Tuesday This and That

 

I love this picture of my son Willie. 

Photographer Jason Duchow does a wonderful job of catching not only the action but the color at Sandpoint High athletic events. 

This photo was taken at last Friday's "Battle of the Paddle" event at SHS.  I've read that Sandpoint came very close to winning, but Lakeland took home the prize for another year. 

Always next year!

Tonight Willie's girls varsity squad travels to Timberlake High School to play yet another tough team, the Timberlake Tigers.

The Tigers currently rank first in their state division with a 15-1 record.  

It would be really neat if Willie's young team could pull off an upset. 

Good luck, Bulldogs.  

A member of the Sandpoint chapter of the Seinfeld Gang has come home to practice medicine.

The best part:  he's in the same medical practice (Internal Medicine Associates) where I go to see my provider. 

How neat it is to see your former student, now practicing as a medical doctor back in his home town. 

Dr. Garrett Strizich and his family recently returned home to Sandpoint after finishing his medical studies at Dartmouth University. 

For several years, I've referred to him a member of the Seinfeld gang because that's what we all called him and his friends while they were going through Sandpoint High School. 

Smart, smart kids who liked to do quirky, slightly impish things.  For some unknown reason, I seemed to have earned a spot on their roster of "victims."  

I use the term "victim" lightly because there was usually humor associated with their sudden appearances at our home at all hours of the day and night. 

One morning around 4:30 a.m. when I went to get the paper, they met me at the end of our long driveway and asked why I was up so early. 

I may have asked them the same and why they were at my house at that time of day. 

They also came one day and videoed me while I was mowing the lawn. 

Eventually, upon retiring, I was given a copy of their video, which included some of their other other zany interludes with me and my family. 

I also remember Garrett as a gifted writer.  Always loved reading his essays.    

Yesterday, Dr. Strizich came into an exam room to say hello. 

It was a great and proud moment and a fun visit. 

BTW:  Garrett and Luke Mayville co-founded Reclaim Idaho.   

Welcome home, Garrett.

The Sandpoint area is lucky to have you. 

It looks as if the rest of January will continue to be unlike January's of past years.  

My phone's 10-day weather forecast shows six days with full suns and the rest with just clouds. 

We'll have fairly cold days and nights, but nothing extreme. 

And so, we'll continue Mother Nature's gift of providing us mostly bare ground and the ability to get out of the house.  Also, no snow plowing or shoveling. 

It's great, especially for those of us who have always considered January our least favorite month. 

Happy Tuesday. 

Finally, just a little inspiration from the west of Ireland with celloist Patrick Dexter. 

More about Patrick Dexter.  He has many talents, and those who listen to him are so lucky.  

https://patrickdexter.com/about/

Transition

On this day of an American transition and of celebrating Martin Luther King, a few meaningful and timely thoughts from Dr. King. 

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

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“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

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"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

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We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope. 

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I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. 

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Road Trip North

 

We took our first trip out of the country for 2025 yesterday.  

The destination:  Canada, Creston, and the Discovery Wildlife Center west of Creston. 

The dogs had a good time as did the peeps. 

The Discovery Wildlife Center resembles the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge near Bonners Ferry, although I think even the latter might have a few more birds flitting around in the cold weather.

It was pretty quiet in Canada AND cold and even icy for part of our walk. 

Once we reached the open areas on the trail, walking became a lot easier thanks to bare ground. 

The place presented an endless smorgasboard of sniffing for both Bridie and Foster.  

I quit counting after Foster's eighth stop to sniff and to mark his territory. 

The little guy is 13 now, and having to support himself while lifting his back leg that many times has become a bit more challenging.

But that didn't slow him down. 

We walked well over a mile and finally turned around because, with the openness, it was pretty hard for us to lift our legs if nature came calling. 

The trip was topped off by a stop at our favorite Creston restaurant, Jimmy D's. 

Before entering the restaurant, we met a friendly couple from Creston. 

After they engaged us in the parking lot, we stood for about 15 minutes talking. 

He was a retired cop in Creston.  They have seven children.  Having roots in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he has been studying the Irish language for the past few years. 

Both are active in the community, focusing on the disabled and Search and Rescue. 

Charming, fun people, to say the least.  

