In his essay, On Writing, Raymond Carver asserted that, “Writer’s don’t need tricks or gimmicks…at the risk of appearing foolish, a writer sometimes needs to be able to just stand and gape at this or that thing—a sunset or an old shoe—in absolute and simple amazement.” Aki and I are climbing to the top of Gold Street on the way to gape at something in absolute and simple amazement—the southern slope of Mt. Juneau. Near where the street leads onto Basin Road a young woman stares at her smart phone. She smiles and then looks astonished, not at the town spread out below or the yellow cottonwoods that climb above the craftsman houses on Mt. Maria, but at her screen. Down at our library and in Juneau coffee houses, others are yielding to the seduction of personal electronic devices. Rather than talk to each other or admire the fall color, they watch videos, look at selfies, or read Facebook posts. Makes you wonder about the future of the written word.