Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Memory Lane


I took a walk through part of downtown Sandpoint yesterday with my younger brother Jim.  We had gone to see our mother, but she was asleep, so we had a good excuse to kill some time.

Jim had never seen the inside of the downtown Panhandle State Bank, so we parked and went through the revolving door.  

I kinda figured he'd like the inside of the bank cuz he's an architect and loves to look at building designs.  

He liked the place.

When we first walked in, I spotted a familiar face that I hadn't seen for some time, Dr. Jim Arthurs.  He and his wife were visiting with one of my friends from Selle named Leanna. 

Turns out Leanna's hubby, also a doctor,  and Jim had worked together years ago during the early days of Bonner General Hospital's ER.  So, the Arthurs and Leanna were doing a bit of catch-up.

Dr. Arthurs was also known for his interest in sled dog racing in years past.  That's how he met his wife.  

Turns out, however, we formed a quick bond when he mentioned that during the past several years, Border Collies have been their dog of choice. 

That was actually the second time yesterday that the subject of Border Collies and their passionate owners had graced my day.

I had also met a gentleman earlier at Wal-Mart who was watching his Border Collie named Polly as she happily exercised on a grassy area in the parking lot.  Polly reminded me a lot of our Kiwi. 

Border Collies are definite conversation starters, and that Wal-Mart visit lasted about 20 minutes.  

Later, I decided that we didn't need to get into that much depth while visiting with Dr. Arthurs because my brother needed to see more of the bank.

So, we took the elevator up to the third floor and walked around viewing the perspective of the lobby from three stories up and enjoying art and photography along the walls.

Then, we ran into Melody Martz,  who was sitting in a comfortable chair, working away at a project.  

Switch back to the past.  Melody served as administrator for the old Panhandle Free Net back in the early days of something called the World Wide Web.  

Well, we didn't exactly have the Web at our disposal for communicating in those days, but we could communicate with folks around the area.  A small cadre of us were regulars on the Free Net. 

Of course, Melody and I had to reminisce and talk about some of those folks---like Zach who's now working for Disney and Annie who's working for Groundspeak (in computer-related roles) and how much fun that was back then to get acquainted through our computers.   

Seems like so long ago, when one considers how far we've come in the world of communications.  Do we even use the term "World Wide Web" anymore? 

Jim and I moved on.  He said he might just have to bring his laptop down to the bank which has wifi and do some work,  for a change of scenery. 

"Let's go see if Debbie's at her office," I suggested.  So, we walked on to the old City Hall, where my dad used to hang out every day, visiting with Dub Lewis, Willard Piehl and some of the other Sandpoint City Police officers.

After all, the water office where Harold reported during his 33 years as filter operator for Sandpoint's Water Dept., the mayor's office, the jail, the fire department and other city entities once operated in City Hall when it was located on Second and Main. 

Who could forget the public library on the second floor where Mary Sindelar ran tight ship for years. 

Well, Debbie's Girl Scout office now greets folks as they come in the main door.  As we walked in, we could hear piano music really close by.  Jim, who has a finer, more educated musical ear than I,  recognized a specific kind of musical scale. 

I popped over, looked through the window and spotted my friend Caren Reiner in the midst of teaching a piano lesson to an adult man.  

Music fills old City Hall these days as the ever-growing music conservatory has been operating there for the past few years.  

Still, the memories of the good ol' days haven't completely escaped the place for a lifelong local like me. 

Our walk through that area of town provided a nice interlude as we waited to go back to see our mother.  She did awaken later, and we enjoyed a short visit with her. 

The added bonus of spending some time in downtown BEFORE THE BRIEF BUT WILD AND WOOLLY WINTER STORM yesterday afternoon made for another good memory.

I think "wild and woolly" weather may have ended for a while because we're looking forward to those long-promised 60s and 70s.  

Bout time for warmer weather on this May Day, 2013.  

Have a wonderful day, and may you all enjoy the flowers promised from those many April showers. 


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