Slight Detour: Saturday Slight

For a brief time, I felt at least ten years younger yesterday.

Amazing what a flat, dry surface will do to improve one's ability to walk.

With big barn boots replaced by hiking shoes, I walked a couple of thousand steps from end to end at Spokane Airport while waiting for Annie's flight to arrive.

It felt absolutely marvelous to remember during those few minutes that I really can walk without the usual winter-time waddling or stumbling over irregular surfaces.

During my walk across the airport terminal, I also looked up a few times, noticing a couple of airplane exhibits I'd never seen before.

Someone will probably tell me they've been there for at least ten years, but yesterday's sighting was a first for me.

Once Annie arrived, I handed her the car keys, relieved that she was driving.

It was dark, and it was raining. That combination over the past year has moved me into a new department of the aging process.

Don't drive at night, especially where there's lots of glare from the lights-and-rain combo. Add to that the fact that this time of the year it's next to impossible to see the lines for highway lanes.

As we drove home to Sandpoint, I realized that my aging eyes are not alone in having difficulty seeing those lanes.

Annie was noticing the same phenomenon as we were getting closer to Sandpoint.

I can't help but think that many of the accidents we've read about along HWY 95 just south of Sandpoint and on the Long Bridge might not happen so frequently if something were done to enhance roadway visibility.

We both agreed that the recently installed street light on Selle Road and HWY 95 had made a world of difference in being able to see the turn-off. Once again, thank you Mickey Jacobson, my neighbor across the road and the Idaho Dept. of Transportation for making this happen.

Long story short, the conditions along many stretches of the highway on rainy nights in February are downright scary.

I hope someone who can do something about this situation gets the ball rolling.

Meanwhile, back here at the Lovestead, little Foster is a happy camper. Instead of mornings spent looking upward toward Sunny who sits atop the hay stack, he's outside right now with his favorite person, Annie.

She'll always be his favorite. In fact, it was obvious yesterday that he knew I was going to the airport to pick her up. He tried really hard to attach himself to me as I went out the door.

Annie will be leaving Foster soon to go to Schweitzer. It's a busy day for all of us with a horse meeting, a Sandpoint Girls varsity basketball season closer and, of course, an important men's ZAGS game on ESPN at 7 p.m.

We Love's will all reconnect at Bulldog Gym for Willie's game today at 4. Don't know where we'll watch the ZAGS, but for sure our eyes will be peeled.

Definitely a fun day in February, especially having the whole family here.

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Finally, this morning I want to introduce you to my cousin Rich Aspell. He's a retired dentist from Chicago who has embarked on a new adventure in life.

Rich and I met for the first time back in 1992 at O'Hare Airport as Bill and I were flying to Washington, D.C. for a national journalism convention.

That was back in the days when people could visit in the airport.

Because of a late flight, our visit with Rich, my mother's cousin Bud (Rich's dad) and her cousin Rae (Rich's aunt), we visited while racing through the airport to our next flight.

I think an instant bond formed that day, especially when Rich told me he had actually picked me out of the crowd of passengers coming off the plane, and he'd never even seen a photo of me.

In short, we have enjoyed a wonderful friendship; he is a phenomenal and fascinating human being. I'm so proud to be related to Rich and to know him.

So, from time to time over the next two years, I'll feature some posts and photos from Rich as he shares his experiences in Ethiopia.

Hope you enjoy.

It's been 4 weeks since my daughter dropped me off at O'Hare. My oh my, things are different, inside and out. Before leaving I was talking with a friend about 'what is Enough?'

Everyone has their own answer and it's subject to change. I'm adjusting to my new Enough.

A roof over my room, a hole in the ground to poop into, a bucket bath, hand washing my clothes every Saturday, cattle, burros, chickens and children roaming peacefully through the streets, all going about their business.

Soon my new friends and I will get our site assignments and be separated, sent to our own small villages to lend a hand in whatever way our communities ask.

Ethiopia is in a state of flux, moving towards modernization, yet 85% of the population is involved with small scale agriculture.

There will be changes here large and small. I have no illusions regarding my contribution, it will be aimed at helping young mothers raise healthy children.

It won't change the tide of human events, but for some it will be enough.