The reporters and camera crews are waiting at White Mountain, Alaska.

The White Mountain checkpoint is only 77 miles to the finish line in Nome. The first to Nome to cross the line in the snow will be the winner of the 2013 Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska. The veterans here at White Mountain tell us that the first musher into White Mountain usually wins the race. That’s usually. This year may be different. An eight-hour rest break is required at White Mountain before the leader can yell “Mush!” and break with his team of dogs for Nome and glory. That glory this year may come only over after a “grueling race to the finish.” On the trail at 5 am this morning, the leaders were: Mitch Seavey at #1 who led yesterday morning (keep pushing at #1, Dad Seavey!), Aliy Zirkle the leading lady who moved up to #2 from #4 yesterday (fly through the snow, Aliy!), Jeff King at #3 where he was yesterday (hang in there, Mr. Tenacious!), Ray Redington Jr. up from #5 yesterday to #4 today (mush on, Junior Alaskan!), and in the fifth position Dallas Seavey from #8 yesterday “who is pushing hard to the front” to catch dear old Dad (on to glory and family pride, young Dallas!). Wow, this is an exciting race and there are few more mushers just behind the front runners who will be ready to launch off White Mountain for the final long slide to that finish line in Nome and the crown of the north.

Go Iditarod! The world is watching.

As it is in Rome.

At about noon Alaskan time today, 177 cardinals will process into the Sistine Chapel to start the conclave to elect a new Pope. From White Mountain, Alaska to Rome, Italy is 5,114.3 miles or 8,230.6 kilometers — if you’re flying. It would be much much farther if you’re mushing behind a team of dogs. And, there doesn’t appear to be any white in Rome, yet. Once the doors lock behind those cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, each cardinal will take an oath and settle into his assigned witness box beneath Michelangelo’s vaulted ceiling. The first vote will be taken. If a single Cardinal receives 77 votes (a 2/3rds majority), the white paper ballots will be burned and white smoke will drift from the chimney above the celestial frescoes. Within an hour, a solitary figure in a simple white robe will step out, onto the balcony and announce his newly chosen name, the new Pope’s name, to the camera crews filming below and multitudes watching, smiling and cheering around the globe. The race will have been won. But, if there is no winner, a lump of black coal will be burned and black smoke will issue up into the disappointed skies. Black smoke means “No pope today, sorry. Come back tomorrow.” Then, the cardinals will pray, sadly rise, return to their hotel and try again with the new day.

Only time will tell, time does tell well.

The papal conclave is too close to call.

In Rome, there is no race by five down a frosty mountain, over a frozen stream to reach Nome and a single drawn ribbon.

Yet in optimism we wait for each race to reach its end, tomorrow may be the day both lead Musher and new Pope are named.

Now that would be a concurrent headline in both the Anchorage Daily News and the Vatican Daily News: “Musher and Pope Finish First Together – What a Race!!”

In their ways, I think both will have reached a far distant place, wearied from the race, accepting the acclaim and wishing for a slower pace. I fear neither will be granted that wish.

A quiet life is not at race ending, a race ends with a new life beginning.

With fame more attention, with attention more work.

I think it’s time to move to the finish lines.

You go to Nome, I’ll head for Rome.

Don’t delay and miss the fun,

Grandpa Jim

The next Pope will not be from Alaska, the next winner of the Iditarod may be.

The Iditarod is the great dog sled race across Alaska. As of 1:14 am local time this morning leaving Shaktoolik, the leader was Mitch Seavey, an Alaskan since age 3 when he moved to Alaska with his parents. Next in the line of race are Aaron a native Alaskan, Jeff an Alaskan from California, Aliy Zirkle an Alaskan from New Hampshire, Ray another native Alaskan, Joar a Norwegian, Jake an Alaskan from Minnesota, Dallas Seavy the leader Mitch’s son, Sonny an Alaskan from Michigan, and Dee Dee an Alaskan born in Frankfort Germany. Those are the top 10 contenders as of daybreak up north, but as can happen in the land of snow, dogs, sleds and mushers, things can change by the next checkpoint. So, stay glued to the ice waves and the latest news from the whoosh of sled rails across the snow. Right now, however, the odds are 9 to 1 that the next winner of the Iditarod will be an Alaskan.

