Saturday Slight

Ha! Ha! Maybe I'll be laughing on the other side of my face (quite an image, right?), but last night's irritating banners streaming across the top of the television screen scaring the bejeebers out of us with the threat of 1-3 inches of snow overnight have not come to fruition. I'm like everyone else who's lived here for more than five years. Why the constant warning of snow?

Snow happens. Now, if we were living in Phoenix, I could see the concern, but it's done this every year for longer than I've been alive. Why has news of snow reached a point of such desperation? I'm wondering when KREM-TV will start putting streamers across the screen alerting people of a new pothole found on Trent. Potholes happen too, but do they merit daily news?

Oh well, so far no snow, and that's a good thing today. I think we've received more than a foot this week, so that's enough for this winter, thank you. Now let the melting begin. Mother Nature, start your engine and blow that warm air. We're long past ready for spring----and it's also time for the Saturday Slight.

• Kids in schools. They sure are good. At least that's what I've seen during several visits to Farmin, Northside and Sandpoint Middle School in the past few weeks. I seen lots of good manners. Yesterday, in Missy Baker's journalism class, I even listened to a middle school basketball player who was dismissed early to head off to a game, pick up her books and pause before leaving to say, "Thank you for coming to our class." The student council officers from Northside wrote a thank you on my blog a week or so ago. I'm fully aware that my visits to schools are much like those of grandparents---where the kids visit and go home----but I've been impressed with the overall attitudes and training our young people are receiving. Hats off to parents and teachers who are doing their jobs. Whenever I go to the schools, I realize how much I truly enjoyed interacting with young people. In fact, I often said that if I could just show up without having to do all the lesson plans and endless paper correcting, I probably would have stayed in the profession another ten years. But it just doesn't work that way.
• DA BOOK: I was told in one of my recent communications with my publisher to "just say the damn publisher is running behind schedule." So, I'm following instructions. The next projected date is April.
  
• Small world stuff and fun too: Willie sent me a note yesterday that while covering basketball games at the state tournament in Nampa, he ran into John Gehring (son of my dear friends Ann and Rick). John was helping with the Genessee team. I heard he's student teaching there.
  
• This week Annie started submitting her photos to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer online photo feature. Yesterday they used one of her photos on their online paper's front page.
  
• After much deep thought, we decided to call our farm and forestry businesses Lovestead Naturals, so Cis when Bill gets another board completed, I'll call. Thanks for the suggestions.
  
• Thursday I attended the open house for the University of Idaho's proposed outreach campus here in Sandpoint. A lot of U of I important people were there, along with some Sandpoint important people. I didn't fit in either category, but I thought it was important to go so I was just a regular person with an important cause. I wanted to shake Dennis Pence's hand and U of I president Tim White's hand for what I believe to be one of the most exciting possibilities this community has seen in my lifetime. Both men were very gracious and did take time for little ol' me. It was a fun event with several familiar faces. The one familiar face I see everywhere is that little gal Marcella Nelson. Does she miss any event in Sandpoint? Quite a lady!

Guess that's enough for today. Go out there and help Mother Nature. Spread some hot air, and let's get this snow out of here. Have a great Saturday.