Datebook: Thursday, January 11th ~ 2007

In eight days we will be leaving for Nationals. Yes, on the 19th, although the official singing of the anthem does not take place until the 21st. Some of you would ask, “Why” and others will only nod because they are making the same travel plans.

The “why” is as simple as everything is in skating. The coaches. The coaches told us to get there early so we can register, practice, and “get acclimated”. Two months ago I must confess, I probably did a little “eye roll” on that. I have to miss another day of work, skaters miss another day of school; it seemed a bit like going to Lake Placid on the Saturday before the event.

But, okay, we bought the air tickets for Friday.

Now getting to Spokane is an adventure that I think they could feature on “The Amazing Race.” No airline flies there directly except for those who live in Seattle and they are taking the local shuttle across the state. The rest of us had to decide “the lesser of two evils”---did we want to spend eleven hours in the air with various lay-overs, or travel through some winter worry spots.

That’s right, do we sit on the plane with restless leg syndrome as the earth completes a revolution and go through Phoenix or San Francisco, or do we chance a Chicago or Denver snow down? I’m not sure, but I think there may still be passengers at the Denver airport waiting stand-by from the December 19th storm—I can’t imagine where their luggage landed.

This wouldn’t seem such a calamity to those on the eastern half of the states if Nationals occasionally ventured across the Mississippi River. But it hasn’t, and doesn’t intend to for at least two years. I’m sure the powers that be have identified that the term “National” was meant to include the entire country and will make adjustments in the future, perhaps holding the event in Kansas City so it is at least on the east side of the fold in the Rand McNally. Seriously, I’m sure they will fund 100 dollar stipends for the teams from the east who always have to spend more, and that they will change the times of the competition events to Eastern standard time every third day so that all skaters are treated the same.

Really, keep your eyes open for the announcement.

Another timing issue this year is that Nationals is held two weeks later. And that makes a big difference. We are now no longer getting off the plane on the return trip to the comfort of an additional day off due to Martin Luther King’s birthday. And seriously, taking into consideration his proclamation that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, this should be another factor when deciding the time, venue, and setting of future Nationals.

If it takes 11 hours to get to Spokane, via various airports and sled dog teams, it will take the same to get home. But. And this is the big “But”. When your plane touches down at an east coast time zone airport, you turn your watch ahead 3 hours. Cell phones do this automatically, which is a bit freaky I must say. And then you have to pick up luggage, drive home, and get up for work or school in about five hours.

This allows for little time to prepare for the questions that wait.

“How was it?”

“Are they going to the Olympics?”

I’ve decided it will be easier if I just answer “Great” and “Yes, yes they are!”

Yes, indeed. Instead of answering all of those questions, I’ll just plan to get another job in three years. A fresh start. Maybe I’ll just tell my new co-workers that my daughter does something on the ice.

Maybe they’ll think it is curling.

Mombo