Tales of the Times

Two tales today:  one of the season, one of this season of our history.

I don't know how long it's been since I picked out a Christmas tree---maybe decades. 

Once I got my forester husband trained on what a proper Christmas tree ought to look like, that's been his job. 

Kinda like his ploy for mowing lawns badly so he woudn't have to do it again, he seemed to take the same approach when selecting our early Christmas trees. 

If Charlie Brown were looking for a template for the most pathetic tree ever, Bill could have been his assistant. 

Regardless of their sad appearance, I would put them up, attempting every way possible to improve their looks. 

If I remember correctly, a lot of those early varieties were weighted down with boxes of silver tinsel.

Eventually, Bill must have been getting the message with my less than enthusiastic facial expressions upon seeing his most recent choice. 

He loved to tell the story that he brought those trees home cuz why rid the forest of the pretty ones. 

Well, the past couple of decades, Bill has gotten gold stars for Christmas tree selection, always bringing home a bushy beauty. 

That's why I felt a bit intimidated yesterday when I went to our friend Dennis' Christmas tree patch at Gold Creek to be the sole selectee for our 2020 tree. 

Bill had gotten so good that I felt the urgency to get it right and to live up to the standards I had subtlely set for him all these years. 

I read about Dennis's patch on Facebook and wondered why we hadn't gone there before. After all, the guy who just retired from a construction business who also has delivered our gravel since we've lived in Selle, has been growing and selling Christmas trees for more than 30 years.  

And, he ain't no Charlie Brown.  His patch offers a little something for everyone.  The only tree I saw which came close to a Charlie Brown special had been skinned by a deer.  

Dennis said the deer like Frazier firs but won't touch Grand Firs, which I selected. 

The experience turned out to be a more than nostalgic adventure as Dennis pointed to the patch, told me to stroll around while he followed me with his 4-wheeler and trailer.  

Once I selected, he brought out his saw, and in seconds, the tree fell to the ground.  He loaded it up in the trailer, took it back to the truck, shortened it and cut off the bottom limbs for me to use for additional decorating. 

All the time, nonstop conversation.  After all, Dennis is a local, and when locals get together, there's always plenty to talk about. 

The frosting on my Christmas tree selection experience came in the driveway as I was about to leave.  Dennis had received a call earlier that a customer was about to come. 

"Do we know these people?" I asked. 

"No," he said.

The driver looked mighty familiar to me, and when his wife got out, I knew for sure that I knew these people. 

Ann Lyons served as an editor on one of my earliest Monticola yearbook staffs back in the early 1970s.

Ann Lyons Haynes and her hubby had come to get their tree. 

After some quick introductions and, which included noting Dennis' relationship with the Abromeit family (longtime elementary teacher Betty was his aunt), the trio happily got together for  a photo. 

And, soon I was driving home with that beautiful tree in the back and a big smile on my face thinking this was a Christmas tree selection day I would long remember. 

My tree now sits on the deck, all lit up. That's where it's going to say in this weird Pandemic year where a few traditions will be different in the interest of safety.

The tree definitely adds a nice touch to the outside light display, and it's, for sure, it will be like no other. 

Thank you, Dennis.  I loved the experience. 

Thursday Throwback and Bonners Ferry's "Mascot" Rockey

I've been reading a new book by Pope Francis. A commentary based on this book appeared in a recent op. ed., which I included on my blog. 

When I told my friend Cindy Wooden, who covers the Pope from the Vatican in Rome, that I had included the piece, she noted that the book from which it was inspired is "amazing." 

So, I ordered Let Us Dream. After reading the preface, I was so moved that I told Bill everyone ought to read this book. 

The book, which, so far appears to be a very personal but universal one, suggests that the way we face and interact with the challenges of this Pandemic will define us personally and as a part of humanity. 

The Pope suggests that when it ends, we will all be different from what we were before it began.

I've got a long way to go before saying much more, but that notion by the Pope touched me deeply. 

I can't help but think of the Pope's words when reflecting on a saga hundreds of Facebook friends and acquaintances of Rockey Burkholder have witnessed virtually over the past few weeks. 

It is truly a story of love, of caring, of brutal reality, of community and of the cruel impact of Covid 19 in our general area.

First, some introductions.

I'll start with Brent Dehlbom.  He lives in South Carolina, where, for the past few years, he has served as a Methodist minister after leaving his native Bonners Ferry. 

Brent was one of my English students a few decades ago.  In fact, he graduated with my sister Laurie. 

Marty Becker may need no introduction to animal lovers.  He's the veterinarian millions know, thanks to his association with "Good Morning America." 

Because Marty has written a book or two, we first met at a Vanderford's book event several years ago. 

Just a few years ago, I met Marty's wife Teresa and their daughter Kel at the Panhandle Animal Shelter. 

I believe my friend Trish told me that the Becker family would be there to hand out Christmas toys and treats to the inhabitants of the shelter. 

Good picture-taking opportunity, she had suggested. 

So, I took my camera and followed this amazing family around the shelter as they checked in with dogs and cats and kittens, spending some quality time giving out an abundance of TLC. 

The opportunity allowed me to get to know them a little, and, as always, common connections intensified the new relationship. 

Turns out Teresa Burkholder and my dearly beloved former student and colleague and friend Jayne Davis were roommates at Idaho. 

