by Mitch Albom | Mar 8, 1991 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
I am about to tell you a remarkable story that not only restores my faith in newspapers, newspaper readers and humanity in general, but also makes my dog extremely happy.
Here I was in my house Thursday morning. I had just returned from the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska, a wonderful assignment that, unfortunately, was being cut short so I could get to Florida and write about — ahem — spring training baseball.
“Well, dog,” I said to my golden retriever, as I unpacked the long underwear from my suitcase, “too bad I didn’t get to see the end of that race.”
by Mitch Albom | Mar 6, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
IDITAROD DIARY, Chapter 6: In which we come to an end.
by Mitch Albom | Mar 5, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
IDITAROD DIARY, CHAPTER 5: In which we make a rescue, cross the breathtaking mountains, and get nauseated.
RAINY PASS, Alaska — “Medic! Medic!”
by Mitch Albom | Mar 4, 1991 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
IDITAROD DIARY, CHAPTER 4: In which we discover sleeping dogs, ice cooking, and witness a plane crash.SKWENTNA, Alaska — As the wind curled over the frozen treetops, I glanced at my pilot, Old Jim, who used to fly burned bodies out of Vietnam — we’ll...
by Mitch Albom | Mar 3, 1991 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
IDITAROD DIARY, CHAPTER 3: In which The Last Great Race on Earth begins.ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The streets were still dark when the horrible noise began, a yelping, screeching, howling sound that swelled to a frightening volume, until you wanted to cover your ears...
by Mitch Albom | Mar 2, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
IDITAROD DIARY, CHAPTER 2: In which we meet the champion, get licked, talk basketball, and learn that even mushers get jealous.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — “Forget it. You don’t have enough fur.”
That’s what one local told me as I sought the champion of the dogsled world. “Forget it,” he laughed. “Unless you got a cold nose and four paws, you ain’t gonna get much from Susan Butcher.”
by Mitch Albom | Mar 1, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
CHAPTER 1: In which I travel to Alaska and learn that all dogs are not created equal, although most smell alike.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Mush! Whoa!
Get off my leg!
All right. I admit it. Before arriving here for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race — or, as they call it in Alaska, The Last Great Race On Earth — my canine knowledge was somewhat limited. This, basically, is what I knew about dogs: If they urinate on your carpet, it’s damn hard to get out.
by Mitch Albom | Feb 28, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
One coach, upon learning that Chris Webber goes to church every Sunday, dashed off a letter saying, he, too, was a regular churchgoer: “The other night we were singing a hymn, and I had the joy of Jesus in my soul — and then I started thinking about you,...
by Mitch Albom | Feb 25, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
Gerald Henderson was at the computer in his Philadelphia office Saturday when the phone rang. The Pistons. They needed a guard. Fast. Henderson, who had only been playing pick-up basketball three times a week, shut off the computer, packed a bag and got on a plane for Detroit. The next morning he was at the Beverly Hills Racquet Club, shooting hoops — just hours before the Pistons would play the Lakers on network television. “Don’t hurt yourself,” one of the surprised pick-up players there told him. “They need you today.”
by Mitch Albom | Feb 25, 1991 | Detroit Free Press
Gerald Henderson was about to enter some data into the computer in his Philadelphia office Saturday when the phone rang. The Pistons. They needed a guard. Fast. Henderson, who had only been playing pickup basketball three times a week, was on a plane that night....
