Spirit Matters

Anna Bradley of Sagle decided to bring Spirit to yesterday's skijoring.

And, when she did, the folks in charge matched up Anna and Spirit, a 4-year-old miniature horse, with Avery, a 4-year-old aspiring skijorer. 

And the weather was right for "Spirit" to make his appearance.

The fog cleared later. Off-and-on rain did not dampen the human spirits who showed up in droves again for Sandpoint's inaugural skijoring competition.

Bleachers were full again yesterday.

From talking with our new Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, Kate McAlister, there's an additional "spirit" evolving from the event.

"What can we do to make Sandpoint skijoring the Utopia of all skijoring?"

This was a question Kate posed to the major organizers Saturday night. 

She intends to follow up with a meeting soon to start the polishing process.

With that kind of determination, I'd say the event is here to stay.

Congratulations to all who worked so hard---and, yes, they did---to make this happen.

Ol' Mother Nature did her best to put a damper on it, but she underestimated the folks on the ground.

~~~

Speaking of Kate McAlister, I chose her as my next subject for "Love Notes" in The River Journal. 

Never laid eyes on her until Saturday and found her to be a fascinating person for an interview.  

Many times I make these choices cuz I have an "enquiring mind that wants to know,"  and I figure there are a lot of others out there, just like me.

That brings to mind the promos I've seen for today's debut of  "Piers Morgan Tonight" on CNN.

We'll be moving on from Larry King's tiresome "Whaddya make of it?" to possibly a refreshing approach in the art of the interview.

From the clips shown so far, I've seen his first subject Oprah remark to Piers, "You're good!"  

For her---the Queen of Talk---to make such a comment, I'm hoping Piers is as good as advertised.

After all, when you pick Oprah for your very first show, one has to wonder, "What is there about Oprah that we don't already know?"

I LOVE the interview when done well.  My favorite interviewer is Charlie Rose.  

I believe he's a master at the art of questioning, and I'm hoping we're going to discover a good competitor in the Brit who's moving from judging "America's Got Talent" to a completely different discipline.

For "Slight Detour" readers, here's a little challenge:  if you were Piers, what would you ask Oprah to elicit some fresh material?  

Also, if you're a local, what would you want me to ask the new Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce CEO/president?  

She's been on the job since August, and I'll tell you one fact I found interesting purely through observation over the weekend.

She sang the "National Anthem" at yesterday's skijoring event.  

That's all I'm telling you about Kate McAlister because I'm looking forward to writing a fun-filled and informative column introducing our area to the person behind the business of promoting Sandpoint and its business interests. 

So, if you have ideas on questions for Oprah or for Kate, leave 'em in the comments column on today's posting.  And, you can use the option of saying you're anonymous but do put your name in the comment.

Thanks, this should be fun, and I'm looking forward to a fun interview of my own and watching a fun interview this evening.  

Finally, in the "spirit" of this holiday, go out there and make it a good day for all those around you.