Popes are harder to call.

As of early this morning in Rome, the front runners are reported to be – and it’s too foggy in the Eternal City to discern the actual order of alignment in the lead pack and there may be one or two Cardinals who moved up over the night whom we can’t quite see – but, right now, the Top 4 in the leading group of mushers are: The youngest at 63, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer from Brazil, the unlikely favorite of the 38 Roman Cardinals; Cardinal Angelo Scola from Milan, Italy, 71 years young, the son of a truck driver and a Vatican outsider; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, at 68, a Canadian and a Vatican insider who has said being Pope is a job nobody would willingly pursue; and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, another Italian, but one who blogs, tweets and has a Facebook page, a long shot who enjoys art, science and the Internet. Those are the Top 4 contenders this morning as seen by our observers perched with their binoculars on the seven hills of Rome. Things can change with the morning sun over the Forum, but right now the odds in St. Peter’s Square are 2 to 2, the forecast tied and uncertain, whether the next Pope is to be or not to be from Italy. The Conclave of 115 Cardinals starts its deliberations tomorrow morning, with the winner needing 77 votes. So, keep a keen eye fixed on that chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. When the white smoke shows there, a new Pope has been chosen.

Viva La Papa and on with race.

In Alaska, may the best team of dogs and their Musher slide home to Nome in victory and the shouts of a welcoming crowd.

In Rome, may the chapel doors creak open and the best red Cardinal appear transformed in white to the cheers of a waiting world.

The race is to the winner, the winner is for us all.

Hope springs eternal,

Grandpa Jim

The snow dogs are racing.

Iditarod!

The great dog sled race across Alaska has reached Mile 592 at Eagle Island, Alaska. Starting in Anchorage, the track travels 998 miles to its end in Nome. Musher Martin Buser was the first out of Eagle Island at 2:41 am this morning. The racers are called “Mushers” – likely because they are always yelling “Mush! Mush!” to their dogs to keep the sleds push push pushing through the Alaskan snow, slush and mush.

Martin is originally from Switzerland, has lived in Alaska for over 30 years and became a U.S. citizen in 2002. He and his wife and two sons hail from Big Lake, where Martin runs Happy Trails Kennel. Sled dogs are important to Martin, and he races to show that his dogs are the best at what they and he do best – mush. Martin Buser has completed 29 Iditarod’s and won four with his teams of dogs. The “team” is Martin Buser and his sled dogs. He starts with 16 dogs, and 6 must be on the towline at the finish line. An author once described Martin’s dogs as “eternal children.” That may explain why they work so well together and run so often to first. Good luck, Team.

In second place out of Eagle Lake this morning at 5:51 am was Aliy Zirkle. Aliy was born in New Hampshire. She moved to Alaska in 1990 where she went to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Aliy lists her occupation as “dog musher,” has finished 11 Iditarod’s, and was second last year. “Mush on, Aliy, this may be your year.”

The word “Iditarod” may derive from an Alaskan native word for “far distant place.” I think the mushers and their sled dogs would echo that feeling on the long and lonely march to Nome.

God speed and finish well.

Whatever the place,

You are winners.

Iditarod!

Grandpa Jim

Which dog is the biggest?

The English Mastiff is the largest breed in the world of dogs. A full-grown mastiff can tip the scales at 250 pounds (113 kilograms), and they regularly do, but they can be bigger — much bigger. Zorba, the English Mastiff, holds the Guinness World Record for canines at 343 pounds (156 kilograms). In November 1989 at eight-years old, little Zorba measured 8 feet, 3 inches (251 centimeters) long — without his tongue stuck out to lick you – and he was 37 inches high at the shoulder when on all fours. Of course, standing up, he was 8 feet 3 inches and could dunk a basketball. (I made the dunk part up, but I bet he could.) That is a lot of doggie. Zorba has gone to dog heaven, but he is still the longest and largest dog ever recorded. Thank, you Zorba, for setting the record for big dogs.

Which is the tiniest doggie?

