage and arrested a murderer. Most people didn't realize that when they arrived at a small town, they stood out like a sore thumb. I recall one lady who came to town and portrayed herself as legally blind and managed to con a number of people into giving her everything from food to a place to stay. She lasted a few months before she was exposed as a fraud and left. I ran across one fellow, part of a group of two men and a woman, who arrived on the ferry one day and wanted me to take them in my boat out to an isolated cove. The man had a dog he named Booger. It was a spastic little Jack Russell terrier. They were a weird group and I ended up writing about them in my first book. There was never a dull moment gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from BethShelby
He likely didn't didn't have a sense of smell. Maybe he didn't know how offensive he was. I worked with someone who in printing plant who ran a press and he never bathed either. He was married and he wife would tell he how bad he smelled but it made no difference to him. HE always wore the same clothes too.
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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He likely didn't didn't have a sense of smell. Maybe he didn't know how offensive he was. I worked with someone who in printing plant who ran a press and he never bathed either. He was married and he wife would tell he how bad he smelled but it made no difference to him. HE always wore the same clothes too.
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hi Beth,
I don't know if he had a sense of smell or not. I wished I didn't have whenever he showed up. I just think he was oblivious, since the dog didn't speak and he seldom had any interaction with other people. He was also very set in his ways, so maybe he just didn't care.
Thanks for the interesting comments gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from EeanBlack
It sounds like a lifetime of learning to tolerate odd human behavior for you. These are the people we marginalize or even push to the periphery. Maybe he thought you guys stunk in character. I had a similar situation with my uncle. He became a hermit after his wife died. My mom made me check on him all the time. His house stunk to high heaven. But, doing the work for him gave me an appreciation for others that I wouldn't normally have found. Seems to me it was a profound experience or you wouldn't have thought it important enough to write about. I liked it.There were a couple of typos, but who cares?
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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It sounds like a lifetime of learning to tolerate odd human behavior for you. These are the people we marginalize or even push to the periphery. Maybe he thought you guys stunk in character. I had a similar situation with my uncle. He became a hermit after his wife died. My mom made me check on him all the time. His house stunk to high heaven. But, doing the work for him gave me an appreciation for others that I wouldn't normally have found. Seems to me it was a profound experience or you wouldn't have thought it important enough to write about. I liked it.There were a couple of typos, but who cares?
Comment Written 09-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 09-Nov-2024
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Hello Eean,
thanks so much for the thoughtful review. Frank was just one of many characters who either lived or passed through Hoonah. They all brought with them their own unique personalities and quirks. I spent some time with Frank in Spasski Bay and discovered that he was quite accomplished when he was younger. He had been married and had a son, but for whatever reason he chose to live the life of a hermit in a remote bay in the wilderness of Alaska. I went back and corrected the typos. Hopefully I got them all.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
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I worked in Kenai, sorry if I spelled it wrong. It's just over the inlet by Anchorage. It's downright beautiful. I never made it to the slope. I really liked the story and will read more.
