February 27th, 2009

 

 

 

As I type this my sister and her mentor Rick Larson are beating a steady trail through the blizzards in Canada on their way to Anchorage, Alaska. Yes, it is almost that time folks. The Iditarod starts next weekend on the 7^th of March. I spoke to her yesterday as Rick was filling the fuel tanks, 180 gallons total, before leaving Great falls, Montana. They were in blizzard conditions that were supposed to let up somewhere around Calgary. I asked how she was feeling and she said fine but the pause before her answer gave away the truth. Being her sister I felt entitled to pry a little deeper. It was then that she admitted to the nerves that were just starting to buzz through her. After last week’s crazy schedule she had been too exhausted to think about the coming event but as they readied the truck, packed 26 bags of dog food, 36 dogs, 2 sleds and hundreds of other “little “necessities, reality began to sink in. She gave me a nervous chuckle which I recognize after 26 years; she is excited, anxious, hopeful, planning, running scenarios and talking herself through the years of training that have gone into this life of hers. She sounded great, just like my sister before she takes on all the world has to throw at her.

An hour and a half later I received another call from Laura. “Grab a pen a write this in your notes for an update. You won’t believe what has happened.” She was right. As they drove through the blizzard toward the Canadian border they lost their steering and brakes. They were able to come to a stop on the highway, back up a few feet and then drive through the ditch to an exit ramp. As they pulled into the small (and I mean small) town of Conrad, Montana they were hoping for some kind of mechanics shop to pull into and lo and behold there was a Chevy dealer! The mechanics located the problem immediately and had the parts they needed for the repair. Laura and Rick were not stuck for long and got back on the road with no other mishap. Laura had commented to Rick that she hoped the bad luck ended there. Ricks response was that with 250,000 miles on the truck he didn’t consider it bad luck at all. So true, Rick, so true.

I do have to say this. In our family nothing is worth doing unless it makes a good story later on down the road. It has helped us as a family and individuals laugh at a lot of otherwise dismal situations. Whenever something happens we always think about how entertaining it will be to tell later. Try it sometime, you might find it enough of a silver lining to pull you through a tough spot. As Laura told me about what was happening to them there was humor in her voice and I was laughing. As I thought about that moment later I realized that being able to laugh through the rough spots is a great skill Mom and Dad shared with us. Come to think of it, Laura can probably face some incredibly hard situations as she is racing and come out mentally “on top” because of this skill. Thanks Mom and Dad. You guys are amazing.

I’ll report back as I get more information. It will be quiet over the next few days as my sister traverses Canada. As if racing doesn’t cost enough then there are roaming fees on the cell phone. Go figure.