Monday-morning aftermath

This morning, Bill has concerns for his friends, the Watkins, and for his Presbyterian buddy, Don Helander. They're diehard Bronco fans, and their hopes of watching Denver play in the Super Bowl probably died pretty hard yesterday afternoon as Pittsburgh whupped 'em bad.

At times, when the quarterback Jake Plummer was lying at the bottom of a heap after being plowed under by the Steeler defense, I feared that Ruth Watkins might be having a heart attack out there in Hope. We didn't worry about Don cuz he runs the health club, so he probably just went down to the office and swatted a few handballs against the walls when the game ended so badly.

Now, on the Seattle front, what could we say!! The only disappointment was that Annie and her friend Rachel couldn't haggle down the scalpers to get themselves a seat inside Quest Stadium. The scalpers were asking $300 a ticket; she was willing to pay $112 for a few extras being sold at the last minute from the ticket office, but she was too far down the line, and the window closed. We provided her play-by-play via cell phone through the first two Seahawks' scores as she worked the crowd of hopefuls.

Finally, she called at halftime from a restaurant/bar across the street from the stadium and was spending part of that $112 for her dinner and free TV coverage. We had fun watching from our couch and providing her details on what was happening whenever that noisy crowd went wild inside where she was hoping to be.

There's definitely joy across the Pacific Northwest this morning. The Seahawks arrived at their stadium yesterday to do a job, and they did it well. Now, we'll all look forward to Super Sunday with a bit more reverence and regional pride than we've felt in years.

In fact, I believe this may be the first time our area football fans have been so excited about the Super Bowl since the 1970s when Sandpoint's Jerry Kramer was a big star guard for the Green Bay Packers. He was one of ours and we all followed the Packers faithfully. Of course, we were thrilled when our hometown boy "Number 64" for the Packers provided that famous block that won the big game.

On another occasion---I believe it was 1974----I remember watching the Super Bowl with a little more interest at my friends, Dale and Mae McCormick's house. We spent that Sunday afternoon studying the TV screen closely in hopes of seeing my brother Kevin in the crowd.

He got to go that year when the big game in Houston pitted the Miami Dolphins against the Minnesota Vikings. We never did get to see Kevin, but we watched the Dolphins seal an undefeated season with a 24-7 victory over the Vikings. As I recall, the game was pretty boring, as many Super Bowls have been over the years, but our family connection that year kept us interested.

Yesterday's television offerings kept us interested beyond the Seahawks rout over Carolina. While munching on Mr. Sub sandwiches, we moved right on in to the Extreme stuff, promised so long by Channel 4 and the ABC network. It was extreme, all right, especially the embellishment and suggestion that big black bears just lumber into folks' back yards as a matter of course here in "wild" North Idaho.

Sandpoint and what's left of its lovely surroundings didn't exactly play center stage in the production, which I personally thought was a good thing. Let's see, did that scene across the bridge last all of eight seconds or was it more like five? I can't count that fast, but the world does now know that we have trees here and that there's a family of three with a brand new house, complete with accessories and $50,000 to spend.

Sandwiched in between the big Extreme stuff on a local level were two Spokane-based commercials revealing a very touching consequence for another family who've endured situations beyond belief during the past few months. And, for that, I must say thank you to anyone who wrote letters to Wendle Motors in Spokane.

Cody and Jodi Greve-Likkel, and their son Mason, flew home from Seattle Friday afternoon. They're the family who spent several days in Harborview Medical Center recuperating from burns received a few weeks ago when they checked out a potential rental house. As they entered the house, it exploded into flames because of an electrical problem.

After all their misery, they had reasons to smile when Chud Wendle met them at the airport and presented them the keys to a brand new car. In addition, they learned about some other generosity bestowed upon them by clients of Inland Forest Management where Jodi is employed.

Mike Wolcott and his partner Dick Bradetich have definitely "stepped to the plate" for this couple who've experienced two tragedies in two months. Through Mike and Dick's leadership, others have followed, including anyone who sent in letters supporting their selection for this Extreme Car giveaway.

So, this Monday morning aftermath of a busy Sunday reveals gloom for some Denver football fans, sunshine for the Seahawks faithful, great joy for some deserving recipients and a pleasing sense of satisfaction for all who give so much behind the scenes.