We probably would have visited longer, but the McKenna's were headed to a Search and Rescue gathering. 

I was thrilled with the accommodating nature of Jimmy D's because I'm on an experimental no sugar/no dairy product diet. 

I was able to order a salad with vinegar and oil and a tasty chicken breast. 

That doesn't mean it wasn't difficult to watch Bill with his lasagna, garlic bread and salad.

Anyway, I thought it was really nice that the restaurant staff was so open to helping me enjoy a meal. 

One take we brought back from our day's experience involved the comments our new friends made about having to listen to the constant news in Canada about American politics and finding it so divisive. 

They are not impressed. 

We agreed.  

Anyway, it was a nice day and a great outing. We'll probably be taking more trips to beautiful Canada as the year rolls on.  

We wanted to be home by 6 p.m. for the ZAGS game.  Last night's game turned out to be a disappointment, with the ZAGS losing two games in a row. 

For some reason, however, I didn't go to bed mad.

  Instead, I thought about all the other storied basketball programs around the nation that are going through similar problems. 

It's not just the ZAGS. 

These situations will work themselves out eventually.

  In the meantime, I'll keep loving the opportunity to watch our ZAGS.  They may be on a losing cycle, but their individual and team efforts are still mighty fun to watch.

We LOVE the ZAGS and will continue to do so.  

Guess that's all for this Sunday before a major American transition. 

Enjoy the day, enjoy the simple gifts of life and family and friends and pray for the future.

And, remember where we live geographically, there's always Canada.  I've heard it's not for sale. 

Happy Sunday. 

Finally, a nice story from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, about an appropriate anthem for the days, weeks and months ahead. 

You can google this song title on YouTube to listen to it. 

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2025/jan/19/the-light-we-share-bonner-county-daily-bee/

Saturday Slight

 

We've got ice. 

Not much, but enough to offer some creative blends of nature's artistry. 

The temperature may hit some single digits this week, so we'll have our present supply of ice hanging around for the next several days. 

Mother Nature has been good to us here in the valley with both the ice and the snow. 

Just enough to remind us but not enough to frustrate us. 

I saw a friend in a downtown parking lot the other day.  He had just come from physical therapy.  During our brief small talk, he observed how nice it is to not have to worry about ice this year. 

I agreed. 

This winter we can actually maneuver around the slick spots and actually walk like we're not approaching 125 years of age. 

I've found pretty ice in just a few spots here at the Lovestead.  

For example, we can be assured that our frost-free hydrant is probably the culprit with our leak because there's water bubbling up to the surface. 

And, when it turned cold, that water turned into some neat formations. 

We also have a few low places in the fields and the woods where standing water has frozen and formed some neat images. 

And, so it's winter, and, instead of flowers of summer, we have a moderate amount of pretty ice to admire. 

Bill keeps working away at his forestry cleanup with his trusty tools.

 

I watched a movie for the second time last night. It seemed almost better the second time around, and I had loved seeing it when it first came out. 

This is a movie with characters and a true story about a little boy whose life instantly changed into an unknown and long journey. 

I love movies like this one because they make us think and especially make us wonder what it would be like to be in the main character's shoes. 

The movie is called Lion, and viewers have to watch to the very end information to see why. 

The story line begins in India and moves on to Australia, and that is precisely the story of the little boy who wanted to go work with his big brother. 

When as they progress to the place where they are going to work, the little boy named Saroo gets tired and wants to sleep.   

His brother tells him to stay on the bench and he'll be back.  When Saroo awakens, he finds no sign of his brother and climbs aboard a train looking for him.

While Saroo is still aboard and walking down the aisles, the train takes off, leaving Saroo desperate but helpless in getting off. 

That's all I'll tell for those who haven't watched the movie.  For those who have, I'm betting you also loved the movie. 

It definitely tugs at your heart strings throughout. 

Sunny Pawar, who plays Saroo, is not only masterful with his facial expressions but about as cute as any little boy ever. 

Google Earth also plays a major and life-altering role. 

Lion is on Netflix, and well worth the watch.  I'd put it near the top of my list of best movies ever. 

  

Game Day Today

Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Santa Clara Lions. 

6 p.m. PST

Watch on KHQ or stream on ESPN+

GO, ZAGS!!!!

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