Chilly Willie and Chud

I haven't heard a lot of details, but I do know for sure that at noon today---if he doesn't have cold feet, my son is going to have cold feet-----and a cold heart, head, legs, arms, tummy, etc. He's participating in a polar plunge near Usk, Washington.

Apparently, his publisher at the Newport Miner is paying his entry fee to go jump into the Pend Oreille River at high noon. It's a fundraiser, and Willie's looking at it as a perfect opportunity to participate in "new journalism." They called it "new journalism" a while back when reporters participated in wild and crazy experiences---like going to jail or piloting planes, etc. Then, they wrote about it.

Once he thaws out, Willie "George Plimpton" Love will be writing about his chilly river experience for his sports column. He'll also get a free lunch and a T-shirt for taking the plunge. So, stay tuned. When the story hits the Newport paper, I'll include a link so everyone will get to read about Willie's chilly dip. Hey, maybe he could market that.

Enough of the cold stuff; now I've got to talk warm and fuzzy. That's where Chud comes in. You can read his story in The River Journal this issue (www.riverjournal.com). Chud Wendle owns a well-known car dealership in Spokane. He and his family came up with the Extreme Car Giveaway a few weeks ago. You've read here that Cody and Jodi Greve won the car.

Now you can read the whole story from Chud's perspective. I interviewed him last week, and his responses were so wonderful, I could not improve on them. I also enjoyed a nice phone visit with Jodi. She provided some comments for the story. So, check it out.

Trish, The River Journal publisher, should have this issue up by the time you read this. If not, keep checking. I'm writing this post the night before because we'll be on our way to Texas at the time I usually post in the morning. So, next time you hear from me, my thoughts will probably have a bit of a Southern drawl.

Stay tuned for "Love Notes from Texas," starting tomorrow---Friday.