Daily Archives: October 14, 2011

It’s been a dramatic and turbulent ride for Michigan Moose, who metamorphed through many roles over the past 15,000 kilometers. As Mehmet and then Mohammed Moose, he suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, accepting gravel flung at his bulbous nose and not a few curses at his lack of head covering, the latter of which I diffused by pointing out that he had antlers and therefore must be male, thus exempt from the headscarf rule.

Michigan Moose, chillin' at the Oberoi, Kolkata

As Mustapha Moose he sulked only briefly at being left behind in a rubble-strewn guest house parking lot while we walked across the Afghan border without him. And he rose to the occasion as Pamir Moose, braving sharp sleet and early snows over high passes with head unbowed, to lead us forward to the Tajik/Kyrgyz border. I

n China, despite being Chairman Moose he was sudsed and drenched at an over-exuberant car wash in Golmud, left at the curb all soapy to drip dry while we indulged in a steaming Mongolian hotpot dinner. He gasped for air with the rest of us at Everest Base Camp as Mallory Moose, never once demanding oxygen (perhaps there’s something to the notion of inhaling diesel fumes to quell that altitude headache). And he rose to the occasion as Mahatma Moose, always willing to turn the other cheek despite the rude jostling he received at the hands of the worst of pot-holed roads that India could throw at us.

So, I think he’s earned his plush seat in our hotel room and the cozy quarters of my suitcase as he makes his way back to the ranch.