Eric & Keiko bonding at the Saturday Market in Anchorage

Dreams - Like all good tales, our story begins long ago and far away. In the middle of the last century in the deepest, darkest part of Southern California a boy was watching Sgt. Preston and dreaming of the day that he would be old enough to live in the Yukon, join the Mounties, and chase bad guys with his loyal lead dog King.

As we grow our dreams change to reflect our new knowledge and changing priorities. For example not being Canadian makes living in the Yukon and joining the Mounties somewhat more difficult, but living in Alaska is a very good choice. Over the years, while the dream of living in Alaska was a constant, the dream of a dog team appeared so far out of reach that it lay dormant and forgotten.

Eric with his strongest supporters, his family

It only took 20 years for that young man to make his first trip to the land of his dreams. It took 10 more years to bring his blushing bride up on a second honeymoon and watch her fall in love with the magic of the state. Finally after 40 years he moved his family to the North Country and 2 years later, beyond all expectations, got his first dog team. Dreams of the chasing bad guys in the Mounties with that loyal lead dog were immediately replaced with dreams of chasing very good guys in the Iditarod with that very same loyal lead dog.
A three year plan was quickly put together. The task for year one was to learn to travel through Alaska and camp with the dogs. Year two was to learn to race and qualify for Iditarod. Year three was to run the race itself. I'm proud to report that after 10 years I'm most of the way through year number 2! Alright I am a slow learner, but we're getting there. While there has been some discussion about whether or not what I do is called racing, the 200 and 300 mile qualifiers are complete. My very loyal and steadfast friend Bass (think music not fish) leads the team. I never did get a dog named King, but I purchased several very good dogs from a man named King and figure that has got to be good enough.

A week after I signed up for the 2006 Iditarod I was laid off. It came completely out of the blue and was totally unexpected. Disaster looms!
The last time I was laid off I was working for Shell Oil in Houston Texas. It was a job I loved in a place that didn’t suit me at all. So I inverted the situation and moved to Alaska, where I had always dreamed of living, to see what it took to make a living there. It was a very interesting year and a half before I found work, but I’ve been living that dream ever since!

For years I’ve dreamed of being a full time musher, but I never would have had the courage to quit my job and try it. However, once again, the job left me. Stepping out in faith and following the dream worked the last time, so I’m going to go for it and see what it takes to make it work. Is this a disaster or a golden opportunity? Only time will tell. However it turns out, it should be a very exciting journey and I invite you to share it with me.
Lemonade?

Eric
© 18 August 2005 All Rights Reserved