I can't help but think that identity helps people in those cities when it comes to dating. At least that's how I started out thinking about this column. Then I realized that everyone in those cities isn't sexy, fashionable or speedy, but people are out there dating and mating anyway.

I started to wonder if it'd be possible to tell who is compatible based on their description of their town.

Far-fetched? Maybe. But in the never-ending search for "the key" to relationships, I threw myself into some Friday night research at The Island Pub in Douglas.

A young man studying chemistry at the bar by himself said Juneau is "isolated." A man drinking an orange beer alone at the bar said it's "dreary."

Three women, laughing and drinking at a table, all said Juneau is "wet."

A man in a green stocking cap simply said, "purgatory," while a male business owner said it's "bureaucratic."

A marine biologist said "abundant." I also heard others say "life," "serene," "beautiful," "unique," "moist," "layered," "migratory," "cold," "fun," "lush," "vivacious" and "home."

I wasn't getting anywhere except that the obvious rain references for a town in a rain forest, made the whole windy Chicago thing seem less glamorous.

In surveying the crowd, it occurred to me that they seemed to be projecting onto Juneau how they were feeling that night. But can a "Dreary" find happiness with an "Abundant"?

I know my own words for Juneau run the gamut. If it's been raining all month, I describe Juneau as "moldy." If it's near summer solstice and sunny, it's "breathtaking." What I forget is that it's all Juneau.

And standing there, just letting the energy of the different individuals wash over me, one thing was clear. The "abundant-fun-life" people were a hell of a lot more attractive than the "isolated-dreary-purgatory bunch." If I was out there looking, I would definitely sign up for the former. When the weather sucks, who wants to be dating "Dreary"?

I thought about it in my own life, especially as we plunge toward fall. What could I do to be in the "abundant" group through another brutal winter?

I found one answer in the juniors' department at Fred Meyer. I bought a T-shirt emblazoned with "Little Miss Sunshine" across the front and started wearing it to remind myself to be happy, at "home" in Juneau, where sometimes it's - Xtratuf.

• Courtney Nelson can be reached at nelsonfamily@acsalaska.net.