Saturday Slight

There's a telltale dryness in my throat this morning. The Airborn I took earlier has done nothing to convince it to go away. I hate the first signs of a cold, mainly because I know what's ahead; just don't know how long it's going to last or how much misery it's going to mean. I'll keep busy throughout the day and try to will it away. Ha! Fat chance.

Anyway, it's live from Saturday Slight, so let's get on with the show.

• In an earlier post this week, I was encouraging people to join the local historical society. That was the day I was headed to a Board meeting. Well, I learned of two more ways of supporting the museum at the meeting. In one case, on Dec. 12, at Pend Oreille Winery, the museum has rights to all "Sip and Shop" funds. The owners, rather than donating every time someone comes begging, allow nonprofits to pick a day for "Sip and Shop." A percentage of sales go to the organization that day. Ann thinks the hours are from 10-7, but someone else suggested a different span, so I'll find out about that. But if you're Christmas shopping and want to pick up some goodies at the winery, remember Dec. 12 and help the museum simply by shopping and sipping.
  
• Another event which will help the museum is coming up Friday, Dec. 15 at the museum. It's an author signing/Christmas open house from 4-7 p.m. I know that we have at least half a dozen local authors committed and we're hoping that number will be closer to a dozen by the time we contact everyone. So far, artist Bonnie Shields will be there with all those books she's illustrated. By the way, Bonnie and my buddy Boots Reynolds are being roasted at the Cowboy Cartoonists convention in Las Vegas next month for their 25 years of supplying art to Leanin' Tree cards. On to other authors. Those who've also committed to the signing include Bob Hamilton, who's going to have a new book about the Cotton Barlow sports eras at Sandpoint High School (called Cotton). Paul Rechnitzer will have his new railroad book, Nancy Renk will have her driving tour book, and yours truly will be there with Pocket Girdles and Postcards from Potato Land along with an order form for personally autographed copies of Lessons with Love, slated for publication in February 2007. Ben Olson, a young man who recently penned a brilliantly-written fictional travelogue based on his own cross-country train trip, has given us a "maybe," depending on his travel schedule. As indicated, we're waiting to hear from other authors and still trying to contact some. It should be a fun gathering, so put it on your calendar. Thanks.
  
• I've started doing some serious interviewing with my mother about her life. It's for family consumption. When I say "serious," that means I'll go into as much detail about as many events as possible, but I can't say that everything she tells me is of a serious nature. We've been doing a lot of laughing as she's told me stories of youthful ways. It's amazing how much one learns about why one acts the way one does after interviewing one's mother. Truly amazing, and she always led us to believe while we were growing up that she was such an angel. Apparently, now that we've told her all the naughty things we did when she wasn't looking, she figures we're mature enough to learn about her antics. One of the best lines she's told me so far concerned the fact that adults during her childhood era tried to keep important matters from the children. They'd always say "Little Pitchers Have Big Ears," my mother told me. Then, she added, "I was always listening." Sounds familiar.
  
• I forgot to tell a few days ago that Bill's hometown made the national news recently. It now has a famous citizen. That would be Andrew Fastow one of the naughty boys of the Enron Debacle. He's going to be living in Oakdale for the next few years----at its Federal prison. Bill tells me he might have a chance to get to know Louisiana's former Governor Edwin Edwards while he's there. Cuz Edwin lives there too.
  
• Today feels like a coffee cult day, so I'd better wrap this up, and speaking of "up." I'll wrap it up by putting up a thing one of my former students Liz McNeil sent me this week.
  
• There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."
  
  It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?
  
  We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car . At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
  
  And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
  
  We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. I if you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP
  
  When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP
  
  When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP
  
  One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP, so............ it is time to shut UP .!
  
  Oh . . . one more thing:
  
  
  What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P
  
• Have a wonderful Saturday! Now I'll shut UP!