Tuesday Twitterdeefall

Yup, I'd say it's fall.

The red maple this morning is red.

Guess that's a good sign that we've reached fall.

The frost is cold, white and thick this morning.

Another good sign.

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So, here we are on this Oct. 6, 2009, movin' on through the year much too fast.

And, the events of our lives---they seem to go by so quickly, there's barely time to think about them and how they're affecting us.

Tuesday Twitterdeefall gives me a chance to isolate a few and wonder just what I'm thinking about them.

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First, I must mention Connie Greenleaf. I knew her all my life. She died last week at 96.

Both my mother and I commented that we didn't think Connie was that old. She held her age well, I guess.

Anyway, Connie's passing marks a sad time for her daughters, Paula and Barbara, as well as for her many longtime friends and extended family.

It also marks the passing of an entire generation in one family. Connie was the last of the 11 Rogers siblings to pass on. So many of us here in Sandpoint knew and loved the ones who stuck around and made a difference in people's lives throughout our community. Hard-working, no nonsense people they were---and fixtures, for sure.

Connie was a friend of my mother's. They always enjoyed talking about the kids, stuff at the church and the general scheme of things happening around Sandpoint.

Yesterday, as she has said many other times, Mother's sad commentary at seeing Connie's obituary was "Pretty soon we'll all be gone."

RIP, Connie.

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Today, my friend Rich Benjamin's book Searching for Whitopia hits the bookstores. I received an autographed copy from Rich in yesterday's mail.

Of course, I opened it to the spot where he had inserted a yellow Post-It note. And, of course, I sat down to skim what he had written about his three-month stay in North Idaho two summers ago.

I never dreamed a day of hosting him and taking him to the Bonner County Fair would elicit so many observations.

That's pretty much what Rich did while researching his book. He observed. He let stories unfold before his face, whether it involved a sheep (he thought was a goat) named Millie or an interchange I enjoyed with Todd Book, our neighbor, one of Bill's Boy Scouts and a young man who's dealt with continuing challenges since he suffered a brain injury in a car accident back in the 1980s.

Richard chronicled our conversation, which focused on his role as an assistant scoutmaster and how much he enjoyed teaching youngsters how to tie knots---skills he'd learned from my husband Bill as a Boy Scout himself. Todd's main message to me that day was to let Bill know how much he appreciated what he had learned from his old scoutmaster and how proud he was to carry on as a teacher himself.

Rich even talked about the elephant ears and the bratwurst, both key ingredients to a satisfying day at our fair.

I'm still thinking about the parts of the book I've read, dealing with North Idaho as "white haven." Probably the most compelling segment dealt with three days Rich spent as the only black at an America's Promise Church summer gathering. He encountered looks of skepticism from other attendees, reminders of the importance of sticking with one's own race when finding a mate, and enthusiastic cooperation and help from young and old alike in the search for his lost key chain at the event's closing.

For one brief, shining moment (as they say), everyone concentrated on one mission, forgetting he was black.

As I stated before, the book should elicit a lot of thought; it's a page turner, especially for readers living in the areas mentioned, including St. George, Utah, Forsyth County, Georgia, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

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I'm thinking this morning that I'm gonna dry some more tomatoes. Did my first batch yesterday and received lots of ideas from folks on Facebook on what to do with them once they're dried. The best idea came from Aaron Fuhrman, who used to live here in Sandpoint. He says to make Forcaccia bread. I think that sounds pretty tasty.

It's nice to have the dehydrator and to be able to preserve the veggies in a smaller state. Pretty soon apples will be ready, and I'll have to give that a try.

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Guess that's enough twitter for today. I've got seeds to collect and more dead plants to pull from the ground in preparation for the fall rototilling and fertilizing, so I'd better get a move on.

Have a great day.