Thursday This, That; TBT

It's 43 years, give or take a few. 

Bill has said "see ya later" four times this morning before finally pulling out of the driveway on his way to Farragut. 

He'll spend the day as emcee and general supporter of the Idaho State Forestry Contest. 

He's been with the always competitive program since Day One when the contest had its inaugural gathering at the Ray Delay Farm in Careywood. 

When the Delays passed on, the contest eventually moved to its present venue at Farragut State Park. 

I would bet that the one constant with the contest is Bill Love. He devotes a lot of time to the event, and I'm sure he's proud of how it has evolved over the years. 

It will be a long day, but he will enjoy every minute as he has done for more than 40 years. 

The earth is clean this morning and the fields have received some much-needed moisture to boost the growth of grazing grass or hay. 

My hose dragging gets to take somewhat of a break this morning, although the deck flowers will need their morning moisture. 

It's still a beautiful time as the lilacs are in bloom, along with several other shrubs around the place. 

I finally made some progress on the lawn mowing marathon.  Just one plot needs mowing now, and maybe the cooler weather will give me a break. 

Yesterday I mowed but then the rain started, so I spent part of the afternoon watching a wonderful movie on Netflix. 

Sally Field stars in Remarkably Bright Creatures, as does Marcellus, an octopus. 

It takes place in Northwest Washington, although it's filmed in the Vancouver area. 

Hard to put into words its many layers, all good, some a little sad but more than palatable. 

Great acting and scenery to go along with truly a feel-good story. 

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/remarkably-bright-creatures-cast-release-date-photos-news

 

Thursday Throwbacks: images of past memories from the photo library.  Hope you enjoy the collection as much as I enjoy putting it together. It's always fun to remember these times and places and peeps. 

 

Pat, we're going to miss you.  

Pat Gooby, on the right, left us last week. 

That's his older brother Bob on the left. 

It's been a lifetime friendship with Pat and the rest of the Gooby family who lived in our old neighborhood. 

I'm sure a lot of folks around the area are just as sad as I am to no longer have Pat, his dandYlions, his brief Daily Bee submissions, his dry sense of humor and his quiet but generous support for and pride in all things good about our community. 

I remember hearing from one of Pat's daughters last week, telling me that she and her sister were going to write their dad's obituary. 

"I hope we don't miss anything," she wrote. 

Bill and I both agreed that the obituary should be about two sentences long---just like Pat's occasional letters to the paper. 

Well, I see this morning that it's a little longer than those but not much. 

Nonetheless, Pat's life in Goobyville was full---enough to fill a book, but I'm sure, in his customary manner, he's happy that they kept it short. 

One consolation:  there are enough dandelions in this world each year to remind us of Pat many times over. 

Thanks for all the memories, old friend.  

You will be missed.

I dedicate this song to you. 

 

Patrick Stanley Gooby

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| May 14, 2026 1:00 AM

Patrick Stanley Gooby, AKA The Dandelion King, passed away May 5, 2026, at the family farm.

Pat was born Dec. 19, 1940, to Dorothy and Basil Gooby, at the old Bonner General Hospital.

He often boasted of his adventurous childhood and how blessed he was to have grown up in Sandpoint on the farm, doing chores, hunting, fishing, helping out at the County Poor Farm, etc. 

He grew into an industrious adult and worked at the family business for 30 years, drove school bus, raised Christmas trees, became a Realtor, and had a storage company. He made many friends along the way.

Pat is survived by three daughters, Ann Dutson-Sater (John), Kali Horvath and Patty Lowrey (Ron); a son, Paul Pavone (Juli); two brothers, Bob Gooby and Richard Gooby (Maryann); and nine grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.

Willie and Annie having a "sinking spell," as Bill likes to call it.  

They're with their grandfather William E. Love aka Edgar, and they're sorta sitting on the steps of the Love home in Oakdale, Louisiana. 

My folks received an Eagles award for their years of helping out a neighbor. 

That's Harold, accepting the award from Esther Booth. 

Neighborhood Tidbits; Brandon

Last month, consumer prices rose at their fastest rate since 2023.

Tomatoes have become nearly 40 percent more expensive in a year. 

I'm glad that my tomato plants are doing very well.  

Maybe I should plant some more. 

Happily, as of yesterday, spuds AND three pumpkin seeds are in the ground. 

Every time something looks dire economically, I say to myself, "Better plant some more potatoes."

Well, I have this time. 

Brandon Clarke and his high school basketball coach after a ZAGS game at the Jenny Craig Center in 2019. 

It's a quick lesson, but it's been long lasting and more meaningful than ever after yesterday's shocking news about the death of ZAGS standout and Memphis Grizzlies basketball player Brandon Clarke. 

In 2019, Bill and I, and several others from this area, attended a ZAGS game in San Diego at the Jenny Craig Center. 

The ZAGS won, and since we were in no big hurry to get back to our motel, we stayed afterward and waited in the parking lot for the team to come out of the gym to board their bus. 

While waiting, we met a nice man who told us he had been Brandon Clarke's basketball coach in high school.  He had driven over from Phoenix to watch the game and was anxious to say hello to Brandon. 

We also met some young ladies from Japan who were super Rui fans.  They had brought a Japanese flag and had come to see Rui Hachimura. They even had  images of Rui in their nail polish. 

So, there was a lot of expectation among those of us waiting. I was anxious to take some photos.  

As the players started arriving in the parking lot, I started snapping photos but soon realized that I had never used my iPhone in that much darkness. 

Those first photos were all blurry. 

As I was about to take a picture of Brandon and his coach, the awareness of my ineptitude for taking photos in the dark with an iPhone became very clear as I complained while trying to get a decent picture. 

Before any more photo attempts, Brandon asked for my phone and showed me the technique. 

Happily, the resulting photo with him and his coach turned out okay as did several others. 

It was a quick interlude with one of my favorite ZAG players, but the moment and the camera lesson were lasting.  

A young star on the basketball court took time to teach an old lady fumbling with her iPhone how it's done in darkness. 

At that moment, Brandon's star turned brighter in my mind.  I was even more thrilled later when he joined the Memphis Grizzlies.

So, like everyone else who followed and admired Brandon Clarke, I was stunned to learn of his death. 

The ZAG Nation is grieving today. 

So sad. 

May this young man rest in peace. 

They often say, "This is not who we are." 

With the example below and with endless others, sadly, this is who we will be.

From the  President of the United States

 TRUMP: We have a ballroom that's under budget. It's going up right here. I've doubled the size of it because we obviously need that. 

 REPORTER: The price doubled. 

 TRUMP: I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. You are not a smart person.

I love hearing the sound down the lane in the shed when Bill is using his wood splitter. 

I think wood harvest and stacking will go a lot faster this year. 

Our neighbor Peter stopped as I was walking the road while retrieving the paper this morning. 

"Did you get a picture?" he asked. 

The question puzzled me for a moment until I realized that Peter follows the blog and recognizes many of the photos I take around the neighborhood. 

I had just taken a photo of a weed but it wasn't that successful because I had taken it quickly. 

So, yes, I got a picture:  Peter sitting in his pickup and visiting before going off to do some disking. 

"I have sausages cooking," I told him, "and they take eight minutes, so I have to go."

My morning walk to the paper box and down the road usually lasts long enough for those sausages to cook, so I like to stay on schedule. 

The air fryer let out a ping when I walked in the door, so the sausages were ready. 

After my sausage explanation, Peter wished me a nice day and told me to say hello to Bill. 

Nice neighborly moment along the road.

Happy Wednesday, and let's all practice being nice. 

The recipients of your goodwill feel much better.

After all, this IS who we are!