Celebration

My former student Skip prepared lovely meals for each of us last night. We dined at the Floating Restaurant at Hope and watched a glorious sun find its way to the western horizon. "We" included Bill, Annie and me. The dining experience was Annie's treat: Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversary and Mom's birthday, all in one.

It took us all day to decide where to go. I kept mentioning the Floating Restaurant cuz I knew Sandpoint was full of Republicans for the state convention, and surely they would all be out on the town last night. Finally, around 4 p.m., I called to see how the restaurant crowd was. The gentleman suggested reservations so we agreed on 7 p.m.

The Floater was having an okay night but not overflowing. We sat on the patio and watched an angler haul in a 3.5 pound bass, weigh it and let it go. We know that cuz Bill had to get up and go ask the guy how much his fish weighed.

I love Skip Harris, always have since he went through my classes back in the mid '70s. He's been a chef around town for a couple of decades at least, and I'd advise anyone who wants a mouth-watering meal to follow him wherever he goes. The meal definitely lived up to the celebration.

After stuffing ourselves, we drove through the rich people's area on the peninsula. They have nice homes and more than their share of deer. The deer were watching last night: every blade of grass and every car that rolled slowly through their preserve. A raccoon was watching too, looking for goodies outside someone's house.

On the drive back from Hope at total dusk, Annie spotted a huge bull moose just east of the bull moose sign at the old Hidden Lakes, now Idaho Club. Apparently, Jack Nicklaus has given the moose a good contract to stick around and continue adding to the ambience. Annie handed me her camera, but all we got was eyes. Finally, the moose had had enough of the photo shoot and trotted off into the bushes.

Just before turning off on South Center Valley Road, she spotted another. In this case, it was almost total darkness, but we could see the creature's outline as it raced across the field toward Gary Finney's place.

This weekend is celebration time, it seems. One brother celebrated (I think he celebrated anyway) 64 years of existence on Flag Day yesterday, while another is celebrating 40 years of marriage on this day, which is also our 34th anniversary. And, of course, we all celebrate all Fathers who deserve this annual day of recognition.

And, finally, we're celebrating another beautiful day. We do not take those for granted, and we'll be making the most of it as we venture forth on this Father's Day which will be topped off later this evening with the obligatory Second Avenue Pizza. Not a bad way to celebrate.

Enjoy the day wherever you are.