Saturday Slight

I don't know if this morning's local news could be considered historic, but it's welcome. NICAN, the group who has for several years opposed and used legal measures against the Sandpoint Byway/Bypass, has decided not to pursue the issue anymore.

With nearly eight months of construction activity both north and south of Sandpoint, I wasn't holding my breath in fear of the project being shut down. Still, it's nice to see that the construction can go forward without fear of legal obstacles.

Like any construction, the project has caused frustration, but as I've seen throughout my lifetime, the end result usually erases most of that. I can remember driving to school when Division Street was being redone. It was a pain to have to go the back streets for several months, but when the street was completed, the drive to work became more pleasurable than ever.

I'm sure that same will happen for Sandpoint in general once the Byway/Bypass is completed. For now, we have to plan to be frustrated and work around the problems.

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We went to a Kalispel encampment east of Clark Fork last night. It was at the Diamond T Ranch, which was a spot where many of us gathered for years for teacher social events. At the time Byron and Myra Lewis owned the beautiful large acreage on the Clark Fork River. We had potlucks. We did snowmobiling. We cross country skied, and we just plain enjoyed the setting and the people who lived there.

Last night we enjoyed another evening of a different kind. My sisters have been taking a course focusing on David Thompson, the Canadian mapmaker who set up a trading post at Hope in 1809. It has involved talks about fur trading, Kalispel culture and David Thompson and his crew. They've also engaged in learning some crafts.

Last night Francis Callooyah, cultural leader of the Kalispel, hosted a special program of drumming, singing and dancing. About 75 people gathered to listen, watch and even participate in the dance circle. As always, it was stirring and emotional and poignant, especially because of the beautiful setting with the Cabinet Mountains in the background.

I've attended several similar events over the years and continue to be awestruck and moved by the simplicity, deep feelings and beauty of the cherished tribal rituals.

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It took only a screw. A free one at that. I'm feeling so good today that I did not have to call Tony, the repairman, after all for my rototiller. He sold me a rebuilt Troy Bilt a couple of years ago. When it works, it's a dream, but it's had sensitivities about starting. Tony's worked with it a couple of times to try to get it to be more willing to take off.

I had it going earlier this spring and was happy to be marching through the garden dirt as the rototiller broke up the clods and sifted them into plantable soil. One day, however, it quit working, and I discovered that half the housing was about to fall off because of a loose screw.

Bill went out and figured out how to tighten up the screw, which was in a hard-to-get place. So, I was back in business until the machine vibrated so much that said screw fell out and disappeared into the dirt. It looked like a very specialized screw because of its head.

So, we both agreed it would be hard to find a replacement. I kept thinking I needed to call Tony but didn't want to pay another $50 for him to come. Somehow garden food tends to get really expensive if you're paying out for repairs all the time. Yesterday I went down to Co-Op and selected three screws of different kinds that might work.

When I tried to pay, the clerk said, "Take 'em. If they don't work, throw them away." So, I brought them home, got my glasses and a couple of Bill's wrenches and went to work on the impossibile. The story has a happy ending because I didn't throw anything. I didn't cuss, and I actually fixed the rototiller----with the first screw, no less.

When it started up, I couldn't believe it, and I wasted no time getting it to the garden where it worked like a charm.

I tell this story because more often than not, my fix-it jobs are disasters. And, to have a success without spending a dime makes my day.

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Gotta get out there and water that garden, so that's all for now.

Happy Saturday.