Saturday Slight

from "Slight Detour"  July 29, 2013

I like the bag. 

I'll re-bag it some day with a gift inside.

For now, I'll put it away in a safe place, probably one so safe that it will go unnoticed for years to come.

Maybe when Willie and Annie have to clean out my earthly goods, they'll find it with the "gift" inside. 

Actually, I did not receive a gift at my friend Marilyn's final neighborhood barbecue.  

I won the prize.

First, No. 72 was drawn.

Nobody had No. 72. 

I yelled out that I had No. 71.  

Oddly enough, either by fate or carefully planned design, the next number called:  71!

Unbelievable sequence of drawn numbers.  Maybe Marilyn didn't mix up the numbers very well.  

Maybe she carefully schemed it that way. 

Whatever the case, I won the last-ever door prize/gag gift at the Burning Tree Ranch summer potluck.  

Amazing I even stayed long enough to win a prize.  

Marilyn had many more guests than she had invited.  These rude freeloaders showed up and hung around the food throughout the party.

And there were hundreds of them.  Must be they saw on Facebook or Twitter about the "party at Marilyn's."  

Anyway, they competed with all the invited guests for samples of chicken, Mexican dishes, salads and oodles of fresh desserts.  

They even took a few choice bites directly from the invited guests, myself included.

Yup, third bee sting in two weeks.  This time I must have moved fast enough to sustain just a surface bite out of my hide. 

In spite of the obnoxious and ravenous uninvited guests, those of us who had received invitations in our mailboxes endured through the evening.  

I can easily say a fun time was had by all because in between swatting and occasionally performing my own version of "the sting" dance, I hardly stopped talking throughout the entire party.

Bill and I met some nice new friends, one couple who had just moved to Selle a month ago and another who know about the sport of geocaching.   

We also enjoyed reconnecting with several other familiar regulars at Marilyn Chambers' neighborhood gatherings. 

So back to my prize.  

I walked to the deck and admired the bag, noting so out loud. 

Marilyn had already announced that this was a "one-of-a-kind" gift.  

For a time, only Marilyn and I and some family members knew the stunning significance of what was inside the bag.

Another candle!  

How odd!  

How bizarre! 

How possibly planned in advance!  

"I like the bag," I again announced to Marilyn and the invited guests.   

For some reason no bees came to inspect my prize. 

Who knows if this "lucky" moment for me was just a coincidence----that I should receive two candles from the Burning Tree Ranch in two weeks.  

I guess I'll never know for sure, but I do know that the onus now lies directly on me. 

I've got work to do, double the usual. 

It will take time, but eventually I'll figure out some new ways and new transformations to keep the candleS of friendship burning brightly over the years ahead with my dear and "generous" chum, Marilyn. 

Right now, candles must wait as we all figure out how to get through the days ahead without feeding our flesh to the flash mobs of hungry bees. 

Nasty creatures this year, for sure!

Marilyn's Magic Friendship Candle. 

One version of the candle, presented to me. Yes, those are nails.

~~~~~

There's a story in my second book Postcards from Potato Land, called "The Magic Friendship Candle."

Simply put, it's about an ugly candle which turned into a beautiful white swan.  

Just kidding!

Over the years, that candle turned into so many things, often indescribable and ugly. 

It also traveled a lot, back and forth between the Chambers house and the Love house---even once to the Hayden Lake Country Club for a wedding. 

There's beauty to be found in everything, they say, and I must say the story of the candle includes a beautiful and long friendship with the matriarch of the Chambers family, Marilyn. 

The friendship also extends to Marilyn's five children, Darcy, Bill, Mari, Chris and Robbie, who often participated in each new candle creation to be presented to Marianne. 

Yes, the candle went back and forth in different forms, almost always totally surprising the respective recipients---Marilyn or Marianne. 

Cow pie, contents of a video box, silver heart, you name it---the wax melted into whatever new funky idea possessed its impish creator. 

All the time, the candle and the crazy antics that went along with each new presentation helped serve as the glue for a lasting friendship. 

I must be honest in saying I have no idea who received the candle last or where it ended up. I'm guessing that I did and that maybe it succumbed in a collapse of our vinyl storage shed during a rough winter a few years back. 

And, so, the story above involves new wax and a photo of a different candle, which actually looked normal, not even ugly.

I dressed that candle up a couple of weeks ago and gave it to my friend Marilyn during a visit to her home. 

Of course, she was delighted, and, along with my daughter-in-law  Debbie and her daughter Darcy, we laughed and laughed and reminisced and even schemed some fun new adventures. 

What a wonderful gift that visit was for all involved!

Yesterday, with her family, Marilyn left in body but not in spirit. 

To say she was a shining light in this community and among her multitude of friends would be an understatement. 

I'm sure everyone whoever met Marilyn has a good story to tell because she was the maker of good stories pretty much everywhere she went. 

In our lives, she not only gave candles but also took a great interest in our children, taking care of Willie for three days after Annie was born and taking care of Annie when Bill, little Willie and I went on a trip to Glacier Park. 

For a family wedding, she also put together lovely ensembles for Willie and Annie who served as ringbearer and flower girl. 

Well, let's just say those ensembles remained clean and pure for only so long, as the kids cast away their innocent angelhood immediately after the ceremony and turned into little renegades.

Such little angels:  Annie and Willie

When I finally  stuffed them into the car BEFORE they destroyed the pavillion tent by climbing up its poles, Willie's white pants had green knees and Annie's lovely dress top had partially separated from its' bottom. 

"Oh, they're just having fun," Marilyn said as we made the decision to leave. 

That was Marilyn. 

And, the stories abounded over the years with my teen sitting the younger four, with drill team activities, 4-H, horseback riding, puppies, cross country skiing  and those famous Marilyn Chambers Christmas parties where ya never knew who was gonna show up each year. 

Lots of memories, to say the least, all eliciting a chuckle or two.  

That was Marilyn. 

She will be missed, but we, who have known her in so many different dimensions over the years, have an abundant supply of wonderful memories of a lady who truly lit up a room wherever she went.

And, she didn't need an ugly candle to do so. 

Bye, Marilyn.  

May your light continue to shine in all our hearts.  

Willie Love and Marilyn Chambers -- late 1970s

One of my favorite photos of Marilyn, who moved to Sandpoint from Florida and immediately took to all things farm life. 

We eventually took one of those puppies home, naming him Pupper.  One of the kindest, most patient dogs I've ever known. 

~~~~~~

Game Day today with a huge matchup in the Kennel. 

The No. 1 ZAGS take on the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.

Should be a thriller. 

7:30 PST on ESPN2

GO, ZAGS 

Finally, here's the link for the online flip version of the latest edition of Sandpoint Magazine. 

So, if you're not in Sandpoint to pick up a print copy, check it out. 

 https://sandpointmagazine.com/