Saturday Slight

It's a slow Saturday, and that is good. We're getting a much-needed downpour after several days of magnificent spring weather. My former student Carmel Hawn, owner of Hawn Sys, Inc. in Lihue, Hawaii, came to visit this past week and said she enjoyed the nicest weather ever in her home visits since moving to Hawaii more than 25 years ago. I tend to agree with Carmel. We were blessed this week. Now, it's time to replenish the soil and all the little growing plants and grass with some moisture. Maybe we can prolong the green, which provides such a striking contrast to all things colorful. Right now at the Lovestead, lilac bushes are just about in full bloom and the peonies are about to pop out of their neatly and fully packed round buds. What a show that will be! It's time for Saturday Slight:

• I was pleasantly surprised this week to receive a call from my dear friend and classmate, Janet Eakin Anthony. She was in town on family business and had some time for a visit. So, she came over Tuesday evening, walked the fields, signed the Lodgepole Log and caught us up on life in Packwood where she and her hubby Rick (another beloved classmate) have lived for a number of years. Janet and Rick both turn 60 in the next week, so I wish them a happy celebration. Yesterday my friend Jeanne from the Spokesman hit the milestone, and in three days, Donna Olson Coulter does the same.

• Bill and I had a nice time last evening at Keokee's celebration of another bigger, better Sandpoint Magazine. In this newest issue, 2007 Festival at Sandpoint commissioned artist Janene Grende has painted the cover art "Midsummer Moose." It's a moose standing on Gold Hill looking across Lake Pend Oreille toward the Festival at Sandpoint tent. Must be the final night for the concert series cuz the moose is watching some colorful fireworks.
• Janene's artwork is as striking as ever, and the magazine pages within are striking for a number of reasons. Lots of ads about luxurious private communities, a touch of old Sandpoint mixed in with a touch of the new. Lots about recreation, lots about fascinating people with fascinating backgrounds who've landed here to live. Fun stuff about Bonner County history for 100 years, 25 years of the Festival happenings, and restoration of a magnificent brick school house. The Keokee folks and their cast of contributors have poured out a potpourri in this 170-page issue which should keep folks reading for hours.
• The party last night was nice too. I listened to a very energetic young man who has a very energetic plan and dream for being a big-time published author soon. I enjoyed visiting with attorney Paul Vogel who told me of how he landed in Sandpoint in the '70s from his native North Carolina. John Monks of Robinson Lake (north of Bonners Ferry) fame told me of his summer trips to the family property and his eventual move to Sandpoint from Oregon. John does hydro-geoscience for clients far and near, including a big dairy in Southern Idaho.
• I finally met the Bookcrossing.com creators, Heather and Bruce Pedersen. Their daughter Rio was featured on a recent BBC show called "My Life as a Child." She filmed herself and her brothers while homeschooling and traveling for a year. In addition, the television crew came to Sandpoint do some of their own filming. While visiting with the Pedersens, we talked geocaching.com, which has distinct similarities to the bookcrossing website. Heather expressed an interest in meeting my daughter Annie and maybe finding ways to collaborate with the geocaching folks. Who knows if anything will come of it, but it was fun to compare notes.
• Besides talking to a lot of other interesting folks, we watched the "Lost in the '50s" parade from Keokee headquarters, and I was struck during that hour or so and later, while we drove through town, how many of those hundreds and hundreds of pedestrians I saw taking in the action were total strangers. I'd use an estimated 10-1 ratio in the number of strangers vs. familiar faces I saw last night. Sandpoint is definitely at the crossroads, even though events like "Lost in the '50s" bring people together and lend continuity to the town's down-home and fun history.
• We had a great day yesterday at the Tibbs Arabians Colburn farm. My sister Laurie's students appreciated and respected what she does during her hours outside of school. Merisa, one of Barbara and Laurie's riding students who won a national championship as a youth judge last fall, rode her bike for 40 minutes from her home near Kootenai to come and help out. I've assisted Laurie with this activity for lots of years, but I don't think I've ever seen such an interested busdriver, Mr. Moore, who got into the horsing around as much as the kids.
• It was inspiring to watch one of the students, Margo, take my friend Jenny's daughter Grace under her wing. And, when the day's events ended after a grooming session with five or six kids to each horse, the hugs and good byes to the horses were more than touching. Laurie said she never has heard so many "thank you's" from kids who loved their day at the farm.
• We often concentrate too much on the negative aspects of this world and how everything seems to be going downhill. There are. It does. But I'd like to talk ratios again. I'd once again use 10-1 with good people working for the betterment of others: bad people tearing down the good. That equals a lot more reasons to smile than to frown.

That's all for this rainy Saturday Slight. Happy weekend to all.