Right now – and stay tuned because three other little dogs are in the race to grow and be smaller – but right now, Guinness says the smallest dog alive in the world is a long-haired female Chihuahua by the name of Boo Boo who is four inches tall and weighs two pounds. She is so small she drinks out of a plastic spoon and only weighed one ounce at birth (about four U.S. pennies).

And, the loudest is?

In a dazzling display of decibelic discordance, the German Shepherd Daz, guarding his home in England, woofed away at 108 decibels of dynamic diction scaring away robbers, postmen and cat burglars for miles around. The decibel (written dB) is the unit used to measure the intensity of sound, and sounds above 85 dB can cause hearing loss. At 108 dB, Daz’s bark is roughly equivalent to the blast of a car horn or a chain saw cutting down a tree out front. Daz himself is reported to be lovable and unaggressive, but when he lets loose with that diaphragmic display of sound, there is none like him. Aggressors grab their ears and run for cover when our nonaggressive pooch starts barking.

Most fur, please?

The heaviest amount of fur in the canine world belongs to the Komondor. Komondorox (that’s the plural) are large white-coated Hungarian guardian dogs. Their coat is long and thick and resembles dreadlocks or a mop. You will hear them called “mop dogs” because they look like mops on legs, their eyes covered with fur and a pleasant, endearing smile peaking through between those white dreadlocks. Komondorox are tough but friendly, having arrived with all that fur from Tibet to Hungary in about 1100 A.D. The Komondor breed has been declared a Hungarian national treasure, and that says a lot for a mop with dreadlocks.

Highest jumper and fastest runner, if you could?

For a single jump by one dog, Cinderella May, a Holly Grey, cleared 68 inches (5 feet, 8 inches, or 172.7 centimeters) in the State of Missouri, U.S.A., on October 7, 2006. It was an official Guinness World Record. A Holly Grey is greyhound. The greyhound is also the fastest dog, attaining speeds up to 45 miles per hour (mph) chasing that fake rabbit around that dog track. Go, Cinderella!

And, of course, the most good natured?

This is a hard pick. So many dog breeds and individual dogs are easy going and great to be around. If you have a dog, he or she is the best for you. Some picks from the web are: 1) the Basset Hound, originally from France, is stated to be among the most good-natured and easy going of breeds, amiable with dogs, other pets and children; 2) the Bulldog, because it is very sturdy, not very energetic and will pretty much let kids walk all over it without complaining; 3) the Labrador Retriever for a family because Labs love to please, are playful, protective and caring, and train easily — being known as the canine Einstein’s; and for the single walking in the town park and hoping to meet someone special, the Lab has been documented to be the best dog to have if you’re looking for a date (remember that scene from the 1961 animated film 101 Dalmatians where Roger takes his dog Pongo for a walk in the park and they meet Anita and her dog Perdy — Wow, that was love at first sight, for dogs and humans alike); and finally at #4) my favorite, the Mutt, or mixed breed, just down the street at the local shelter, the bigger the better for kids, any size at all for all the rest of us, and remember (and this is the best piece of advice I saw on dogs) whatever dog you choose, everyone in the family needs to be the pack leader for that dog, every day, from day one, and that dog will be the best dog ever.

Bow Wow,

Grandpa Jim

“Grandpa, why don’t you have any music?”

“Katelyn, I have 200 CDs loaded on the server. Just scan through and pick one.”

“There is not one.”

“Meaning?”

“You need some new music?”

“Ok, suggestions?”

“Adele Skyfall.”

I just listened to the song on YouTube. Wow. Her name is not Adele Skyfall. Adele Laurie Blue Adkins is her name. She will be 25 on May 5^th. Adele is the English girl who wrote and sings the theme song for the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall. For that, Adele won the U.S. Academy Award for Best Original Song. Over the past six years, her awards and outstanding achievements are too numerous to mention without numbing the senses. Suffice to say, she has more #1s than the Beatles. At age 24, she was placed at #5 on the list of the Greatest Women In Music, and Time Magazine acknowledged that she was one of the most influential people in the world.

Wow, and I never heard her name.

