Mush

Did you ever have the feeling that you forgot something? I had that feeling yesterday as I left work, knowing there was something I meant to do but had forgotten, and began immediately planning on being angry with myself when I did finally remember. Well, I remembered about seven this morning. I had meant to grind some coffee beans at work yesterday and bring them home, so I had no coffee this morning. And then, while watching CBS Sunday Morning through a caffeine-less haze, I was made aware that the Iditarod began yesterday. That’s what I forgot. This was my year to race and it completely escaped me. I was disappointed to discover that even if I was able to afford a plane ticket to Alaska, find a sled and locate 16 dogs, I would be so far behind the field, all of whom began yesterday, that it would just be silly and pointless.

This is all too bad because I had my heart set on spending the week in places like Skwentna, Finger Lake, Nikolai, Anvik, Unalakleet and Safety, on my way from Anchorage to Nome. I knew I should write a note to myself and put it someplace conspicuous. I’m always forgetting things like this. No coffee this morning, no 1,150-mile dogsled race yesterday. Instead I’ll spend my week in such exotic locales as Work, The Bathroom, The Kitchen, The Car, The Schnuck’s and The Bedroom. My team of dogs will consist of four little people, ages 9-months to 9 years, with no sense of direction, a limited dietary regimen and no respect for my peace of mind. The weekly obstacles will consist of diapers, car seat buckles, creditors, zippers, baths and dirty laundry, but the upside is that the temperature should be in the 60s here this week instead of the zero degrees it is in Anchorage as I write this.

The competitors in the Iditarod got lucky this year because I simply forgot, giving them a better than average chance. My attention will now be turned to Le Tour de France for which I will write myself a reminder right now because I know the race begins … sometime … soon.