Saturday Slight

On this August Saturday, I must report that Sandpoint lost another gem yesterday.

Hazel Hall, upbeat, inspirational, much-revered Woman of Wisdom and wife of Sandpoint's legendary photographer Ross Hall, died at noon Aug. 14, 2009. She was 96. Hazel's son Dann is one of my classmates.

I've known Hazel most of my life, not only as Dann's mom, but also as a woman who never wasted a minute of precious life.

Several years ago, I interviewed her for a Sandpoint Magazine article featuring Farragut Naval Training Station during WWII and the photographer who chronicled the major events and the people of Farragut.

It's a fun read and it can be found at http://www.mariannelove.com/RossHall.html I send my condolences to Hazel's family, all lovely people.

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I'm expecting another "cousin" invasion today. This time, only one and a distant one at that. Still, I met Valerie, who lives on Bainbridge Island, during the Aspell reunion in Chicago. She, her husband and their two daughters are in North Idaho for the weekend, visiting friends. Valerie said she may come up this afternoon especially so her daughters can see the horses.

Valerie is one of those people who "knows somebody." Her dad, my second cousin, is a urologist in Arkansas and has been labeled an FOB. That would be a Friend of Bill----Clinton that is. So, let's see does that mean about four degrees of separation between me and Bill and Hillary. Hmmm!

I have a piece of artwork (it's a nice horse picture on a nametag) which Valerie's daughter drew for me in Chicago. I'm anxious to show her that it remains treasured.

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Sandpoint was popping last night, even downtown, even during the Festival.

Bill and I went to Mick Duff's, which is one of our favorite watering/feeding holes on First Avenue. It was packed. We enjoyed our usual ales. I always order the Irish Pub sandwich, which is among my favorites at any eatery ever.

Only problem with this sandwich is that I can eat only half. Bill loves that. He gets a meal and a half any time we go there.

Friday night eating choices have become a clear monitor that we've lived together for 35 years and think alike. On any given Friday, he'll ask me where I want to go.

I'd say we're batting about .950 on always thinking the same place. I knew Mick Duff's was on his mind when he waited until just before the Sandpoint city limits to ask the usual Friday question.

If we're going to the Blue Heron (or if that's kinda where he wants to go), he'll ask as we're pulling out the driveway. It's not in downtown but out in our neck of the woods, so the driveway query is a sure sign that I know what to answer.

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Besides the cousin visit today, I have to do my part----whatever Laurie assigns me---to get Lily ready for a horse show in Coeur d'Alene tomorrow. We're both going to ride her in Western classes. For me, it's "walk-trot," and that's enough. It's the first class of four, and Laurie says I can warm her up and wave at the crowd.

Of course, I don't want to embarrass Laurie for when she has to get on the same horse, just ridden by that clown, so I'll do my best. This is a big deal----my first out-of-town appearance on my Lily and the only appearance for 2009---I think.

Once again, Barbara's giving me some of her fancy Western attire---shirt, chaps, hat. I'm riding on Laurie's saddle, and using my bridle, horse and all the leg aids I can muster to keep Lily jogging when she's supposed to jog. Lily is smart. She's also lazy, and her favorite gears are "walk" and "stop."

So, I've got a challenge tomorrow, but it should be fun.

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Bill just announced that the first manure pile melon should be ready for consumption tomorrow morning. He says "the feel of it" tells him so. This would be a cantaloupe I picked Thursday.

I'm a bit disappointed with the size, but it's North Idaho, and I guess to grow a cantaloupe of any size is good. So, we'll see if these are as juicy and flavorful of those from the past two years.

There are a lot more as well as several watermelons of different sizes. With 90-degree temps. returning in a few days, maybe they'll get one more growth spurt before fall.

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Well, that's enough slights on this Saturday. Happy Saturday to all.