Iditarod Letter vis-a-vis Iditaddiction

Posted on the Race Talk Forum on the official Iditarod site is a letter for all those enthralled with The Last Great Race.

Post by sandia on Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:31 am

This is a letter to whomever or whatever you may not be giving enough time and/or attention to, or are in other ways impacted by your Iditaddiction. Amend as appropriate to your situation.

it reads in part:

Letter to whomever



Dear ______________(sweetheart, child, boss, co-worker, students, dog, garden, tax forms on the desk, book club,… - fill in name here)


I am sincerely sorry that I have not been as attentive to you as I usually am. I am not sure that I can explain to you the pull that tracking this amazing race across Alaska has on me. I can tell you that I am not alone in feeling its attraction and following the urge to check GPS readings, forum discussions, blogs, official standings, on-line newspaper and TV coverage, race photos, and more.
...
No one questions someone’s interest in putting aside their chores to, say, follow the Superbowl or the World Cup; these are widely televised, promoted, and sponsored events. This Last Great Race, however, does not enjoy such popularity – and I do not think I would want it to! This event that has caught my heart is about honoring traditions and culture that were never part of mass culture. But because of this, time is not given for enjoying it, and I am expected to carry on with my usual obligations.

Please know that you are as important to me as always and I will be back to fully functioning in 10 days or 9, or, well, depending on the weather conditions along the coast, soon. I thank you for your patience and understanding.

It is quite good and useful if you need it to be. Should you wish to read the whole thing, be sure to click the link above and go over to the forum.

(Do you think some of the silliness being displayed by posters to the various Race Talk Forums might be a sign that A) they are taking this whole thing a mite too seriously and not getting enough sleep B) it's now some 6 days into the race with a few more to go (the leader is still some 350 miles from Nome) C) cabin fever has been more of a problem this winter than the swine flu D) all of the above.)