Hello, everybody. I don't know if I felt like doing this blog today because there is a death in my family down in North Carolina, but I had to.

As you already know by now, all of Alaska on Friday woke up to what was probably the most joyous news since...well the indictment of Ted Stevens a few weeks ago: John McCain picking Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. And today, we woke up again to banner headlines in both the "Fairbanks Daily News-Miner" ("GOP shines on Sarah Palin") and of course the "Anchorage Daily News" ("McCain picks Palin" followed by a full-page photo of the two in Dayton, Ohio with a special section inside).

By the way, news of this were kept hush-hush till the last minute, as Palin flew in secrecy from Anchorage to Arizona to meet with McCain aides, then her children were on a plane to Ohio late Thursday night. According to sources, the Palins checked into a Dayton hotel as the "Uptons."

Of course the media wasted no time digging up more interesting info about Palin. Born Sarah Heath in Idaho in 1964, she was captain of her high school basketball team in Wasilla; they won the state championship in 1982. Sarah was also Miss Wasilla and later first runner-up for Miss Alaska in 1984. She married Todd Palin in 1988; around that time, she was a sports reporter at two Anchorage TV stations.

In 1992, she went into politics by serving two terms in the Wasilla City Council before being elected its first female mayor for two more terms in 1996. And of course, she shocked everyone by winning the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2006, voting Frank Murkowski out of office. In the end, we elected her Alaska's top job that November; I covered the historic inauguration when they had it here in Fairbanks.

And now, Sarah Heath Palin is John McCain's choice for Vice President. But perhaps the big question now is: WILL IT HAPPEN??? Absolutely not; I already told you yesterday about Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 when she became America's first V.P. running mate. Of course, we loved what President Reagan was doing and he literally repeated in a landslide. I love Sarah Palin, but not as future Vice President and possibly President if McCain at 72 happens to croak. It may be a cutthroat battle for the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this fall, but she's better off running this state instead. I wonder of Lorne Michaels still has Tina Fey on his speed dial...

Anyway...while today's editions of the Anchorage and Fairbanks papers were put to bed with this story, I was awoken with a phone call this morning and the news for me immediately went from happy to sad: my grandmother Mildred has died. At first I thought it was a joke, but hours later we got ahold of my cousin in North Carolina for the official word. Mildred passed away early Saturday morning at a Winston-Salem hospital from pneumonia (which took Bernie Mac's life a few weeks ago); she was in her mid-80's. And now it would be my sad duty to fly down to her funeral -- which is believed to be next week -- for my final goodbye.

Mildred of course was the matriach of the Allen family; I of course visited her for what was the last time three years ago when she was living in an apartment building for seniors. She has suffered diabetes and a stroke over the last few years, but pneumonia would be the final chapter. I may be deeply saddened on the inside, but on the outside I am happy that she lived a long life till the end. So long and stay strong.