A lurid news day

It's a tough Sunday morning when the Spokesman-Review doesn't show up in the paper box.

That means just three sips of coffee, if I'm lucky, while reading the North Idaho Sunday. Now that the Farmer Gray show has come and gone from the Panida (unfortunately, we couldn't attend cuz of Lefty's arrival at the Lovestead), except for the reviews, it appears the folks at the paper had to rely on the courts and the sheriff's office rather than the Gunter family to supply our Sunday morning news.

Two stories on the left side about nasty sex abominations (when they use penetration, you know it's bad, and when they tack on the phrase 'with a foreign object' you really cringe). One story about lewd behavior on the right side of Page 1 joined an above-the-fold piece about a pair arrested for meth, all right here in the West's Best Small Town. Oh, there was a kudo, I've read before and a big feature on the Arts Alliance venue, which used to be the home of St. Agnes Episcopal Church.

Maybe the letters will be good, I thought, while turning the page. Yup, Steve Brixen offered us a potpourri of his thoughts on the situations of the day. His focus dealt with overrated political correctness which tends to dominate every word we utter, every bite we choose to eat, every offensive gesture we might make while we're really just scratching our head.

Then, there was that Tunnel Man. Gosh, he sure did get that letter to the Bee quickly. Wasn't the Army Corps of Engineers decision to give a preliminary permit on the Byway just announced late Friday afternoon? Or, did I miss a day in there somewhere? How come Mr. Tunnel Man gets special privileges on letters to the editor? Hasn't Mr. Tunnel Man already used his quota for the month of September, and didn't he write that letter mighty damn fast after that announcement?

I'm gonna tell Lawrence Fury about this.

I bet Mr. Tunnel Man already had that letter written just like they do with canned obituaries for all the famous people before they die, accidentally releasing some to the press prematurely. I bet he just pulled it out of his folder marked "Letters to the Daily Bee for the Next 100 Years." I'll bet he's been sitting down there in his condo writing letters for every possible situation that could brainwash us above-grounders into developing a severe case of Tunnel Vision. Is there a cure for such things?

Even though I've lived here forever, I'll have to admit ignorance on figuring out that Mystery Lady was Alice Nelson. I love Alice Nelson, and I'm glad she got featured. Again, a gong went off in my head when it dawned on me by reading the article that Alice and Bill Stockman might be step siblings. People in the know can correct me if I'm wrong. I'll bet the two of them could feed us a smorgasboard of local history.

Anyway, I've spent a whole lot longer writing about what I saw in the North Idaho Sunday than I spent reading it. The nice part, I guess, is that having no Spokesman has saved on the Lovestead economy today. I did not need to refill my coffee cup to come upstairs to write my blog. And, I guess that is some good news to wipe away thoughts of the smutty stuff that dominated the front page.

And, some additional good news at the Lovestead this morning. Mr. Lefty and Miss Lily are doing just fine. They've spent two nights side by side in their box stalls, and the barn remains intact. Lefty has his pasture near the barn, and Lily has her pasture just across the driveway. They can see each other, and all is calm.

And, some BREAKING NEWS! Some folks BREAK horses; we like to think of them being trained. That's just what's happening with Miss Lily. I've been lungeing her for the past few weeks, complete with saddle, bit and training reins. Yesterday, Laurie and Barbara came over to check my progress. After lungeing her for a while, Laurie asked Barbara to come into the round pen and hold Lily while she climbed on.

Laurie put her full weight in the stirrup on the left side a couple of times and did the same on the right. Then, she came back to the left side, climbed aboard and sat on Lily. Lily didn't flinch or even make a dirty face. So, in the next few weeks, she could be learning more about her career as a saddle horse---and Laurie will be teaching her from above.

Hope you all have a little good news on this Sunday. Now, I'll go out and see if that Spokesman-Review ever showed up.