Time Travelin' at Ice House Pizzeria

Ma and Pa Love celebrating 46 years at one of our favorite places. 

David Cochran, local storyteller extraordinaire. 

Thank you, Debbie. 

When I thought about time traveling as the subject of this morning's blog post, I wasn't thinking about traveling back into the days of early Internet.

But we have learned in this crazy world these days to "be flexible." 

So, that's what I'll do along with hoping that I can complete and publish this post by deadline time.

Our Internet has been whacked up this morning, working sometimes, working partway into sites in some cases, not working at all---just plain whacked up. 

Seems it's the provider that might be having the problem because I discovered earlier, thanks to my cellular service,  that another individual using the same provider was having problems too. 

So, bear with me.  

We did some time traveling last night out at Old Ice House Pizzeria in Hope.  The object was reflecting upon and celebrating 46 years of marriage.  

Yesterday when my friend Chris Moon wished us a Happy Anniversary, I couldn't help but go back to that hot, hot day in June, 1974, at our wedding reception when Mother asked Chris if she could go get some more Hi-C fruit punch cuz the bowl was running on empty.

As I stated to Chris, wedding receptions were pretty tame back in those days. 

Wedding cake, nuts, mints and Hi-C fruit punch served by special family members or friends.  

With 95-degree temperatures, I don't think our crowd hung around too long cuz shedding all those nice clothes in favor of shorts and maybe a jump in the lake seemed like a better idea.

Well, last night we were pretty focused on pizza and a beer and finding a socially distancing safe place out of the rain to enjoy our dinner. 

So, Bill, Debbie and I set up shop at the outside tables, sipped on our beer and then began eating pizza as we waited for Willie to return from his fishing trip to Montana.

Then, David Cochran  came outside and joined us.  Over the next hour or so, my former student, always armed with wit and a mind so filled with hometown memories that he could write a series of books.  

And, I hope he does.  

I was impressed with David Cochran as a student from Day One because he has one of those minds that doesn't miss a single beat in the winding roads of life. 

Every person he ever met, every seemingly trivial but remarkable experience along with the tools to recount all the pertinent details with humor, richness or with deserved passion----that's what David has to offer. 

And, did we ever enjoy the fast, furious and funny anecdotes about Uncle Neal with whom he planted an orchard of apple trees when he was a kid. David also got a special dispensation with his driver's license, being allowed to drive at 13 cuz he helped Uncle Neal on the farm.

His help also included bucking bales, and when the day had ended, Neal handed over some homegrown beef steaks as payment. 

David was disappointed, but when he took the steaks home to Mom, she acted as if they were gold.  Made sense when she's cooking for a family of five boys and one girl. 

We also learned about the "viewing room" at Gooby's Meat Company where David and his buddy from the Crape family (who owned our Great Northern farm before we did) would  eat complimentary jerky while watching grotesque scenes of (well, you can guess since it was a meat-packing plant).

We also heard about the fenders and how they helped him pass Ray Miller's class, which led me to tell him the story about his cousin Adam who enticed me to use the word "logomachy" in my "Love Notes" column so he could get an A in Nancy Miller's class.

Just something about those Cochran boys when they're hanging around teachers named Miller. 

We heard reverence for people who had played an integral role in David's life, including his 95-year-old aunt from St. Regis, Mont., who died recently.  And, of course, his son Cole had my son Willie for a teacher.  David dearly loves his son. 

We talked about siblings, other family members, lots of good ol' stuff in Sandpoint, including former mayor Marian Ebbett, one of David's mother's closest friends.

The listening crowd on the pizzeria lower deck eventually grew when owners Mike and Teresa Stevens came outside and participated in our spontaneous time travel to the good ol' days. 

And, Bob Gooby, if you're listening, you got the "golden buzzer" from everyone in the crowd last night. 

Since Mike has spent so much time at Dr. Rich and Marcy Neher's home, he knows Bob. 

Everyone in last night's group knows Bob and thinks he's a mighty fine guy.  Of course, when you get to eat jerky and watch through the "viewing" window, you gotta love the Gooby's. 

For my kids, a trip down the road to Gooby's was a much tamer experience cuz they handed over their nickels, dimers or quarters and got beef sticks without having to go up the stairs to the "viewing" room.  

Soon, we realized that daylight was turning to darkness.  In that time while sitting in one of the most beautiful perspective of Lake Pend Oreille possible, we probably never even looked at the lake. 

Instead, we were completely lost within an amazing zone of of remembering, telling and tear-inducing belly laughs. 

It was wonderful. 

Thank you, Debbie, for treating us to dinner at Ice House.  

It's a magnificent place which serves up much more tantalizing flavor than simply pizza and beer. 

Thank you, David, for the memories and please get started on the assignment I gave you last night.  

From one writer to another, I can assure you that it will be worth your time.  

There's no way I could remember all the priceless nuggets of local history flying through the air outside of Old Ice House last night, but I do know that I'll never forget our 46th wedding anniversary celebration.

Happy Tuesday.