Chassidy has served on staff with us over the past year and has a great story about her encounter with a moose. If you followed our mascot clues a few weeks ago, you probably heard us make mention of this incident (the pic was taken the day before this incident took place):

Three years ago, I had my first experience with what would later become the iGo Mascot. It wasn’t one of the friendly mascots, like a goat, penguin, or giraffe. It was one of those animals that you want to see from far away, but not close up, because you are scared it will kick you or step on you or poke you with its horns. That’s right, I met a moose. Not just any old moose, I met an Alaskan moose, which happen to be the largest species of moose…mooses…meese…moosen? Whatever. I met one of them, and every time I see a moose shirt on an iGo student, I will remember my first encounter.

In the summer of 2007, I went to Alaska for two weeks to serve with the Alaska Baptist Convention. Driving around Alaska you can’t help but notice two things. First, how absolutely beautiful it is; it really is breathtaking. Second, the terrifying signs reminding you of the “Moose on Road.” Apparently, moose like to walk across busy roads and put their lives (and the lives of those in the cars) in danger. Because of these signs, I was always aware of moosen while driving. I was not, however, as aware when I was running.

About a week after I had been in Alaska, I went for a run in the morning. I had run a couple of blocks in the neighborhood we were staying in, but had run almost a whole block looking down at my foot. I had on some windpants and the zipper was stuck so my pant leg kept flopping around, and I was staring at the zipper wondering how I could fix it. After accepting the fact that there was no hope for my zipper, I looked up. That’s when I saw it.

…or more accurately, them.

In the middle of a busy neighborhood full of houses, people, dogs, and cars, there was a little field with trees. Out of these trees came two moose. Actually, out of the trees came a cow moose and her calf. Apparently this is one of the most dangerous ways to encounter a moose, because the “momma moose” as I called her, is very protective of her baby. So as I look up, I see them walking out of the trees, and hope that they don’t see me. Momma moose, however, looked straight at me, back at the baby moose, and back at me. Her ears laid back (a lot like a dog or cats do) and she started trotting towards me. So I kept running…in the opposite direction, of course. I sprinted as fast as I could, looking over my shoulder every 1/8 of a second to see if the moose was still after me. I was checking out all the houses I was passing and trying to figure out how I could get to the roof, or climb up in a tree, or jump on top of a car. I quickly realized that I was no Jason Bourne and had no chance against a 7-foot tall animal; but she only trotted after me for about 30 seconds, and then veered off into the woods. That was the last time I went running in Alaska.

So…there’s my moose story. Contrary to what you may think, I am in favor of the 2010 mascot, and am sure that I will have a better experience with meese in iGosia than I did with mooses in Alaska.