Saturday Slight

What a week! I received a note yesterday from Chris Bessler entitled "The Eagle Has Flown." That means the final, final, final edition of my manuscript is on its way to the printer. Chris says to expect a book in four weeks, maybe sooner. In the meantime, with all my deadlines completed, I've been enjoying the first days of supposed freedom from the bonds of that ever-gnawing sensation of hurrying up to get on to the next story. There's a gap in that for a couple of weeks, and I'm ready to enjoy a deadline hiatus.

So, thoughts have turned outside where much dirt needs to be turned or transported to newly created garden spots and where residual leaves that hung on tight before winter's assault are waiting to be scooped up and hauled to the burn pile. It's been an adventure carefully clearing off the flower beds and finding a myriad of buds of various shapes and sizes pushing upward toward the soil.

For me, this has been like meeting new friends cuz I've never worked these beds before. I figure it's going to take a couple of years to know where they're all located and to be aware of what care needs to be taken to ensure that they stay put rather than being ripped from their homes by a weed-seeking rake.

Another busy Saturday lies ahead, so on with the Slight:

• I heard the DJ on the local country station report yesterday that Donny Osmond's new TV show "American Dream" has been abruptly cancelled even before its second run. The announcer mirrored my thoughts precisely when he said that was the stupidest show he'd ever seen on television. He said he watched it from beginning to end and then asked his daughter, "Can you believe we've actually sat through this thing?" As I listened, the only variance was that I made a similar comment to Bill who was reading the paper and never looked up to see just how dumb it was to watch that big overgrown bald oaf keep hugging Donny as the sexpots displayed all the prizes he was going to win along with a new head of hair. I watched for just ten minutes and flipped the channel to the Baby Boomer documentary. After the DJ's comments on the Donny show, he reached into my thoughts once again by noting that the only thing that would trump "American Dream's" cancellation would be to have that wacky kid Sanjaya voted off from "American Idol." I agreed, but I don't think that's gonna happen. We're in an anti-Idol mode these days, and Sanjaya has played into it. With his lack of talent, his big cheesy smile and his off-the-head hairdos he's earning a place in history while the talented souls drop off the show one by one. Of course, the website www.vote4theworst has a lot to do with his success. Makes me wonder what's gonna happen with the upcoming Presidential race. If Hillary could just start wearing her hair in that Sanjaya mohawk, she wouldn't have to send Bill off to raise more millions to get him back where he had so much fun------Slap my face. I know I was bad.
• We're in birthday fortnight mode now: Happy birthday to all the following---Kevin, Cousin Jim, Chad, Willie, Bill and twin sister Margaret, Laurie, Jacob, Justine, Grace and special thoughts of Grandpa Tibbs. I'm sure I've forgotten someone. So, happy birthday to all.
• I was asked to get the scoop on the new Ponderay Nursery along HWY 95 north of Sandpoint Building Supply. Well, Betsy, all I've gleaned so far is that it's the same individual who applied for a housing development in the old Motor Movie area north of the nursery and across from the Nazarene Church. Apparently, he didn't get to do the development, so he's starting a nursery instead. Will keep sleuthing. By the way, the old Motor Movie eventually turned into Pine Trailer Park, operated by the Gilmore family. Both Marianne Brown and Ray Holt rented trailers--er---mobile homes there in our teaching youth. It was the closeness that got to me, a farm girl. There was a lady named Doris who lived next door, and she, along with her herd of kids, got much too chummy. One day I came home from school and found them all inside my trailer; the kids had been into the cookies too. Thank God for Bill coming along to rescue me from that existence. He rented a trailer over across the lake, and when we got married that summer I could finally escape Nosy Doris and the rug rats.
  
• Big day ahead, so I'd better get moving. Happy spring vacation to all the teachers and their students. This week has become one of the quieter weeks in Sandpoint because so many people leave town in search of the sun. While they're doing that, the rest of us can enjoy the peace that comes before the spring, summer and fall influx.
  

Happy Saturday.