The other day as the Betster drove by yet another crew of lime-green vested pipeline dudes playing with big plastic tubes, a thought crossed the B’s mind.

This town has gotten awfully busy.

Oh yeah, there’s the usual in-state Alaska refugee traffic — Fairbankshoovians escaping smoky skies and mosquitoes the size of B-52s — as well as big land yachts with funny Lower 48 license plates (“Rhode Island: Because even though we’re smaller than some Alaska cities, we get two U.S. senators”). 

On top of that, we have a multimillion dollar pipeline project and road repaving. Yes, city officials warned us this was coming. It’s just so dang hard to keep track of. For all the Betster knows, those dudes in lime-green vests could be a UN security team ready to round up radicals and send them off to those FEMA camps we keep being warned about on late-night talk radio. If you ever wanted to invade a country, all you have to do is dress in lime-green vests, direct traffic into dead-end cul de sacs and shazam, America is yours.

All of this should result in smoother roads and cheaper energy. Meanwhile, getting around town can be tricky. The good news is that once you get where you need to go, like the Spit, life returns to normal. Note here that the Betster defines normal on the Spit as “expect to search 15 minutes for a parking space.” 

OK, if that’s all there is to whine about, then life must be pretty good. It’s time to count your blessings, perhaps with some of these Best Bets:

BEST FISH ON BET: How does the possibility of a huge mine affect people who have been fishing in Bristol Bay for centuries? That’s the focus of “We Can’t Eat Gold,” a documentary film by Joshua Tucker and Giovanna Marcantonio, showing at 3 p.m. today at Kachemak Bay Campus, Pioneer Hall. Copies of the film are available.

BEST GO GREEN BET: Green smoothies are all the rage. That’s smoothies with stuff like spinach and kale mixed in. Yum! Learn about how they can be beneficial as well as good tasting in a talk at 6 p.m. today by Jennifer Dickson at the Seldovia Village Tribe Health and Wellness Center.

BEST ROLLING ON THE RIVER BET: There’s more to the Anchor River than fish, like the summer songbirds that are part of the big rolling ecosystem. Join the Kachemak Bay Birders as they walk and car-hop along the North Fork Road in search of cool birds like the olive-sided flycatcher. The monthly birding trip starts at 8 a.m. Saturday at the bridge at the south end of the North Fork Road or meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center to car pool.

BEST VA-VA-VOOM BET: Classical mythology in a burlesque show? Yup, that’s the idea of “Pandora’s Box,” the Burly-Q Bait and Tassels troupe’s new show this summer. Rated R for “risque,” the dances range from silly to sensuous. The show runs every Friday starting at 8 p.m. through July at Alice’s Champagne Palace. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door at Alice’s, the Fringe, the Bookstore, and Homer Sapiens on the Spit.