All in all, it was a wonderful and memorable experience. 

So, when I began to read on Facebook in Teresa's posts, mostly prefaced by "Marty here," that Teresa's mom 95-year-old mom Valdie and her brother Rockey had tested positive for Covid, I joined a sea of other followers who tuned in every time Marty shared their story. 

He shared all the nuances---as we like to say "the good, the bad, the ugly, the sad and the hilarious" as he and a "village" of caring Bonners Ferry residents did everything in their power to shepherd Valdie and Rockey through this horrific experience. 

My favorite hilarity:  Marty's steep but rapid learning curve in getting the "curve" of Valdie's eye brows just right as she overcame Covid and needed to look like a new woman.  Straight pencil marks soon morphed into a more natural look for Valdie, who is absolutely amazing. 

The story did not end so well for Rockey, an asthmatic. 

Rockey entered the gates of Heaven on Monday night of this week. 

 The love inspired by his very nature and by all who were inspired by Rockey, both during his 72 years in Bonners and as he struggled through those final days. 

As I told Teresa, and when I think of those words by Pope Francis about change overcoming us because of this Pandemic, I have no doubts, we'll never be the same. 

This story, told and photographed so tastefully and lovingly by Marty and other family members, will always stand out in my mind. 

Story tellers spin their tales for a variety of reasons.  I found stories to be the key to many of my successes in the classroom. 

Stories help us learn so much faster than we ever would from mere isolated facts. 

Marty and his family have told this story, not only for their own personal remembrances but also in hopes that the doubts and the scoffers of Covid 19 might open their minds and hearts to the reality, and, in so doing, make it a safer world for all of us.

I thank this wonderful family and Pastor Brent for allowing me to share their contributions about Rockey this morning. 

May this inspire a little more goodness among us, and may Rockey's life here on Earth inspire others.  

Kel Becker and her mother Teresa (Burkholder)  Becker.

Dr. Marty Becker and Panhandle Animal Shelter Director Mandy Evans. 

Below:  Rockey Burkholder

by Pastor Brent Dehlbom

Rockey Burkholder was the perfect “compliment” to Bonners Ferry Idaho. Those of you up north know that I mean that two ways, but for those of you who did not know Rockey, give me a minute to tell you about him!

Rockey passed away two days ago, and I am mourning the loss of a friend, a brother in Christ, and one of the most unique individuals you could ever meet!

Rockey was a wonderful man who had a big heart! Do you remember Jesus saying, "You will not be able to enter Heaven unless you become like one of these children"? 

Well, Rockey was one of those beautiful souls who never grew past being like one of the children! You can call it a developmental disorder. I call it a blessing. 

We say things like someone has not matured. Well, Rockey never matured into cynicism, hatred, prejudice, and condemnation; instead, he stayed immature, never moving beyond those childhood lessons like “treat others in the same way you want to be treated,” and “be nice to others,” and “Jesus told us to Love others!”

Rockey was the perfect compliment to Bonners Ferry. I don’t even know what my hometown is without Rockey. He was always there throughout my life! He was the perfect compliment to a small town like Bonners because this is a place where everyone knows everyone else. 

In a larger town someone like Rockey would have gotten lost in the hustle and bustle, and people would not have had the opportunity to see what a blessing he was! In Bonners Ferry as he walked the town, everyone became aware of his genuine, loving nature and his love for his fellow man!

You see Rockey just wanted everyone to feel better about themselves, and so he complimented everyone he met. This is the other way he was the perfect compliment!

I need to interrupt this message for a public service announcement! To all the women of Bonners Ferry: No, you have not gained weight; it’s just that Rockey is not there to tell you how thin you are getting! 

Maybe we all need to apply Rockey’s way of complimenting one another EVERY time we see one another!

I can hear his voice right now, to the women of the town, “You look so pretty today!” “You are getting so thin!” 

To me, “You are the best preacher we have ever had.” Now, we all knew that these compliments were not reserved only for us, but they always made us feel just a little better anyway, didn’t they?

Most of us go around with our souls buried deep inside, and we are afraid to bear them to the world! I think maybe God makes a few people who carry their souls bared for the world to see! These people show the Love of Christ in ways that the rest of us are unable to do and so these people are very special to us!

Rockey, you will always be very special to me, and I can’t wait to see you in heaven because I am quite sure that you will be waiting with a wonderful compliment!

To all of you who are mourning Rockey's passing today, you look so beautiful, you are getting so thin, and I love you!

~~~~~~~

 

from Rockey's niece Kel Becker, whose birthday was yesterday. . . . 

My 35th birthday wish, in honor of my uncle and personal Angel, Rockey, who died of COVID only a couple of days ago: As hard as it is to share our grief and the agony of Rockey’s final moments on earth, if it can save even one life, or one person from suffering from the unparalleled suffering that is COVID, it’s worth it.

 Rockey was a symbol of love and unconditional acceptance; and in this time, let us lay aside all differences and simply embrace one another in love- doing what’s right for our brothers and sisters, even when the right thing is the harder thing to do. 

In honor of Rockey and his love, please mask up, social distance, and help save lives... it’s the most loving thing we can do right now, especially for those must vulnerable. Sending my love and gratitude to you all!