Replies

Here's a great story on Mackey - straight out of Sarah's "Going Rogue"

The tradition is for the governor to call the Iditarod winner, no matter what time ithe or she crosses under the famed burled arch on Front Street in Nome. My first year in office I called the winner Lance Mackey to congratulate him. He was in his mid thirties, a throat cancer, a lifelong Alaskan, and an amazing athlete with a world class team of dogs. His lead dog's name was Larry. My call would be broadcast around the world, so I made sure everything was set up from the mansion as I watched on TV while a reporteer handed Lance the phone. With High emotions and very little sleep Lance exudued relief and honor when he took his first call from the govornor. "Hey! How ya doing, Sir?"

There was a tiny bit of a hush. The reporter mumbled, "Um, our governor's a woman." Lance perked up. "Oh, yeah! Right! Yeah, it's Murkowski, I met her before! Hi there!"

"Lance, can you hear me? You just made this state very, very proud!"

The next day at a press conference, Bill McAllister from KTUU asked me just how embarrassing wasthat international moment?"Are you kidding?" I asked Bill. "More power to him! Good he's not a politico - I like him even more now"

Bill pointed out that his canines with names like Hobo, Lippy, and Fudge, were more important to mushers than any politician's name. The mushers and the vetininarians on the trail loved and cared for their animals so much they'd pratically lay down their lies for the dogs.

By the second year, with another Mackey victory to celebrate, I placed the call again, this time at 2:46 am., to tell the musher he was an inspiration to all of us. Lance was just as proud, and I was just as prepared to be humbled.

A reporter teased him this time,"Now, Lance, remember who this is this time!"

"Got it, got it," he said. Then he picked up the phone, said "Hello" with a grin, and told the world he couldn't forget the govornor's name this go-around. He'd named one of his dogs "Sarah".