In 1964, I hid behind the couch in my parent’s living room and listened to the Beatle’s first 45 released in the United States. On the B side was the song, “I Want to Hold your Hand.” No one in Iowa had ever heard of the Beatles. I remember my Mom walked in and said, “I like that song.” She was always smarter than me. Mom Lorraine will be 94 in six days, March 10^th, exactly eight weeks before Adele turns 25, on May 5^th. They will be 69 years apart in years. I suspect they are much closer in their ways.

I like Skyfall, and I like Adele.

Katelyn’s right. I should add Adele to the server. Who cares if she is immensely popular and has turned music on its ear? I will like her anyway.

Katelyn reminds me of my Mom Lorraine. My Mom’s nickname was Corky. It could be my granddaughter’s too. They both love to listen to music and dance to music and neither really stops moving when they’re listening or dancing or doing all the rest that they do so well and never stop doing. I suspect Adele is the same.

I think they are all smarter and jumpier than me.

And, they each have great taste in music.

Listen and enjoy their songs.

I’m feeling jumpy too.

Hang loose,

Grandpa Jim

A mom and dad are being recruited to take a free sight-seeing trip around Mars.

The world’s first space tourist, Dennis Tito, is looking for volunteers for a 501-day free space adventure. With accommodations yet to be designed, the Earth couple will take off on January 5, 2018 for a 228-day half-arc fling around the sun. On August 21, 2018 they will wave and take pictures as they pass the Red Planet on the left.

“Oh, Margie,” the husband will gasp, “I never thought we’d be this close.” “Franklin Delanore,” the wife replies with an affectionate hug, “I always knew you’d take me places.” They kiss, jump up and down, and shout with glee, “The neighbors will never beat this one.”

With luck, John Carter of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s fame, with Dejah Thoris, a Princess of Mars, at his side, will look up and spy Margie and Franklin Delanore flying through the skies and wave back from atop their eight-legged greater thoats, to the delight of our space adventurers with their faces pressed to the glass of the single porthole of their passing spaceship.

“Wow, Margie, that was an exciting flyby. Did you see John and Dejah down there? They did look good. Now, it’s just 273 days to get back home. I can’t wait until we are within range of decent cell phone tower so we can see what the pictures look like.”

Mr. Tito says he is sponsoring the trip to Mars just for the fun of it. Dennis started his engineering career at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration – known affectionately as NASA – made a bundle in investments, and paid the Russian Federal Space Agency $20,000,000.00 in 2001 to hop on a Soyuz space capsule for an eight-day stay on the International Space Station. Apparently that was great fun.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder
Climbing high into the sun

Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder
Sent it high into the blue

Here’s a toast to the host
Of those who love the vastness of the sky

Off we go into the wild sky yonder
Keep the wings level and true

As a Sputnik kid, I grew up with the rhythm of that U.S. Air Force song echoing in my head, satellites being launched and men landing on the moon.

Those were exciting times.

They still are.

I wish the young couple well who find the golden ticket and win the free trip into the wild blue yonder in a crate of thunder to view the true vastness out there in the wild sky yonder.

The brochure says the sky is only blue until you break free of our planet and enter the black bright vastness of space, flying off in search of the red planet, a mysterious and enchanted domain found in the remembered words of ancient lore, spied by wanders in late-night dreams and inhabiting the pages of stories not written and yet to be told.

I know. It’s only one couple that will be selected for the trip. But, that’s this trip and this time.

The Dutch Company Mars One hopes to place people on the surface of the Red Planet in 2023 and establish a long-term colony soon thereafter. NASA is working on new habitation capsules and big-push rockets to race its own colonists to Barsoom, the land of John Carter, by the mid-2030’s.

As the erstwhile space explorer Alexander Pope once wrote while gazing into the night sky:

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never Is, but always To be blest:

The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

One of the nice things about planets is that they have been around for a long time and are expected to be around for a long time to come.

So, don’t give up.

Get those applications in.

Search and find those golden tickets.

Your trip to the skies is there and waiting for you.

And then off you go into the wild blue yonder and the black brightness of space.

These are fun and exciting times for one and all.

Couples and singles will find a way.

To what awaits them all.

Keep dreaming,

Grandpa Jim