By Robert William Service
I met an ancient man who mushed
With Peary to the Pole.
Said I, "In all that land so hushed
What most inspired your soul?"
He looked at me with bleary eye,
He scratched a hoary head:
"You know that Sourdoughs jest cain't lie
So here's the dope," he said.
"That hike was like a devil's dream,
Just blizzards, gales and fogs,
But I was leadin' wi' my team
O' seven husky dogs.
Day after day I steered my sleigh,
Yet spry o' heart was I,
And every night the Northern Light
Danced ballys in the sky.
"Them dogs o' mine seemed to divine
Their mighty destiny.
They howled with joy, and like a boy
I jined them in their glee.
While like a spark from out the dark
Fame spurred us to our goal,
On, on we sped, the winnin' sled
To gain the Pole, the POLE.
"I saw it clear, I raised a cheer,
I knowed the prize was won:
The huskies too, like wind they flew -
Them critters sure could run.
The light was dim, the site was grim,
But sunshine swept my soul,
To see each husky lift a limb
And irrigate the Pole."
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I had a bunch of chores to do on Thursday, starting with a virtual doctor appointment to discuss my blood pressure meds (the good news: my blood pressure is down so much that she took me off one of them, the bad news: apparently that was the miracle drug that made me stop getting migraines, so I want to shuffle around my dosage of the one so I can keep taking the other). After lunch I finished writing and labeling holiday cards -- now I just need to stamp and mail them.
We walked to the park, where we saw a bunny for the first time in several weeks, and we had pizza for dinner before my usual Thursday night chat, minus one person who's at Disney World. Afterward we caught up on The Masked Singer (still rooting for Buffaloes but Wasp is very good) and now we're watching The Finnish Line, a Hallmark holiday romance about sled dogs with lots of gorgeous winter scenery. Speaking of scenery, some of the monuments we saw in DC Thanksgiving weekend: