I HOPE ..

MAKE NO MISTAKE .. I FULLY REALIZE HOW BLESSED AND HOW LUCKY AND HOW FORTUNATE I AM TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AS I DO. THE ENTIRE POINT OF MY WEBSITE HERE IS TO REALIZE MY DESIRE THAT .. IN SOME SMALL WAY .. ONE OF MY POSTS OR ONE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS WILL MAKE ONE PERSON'S DAY JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

TO FEEL GOOD .. DO GOOD !

I HOPE THAT SOMEONE VISITING MY WEBSITE WILL SEE SOMETHING ON IT THAT THEY WILL NOT EVER BE ABLE TO SEE OR TO DO OTHERWISE .. AND THAT THIS EXPERIENCE WILL MAKE THEIR DAY OR THEIR LIFE JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER !


IF YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH AND ADEQUATE MONEY TO FOLLOW-YOUR-DREAM .. WITH DISCERNMENT .. FIND THE COURAGE AND HAVE THE GUTS TO DO WHAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO DO!


TRULY THIS IS MY DOXOLOGY .. MY PRAISE TO GOD!

YOU CAN ALSO VISIT .. http://babakaps.net .. TO SEE MY OTHER WEBSITE.

Saturday 2 March 2013

MAR 2, 13 .. THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MARCH !


Today .. Saturday .. March 2, 2013 .. is the FIRST Saturday in March ..

SO?

In the United States .. way up Northwest of Canada in the State of Alaska .. the first Saturday in March is a special day!

In Alaska .. the first Saturday in March is the beginning of ..

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race !

I have to giggle about my friends in India .. they have no clue as to what a sled dog is .. let alone a sled dog race .. let alone one that is 1,049 miles in length (1,690 Kms) and that has quite a history dating back to the early 1970s!  You all can ‘google’ it and learn more at the website .. iditarod.com.  There  you can  follow the race as it progresses!

Fifteen years ago .. in 1998 .. March 7th was the first Saturday in March .. I was a volunteer associated with the race.   During January and February of 1998, I worked the pre-race in Anchorage, Alaska.  In early March I went to Nome, Alaska, for the conclusion of the 1998 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race.  Jeff King won the race in 1998 and I met many friends that I still am friends with today, including my Doctor!  .. Robert W. Bundtzen MD .. who starts today’s race in position number 23.  Now you all can root for Dr. Bundtzen who has raced the Iditarod twelve times finishing all twelve races he started.

A lot of youngsters (and young-at-heart Adults too)  follow the Iditarod through a feature called .. Teacher on the Trail.  

Go to .. iditarod.com .. and toward the top and left of the home page ‘click’ onto Education (between Videos and Insider) .. a drop down box will take you to the Education Portal and there you will find the Teacher on the Trail .. in 2013 . . Linda Fenton.

Speaking of youngsters .. back in 1998 in Nome Alaska, I was in charge of the telephone room that answers telephone calls about the race.   I desperately needed some ‘volunteers’ because I was running out of people who were willing to answer the incoming telephone calls.  So out I went into the crowd at the finish line.  I spotted a couple with a young son in tow.  Putting my hands on the shoulders of the gentleman and his wife .. I said to these total strangers! ..

“How would you all like to be part of the race?  I need people to answer the telephones!” .. looking back at me the two of them  sort of stammered and said in reply .. “Could our 12-year old son assist?” .. I said “Sure!  He would be perfect to talk to other children who call us!”

And into the office we four trotted .. me with three ‘volunteers’ (hostages?).

Have you heard of .. Mister Paul Harvey?

Paul Harvey (who passed away on February 28, 2009) was a famous radio broadcaster in the United States!  On his radio shows .. Paul Harvey had a feature that he called .. “The Rest of the Story!” .. in which he held you on the edge-of-your-seat with stories about people and outcomes in their lives.

SO?
 
Would YOU like to hear .. “The Rest of the Story!” ?

WELL HERE IS .. ‘THE REST OF THE STORY!’ ..

Four (4) years after I put my hands onto their shoulders and ‘invited’ the above three to volunteer ‘in’ the 1998 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race .. 

The gentleman ENTERED! .. and FINISHED! ..  The 2002 Iditarod as a first-time-rookie in the race!

The next time you are in Kennesaw, Georgia, look at the city limit signs as you enter town .. the last time I was in Kennesaw there was a green sign that PROCLAIMED! ..

Kennesaw Georgia .. Home of Bill Borden .. the only man from Georgia to enter and finish the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

BILL AND BRENDA AND JORDAN! .. What a joy you have been in my life!

 All in all .. at least in Alaska! .. The Iditarod is a big deal!

Signing Off From Pondicherry India .. Far Away From The Snow Of Alaska .. 

THANKING YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST HERE! .. Cap ..

2 comments:

  1. Cap, the pleasure of meeting you was all ours. We've enjoyed your friendship over these many years!! You've been to visit us in Georgia and we've met you and Patti up in Alaska. Wishing you another fun time in India. (by the way, our international student in our Rotary club was from Sri Lanka a few years ago. He had never even seen snow but joined us in Alaska to watch the Iditarod race and even snowmachined out to Skwentna - got to meet Norma and Joe and saw MORE snow than he could ever imagine!)

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    Replies
    1. Great to hear from you two ! I was afraid we had lost touch when I had the e-mail that I sent to you returned to me ! So happy you looked at this Post .. I could have mentioned ALL THAT YOU ENDED UP BEING AND DOING with regard to the Iditarod .. MCing banquets and raffle auctions etc ! You spent the night on the floor in Manley Hot Springs on a cold March in 2003 when the race came through Manley Hot Springs for the first time ! MUCH JOY ! .. Cap ..

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TO ENTER A COMMENT .. SELECT A PROFILE BY CLICKING ONTO THE 'SELECT A PROFILE' BUTTON ABOVE. THE MOST SIMPLE METHOD IS TO EITHER SELECT (BY CLICKING ONTO) A GOOGLE ACCOUNT (WHICH CAN SIMPLY BE A GOOGLE G-MAIL ADDRESS) OR TO SELECT ANONYMOUS. THEN WRITE YOUR COMMENT AND IF YOU WISH .. PREVIEW YOUR COMMENT .. AND THEN CLICK ONTO THE PUBLISH BUTTON TO PUBLISH IT ..

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN MY WEB SITE .. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TAKING THE TIME AND GOING TO THE WORK TO POST A COMMENT HERE .. CAP