Countdown to the Fourth

There's another countdown going on in our family, and it has nothing to do with moving. Just six shopping days remain until the Fourth of July Parade. Well, actually no shopping is necessary for our excitement dealing with this year's big event. My mother didn't even need to rely on her Mastercard to get prepared for her upcoming priceless experience.

She will need to go practice, however, and that's scheduled for sometime tomorrow at Evelyn Pucci's house in south Sandpoint. Before long-timers get too concerned, I'll issue an emphatic "No, my mother's not gonna dress up in yellow silks and a fancy hat and twirl a baton like LaVerne Hebert did for so many years back in those parades of yesteryear." She's got a bad knee, so she won't be marching to the beat of the Town Band.

Mother is going to be part of an entry in the parade, however, for the first time since at least the 1970s when our Schweitzer Valley Dwellers 4-H Club used to dress up to different themes and ride through the streets waving at the crowds on Independence Day. Before that, she rode with the Bonner County Horsemen's Assoc. and before that, it was aboard her Sadddlebred mare Adare's Countess Largo, riding matched pairs with Catherine Racicot who was on Largo's father Danny A'Dare.

The idea for my almost 85-year-old mother's appearance in this 2006 Fourth of July Parade occurred one summer day last year when we had cousins from Washington who had come to town. They called us and said they were just passing through and enjoying lunch at Ivanos. So, Mother and I jumped in the car and went down to see them.

While we visited with the relatives, Skip Pucci and his daughter Gina sat in a booth behind us having their lunch. When they finished, Skip got up, walked to our booth, looked at Mother and said, "You and I have a date next Fourth of July." Of course, my mother was both giddy and flattered with his announcement. "You're going to ride with me in a doctor's buggy in the parade. Now, don't forget."

After several "why's?" Mother accepted the fact that Skip was totally sincere and that she'd definitely have to mark Fourth of July, 2006 on her calendar. The date has been mentioned a few times since, especially after we heard that Skip, who's 63, had suffered a stroke in Seattle a few months later. When Mother and I saw him again one day after his stroke, he assured us he was doing just fine and the buggy ride was still on tap.

Skip called the other day to make sure Mother was still up to joining him. She had entertained the idea of having a knee replacement but learned from the doctor that a knee brace may give her the support she needs. So, with thoughts of that surgery out of the way, she was good to go for the doctor's buggy. She's especially good to go since my sister Barbara suited her up in a fine Western ensemble, complete with a rhinestone shirt and fancy hat.

Of course, with my mother and her faulty hearing, there's a good story to be told. Skip called me first the other day and informed me that she'd need to wear her Western clothes. Then, he called her, and, according to my mother, he said she'd need to wear her "wedding" clothes. We corrected that notion right away and suggested that her 95 percent hearing loss in one ear may have caused some confusion.

Now, we just have to figure out how to get her in the buggy. Mother does still ride horses several times a year. A few years ago, my brother Kevin built her a mounting stand with stair steps allowing her to get even with the saddle, raise her leg just a bit and she's on.

I don't know if she's ever climbed into a doctor's buggy even when she had two fairly decent knees. So, tomorrow we're going to Skip's mother's house to talk about logistics and getting into the buggy. I don't know if he's going to have it there for practice, but we'll figure it out, and if we have to haul that mounting stairstep down to the parade, we'll do it.

Mother is still giddy about this adventure and still asking why Skip picked her. We've told her that Skip's just that kind of guy. There's not a nicer, more thoughtful person in Sandpoint, and for him to come up with an idea like this----that's just vintage Skip Pucci.

So, we family members will be clapping, yelling, snapping and filming this special event. If you're reading today and planning to attend the parade, be sure to look for that doctor's buggy with Skip Pucci and Virginia Tibbs (definitely some vintage Sandpoint folks) and give 'em a big hand. I'm sure it'll be a scene almost as good as Cliff Irish bringing his logging truck to a halt during the parade in front of the Tam O'Shanter to go grab a beer.

Speaking of the Tam, I wonder if Skip has plans to stop there and buy Mother a tall, cold one.