Slight Detour: Oh, What a Day!

I was in a funk yesterday morning. The happy scale was tipping too much toward the floor because of a variety of thoughts and situations.

Every once in a while we have those moments where we wish we could do everything on our plates but can't. We also other moments where the outside world seems dark and grim.

Well, yesterday those two situations converged----in my mind anyway. And, it seemed like no magical thoughts would pop into my mind to wash away the myriad of frustrations.

I sputtered a lot but then decided to forge on and attack the day head-on, to the best of my ability----figuring this day shall pass AND that possibly "all's well that ends well."

Happily, this Sunday morning I can report that both situations happened: the day did pass and it ended well on many counts.

I spent some time with the local Medicaid Expansion for Idaho petition team. Before team members left Evans Bros. Coffee with their clipboards and petitions, we listened to Luke, a co-founder of Reclaim Idaho.

The grass roots group has taken up the challenge of landing an Initiative on the Idaho ballot to expand Medicaid. Luke told us that Bonner County needed only 500 more signatures to meet its quota for the Initiative requirements.

I did not hear how the day went, but I do know that Nancy Renk, Kathe Murphy and I saw some brisk signing in between slipping and sliding on ice-covered streets in our assigned residential area.

Plus, we had fun. We've all known each other for years so there were plenty of tales to tell as we moved on down the streets.

I had to leave early because my home was serving as the venue for yesterday ZAGS game gathering. And, I was doing most of the cooking.

So, it was off to the grocery store, then home to clean house and start cooking. We had spaghetti and all the trimmings.

When I discovered that we had very little parmesan, it was back to town via the back roads at the most stunning time of a gorgeous winter afternoon. So, the camera got a workout.

And, to say that all's well that ends well----that's pretty much an understatement compared to the exhilaration we all felt when the ZAGS played a beautiful game with BYU in the Marriott Center.

At the final buzzer, it was official: Gonzaga Bulldogs once again took the West Coast Conference championship.

Before the game ended, Bill and Willie came into the house, fresh from watching the Gonzaga women win their West Coast Conference championship.

As for the men and their unbelievable run, I thought my brother Mike expressed it best about coach Mark Few and his team in a Facebook post last night after the game:

Ya gotta like this guy...only college head coaching job he's ever had...for 19 years....highest win percentage of any college coach. Plays by the rules, a role model for behavior.

After losing three key starters from his national runner-up team last year, he comes back and wins the West Coast Conference--convincingly (which his team wasn't picked to do--it was supposed to be a "rebuilding" year).

His team finishes the regular season at #6 nationally in both major polls...and he's in the mix for another shot at the final four. There are good guys doing things right. . . . . .

. . . . . What does it say about teamwork when a college basketball team has six players in a major game scoring in double figures with the highest scorer in the group getting 16 points?

Right stuff!

~~~~~~~

And, that leads into my take on the day as a whole.

When you spend a day with inspiring folks doing "the right stuff" in a variety of venues, it's easy to tune out the negatives and the frustrations. Hence, those early morning "funks," quickly become ancient history.

In a variety of ways, for me personally yesterday, "all ended well," thanks to a lot of "right stuff."

Happy Sunday. Enjoy the photos.

Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville, also a Sandpoint grad, came home for the weekend from his teaching assignment at New York's Columbia University to inspire the Medicaid Initiative petition teams.