Higs and Zags

Somewhere, maybe even in this house, there's a photo taken in the Sandpoint High gymnasium back in 1953 or '54. If my memory serves me correctly, three educator/mentors appear in the picture: Cotton Barlow, Jud Heathcote and Adair Hilligoss----all legends in their own right.

On the high school stage, Adair Hilligoss is striking up the Sandpoint High School band, probably for the "National Anthem." In the background along the west wall the other two appear alongside their respective basketball teams. Barlow with the Bulldogs; Heathcote with his West Valley Eagles.

Mention the name "Barlow" in Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, and the football stories of the good ol' days fly. Cotton Barlow, a Tennessee native, was a much-revered coach who left his mark on hundreds of young men and on both the Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint communities.

Jud Heathcote's legacy reaches a bit grander scale as an NCAA championship coach in 1979 at Michigan State where Magic Johnson was becoming a household name. Anyone who watches Gonzaga basketball will occasionally see him sitting in the audience since he has lived in Spokane during his retirement.

Adair Hilligoss aka "Higs" died recently. This morning, while thumbing through the Spokesman-Review, I saw his photo in the obituaries with his name and another moniker, "The Music Man." I could also think of another appropriate title based on my memories of him from afar: Pomp and Circumstance.

I never really knew Adair Hilligoss, but I still remember the man with "style." He took his job as band instructor seriously, and when the Sandpoint band marched in Fourth of July parades, always marching right along with them, exuding both great pride and polish in his own spit-shined uniform was Higs, the master showman.

He left Sandpoint long before I reached the high school, but I know he left his mark on a host of young musicians. Another Sandpoint legend has passed on; more than likely Higs is up there in music Heaven with his baton at the ready.

And, for us mortals, including Jud Heathcote, we're in Zag Heaven down here on Earth. Of course, I'd say many of us felt like we'd entered a higher zone last night the moment Demetri Goodson nailed that last-second basket, securing a trip to to Memphis for the Sweet Sixteen next week.

At the Colburn house, there was screaming, clapping, jumping up and down, dancing and downright crazy behavior from 88-year-olds to a 30-something. Even Pita, the Blue Heeler, barked vociferously. Multiply that thousands of times in other households across the country and the world, and I'm sure the Earth shook a bit from all the revelry.

I told Bill this morning that I can't imagine a basketball team anywhere that has managed to evoke so much admiration and so much genuine love from their fans as the Zags have done year after year for the past decade.

Oh, they do have their detractors.

Some arrogant "know-it-all-better-than-any-coach-could-ever-know-it" wrote a letter-to-the editor in the Spokesman today to pontificate on what losers the Zags are cuz they play "nothing" teams and they choke all the time. He punctuated his diatribe with the pronouncement that when the Sweet Sixteen comes next week, the Zags will be watching from home.

Well, the writer, an Irishman, no less, must be dripping with facial goose-egg slop this morning, avoiding the phone and looking for a big slab of humble pie. I wonder if he'll be watching from his home next week when the 28-5 Zags travel off to Memphis to meet the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Maybe, as penance, he needs to be sitting at his computer during the next game, penning a letter of apology or better yet, writing "I love the Zags" once for each point scored by those "losers" this season.

We hope the Zags win next Friday, but we certainly won't rip them to shreds if they don't.

We---who love the diversion from winter's woes and the genuine excitement that these young men continually create for us as we're cooped up for months on end---appreciate the team and coaches from the bottoms of our hearts.

They give us something very special to rally around, and their individual and collective stories are nothing short of remarkable.

We're in Zag Heaven today and happy to be here.