Box of chocolates at Bonner Mall

My plan was simple. Transfer Mother's day-old tomato plants into a bigger pot. Head to town. See if The River Journal is out on the stands. If so, pick up a few copies, let Debbie know and drive to Mother's to drop off her 2010 'mater plants and a copy of The River Journal.

I figured on this all taking about an hour. Then, I could get back to my afternoon projects. Well, this best-laid plan for Wednesday afternoon went awry but in a good way.

All stayed on course until I found the stand at the J.C. Penney's mall entrance filled with copies of the February River Journal. I smiled, grabbed several and went to my car to see how the "Love Notes" column about Debbie and her new role as Girl Scout representative for North Idaho/Eastern Washington looked.

The package looked good, so I wasted no time calling her to let her know the magazine was now available. So far, on her days in Sandpoint, Debbie's been doing her computer work out of her home because the Internet has not yet been set up in her downtown office. Most of her work is done over the Internet, and she's been told the office will be online tomorrow.

Turns out, however, she was in town on an errand, and she was just a minute away from where I sat. So, I told her to come over and pick up some copies of the magazine.

"I'll be in front of Penney's," I told her. While standing and waiting for her, I saw a car come rolling up and a familiar face behind the wheel: my friend Ann Gehring. We haven't seen or talked with each other for some time, so we were both pretty excited.

Ann pulled to a stop and parked----not in the handicapped spot, not in the non-handicapped spots but partway out in the street where everyone drives along the mall. And, the car stayed there for ten minutes while we greeted and giggled. As I saw Debbie drive up, I looked to my left, and there came another old friend: Myra Lewis from Clark Fork. She had her friend, the school nurse, with her.

We were ecstatic to see each other, and I was ecstatic to have Debbie there for them all to reconnect. I think they last saw Debbie at the Love wedding eight years ago. It was a great time, standing there chuckling, visiting and saying we need to get together. That's what we say every year, it seems.

Ann, Myra and I all taught at Sandpoint High School, so we're like family. Since we all retired, our family has scattered and members tend to be focused on their individual lives and growing families. So, a chance meeting like yesterday brings back the warmth and closeness we all have felt toward each other for years.

As everyone went their separate ways, I yelled, "We've got to get together one of these days." Heads nodded; minds probably knew it would be a while.

Debbie and I took a few minutes to have a cup of coffee and to catch up on the past few days. Hard to believe that two days have passed, and I hadn't talked with her. Big difference from all those years when we'd talk during family visits only. I really like this new situation of bumping into her in town every so often.

Before leaving the mall, Debbie and I stopped by and said hi to Nancy Meyer at Meyer's Sport Tees. Nancy gave Debbie a subtle hint about someone she knows who works at Interstate. That guy named Jeff likes Girl Scout cookies, his mom told us. Debbie made a mental note, and I'm sure Jeff will get his supply.

We made one other stop at Centerfield Sports.

"Have you got any Saints' memorabilia?" I asked.

"You walked right past the T-shirts," he said. "I just got them in two hours ago---the official NFL Champions shirt." I told him of my husband's loyalty to the Saints and paid him for what might have been the first official 2010 NFL champions shirt sold in Sandpoint.

That shirt is making the rounds this morning at the Department of Lands. Bill is wearing it proudly.

All in all, my quick trip to town lasted a bit longer than the few minutes originally anticipated. Mother did get her day-old (they just popped out of their potting soil Tuesday) tomatoes and a copy of The River Journal, opened to Debbie's story.

And, I got much more than I bargained for----a nice visit with Debbie, a great meeting with some good friends and a perfect Valentine present for my husband.

No box of chocolates in that mall mix, but definitely supportive evidence that Forrest Gump's assertion is true at any given time. Ya never know what . . . and sometimes it all turns out pretty darned sweet.