Twas so nice to walk around the place last night and see true colors.
My hopeful trifecta came true, moments after I was on Facebook that my former student and friend Sue Cove promised to do a rain dance.
By golly, it worked. Within seconds of reading her post, I walked outside and felt something wet coming from the sky.
It was just one "something wet," so I didn't get too excited.
Instead, I committed myself by grabbing a bucket and heading for the garden to pick tomatoes.
Then, a few more something wet something's landed on my forehead.
Not wanting to be too gullible, I continued toward the tomato plants and proceeded to pick.
The somethings above persisted and then got downright obsessed with dropping from the sky.
When streams of water started running down my vest and mud started forming beneath my feet, I became a believer.
It was, indeed, raining outside, and it meant business, so much so that I submitted and headed for the house with the bottom of my bucket covered with cherry tomatoes.
"Hallelujah!" seemed to be the favored response on Facebook as others were reveling in the rain coming down from the sky.
What a great day and what a welcome completion to my desired trifecta!
A full day's worth of rain washed the earth and re-energized our souls. Plus, the moisture provided a huge boost to weary fire fighters and all those in the region waiting to return to their homes.
It is so nice to see a break in the hot, dry and dirty conditions. If only the rain could have brought back all that's lost.
Having experienced a total loss from a house fire nearly 40 years ago, I know that particular wish requires months and months of decisions and patience and perseverance, but life does go on, and we acquire new perspectives rising from the ashes.
Anyway, the landscape looks a lot better out there this morning, and hopefully, with a little diligence and time, we can get this place looking nice again.
The best part is knowing that Mother Nature has given the animals some better, possibly longer-lasting eats out there in the pastures.
In other news, as I keep reading about the events over in Priest River with the big hire and all the other firing and hiring, I couldn't help think of a personal situation that happened a couple of years after I retired from Lake Pend Oreille School District where I taught for 33 years.
I was born in Sandpoint. I went to school in Sandpoint. I taught more than 4,500 students at Sandpoint High and a few adults in a couple of night classes.
One morning about 5 a.m. while sipping on my first cup of coffee, I received a call from my sister who was still teaching at Sandpoint High School.
She had a sick horse and needed a sub, so she asked if I would sit in for her that day. She said she would have a lesson plan and had called in requesting that I be her substitute.
Having gone for a while without the early-morning craziness of doing chores, getting dressed and racing to school, I felt pretty rusty but did my best to scurry around, stop at my sister's for the lesson plan and then get to school.
When I finally arrived at the high school, almost out of breath, I walked into the office and was met by the assistant principal Penny who was a former student.
"You can't sub today," she announced. "You haven't been finger-printed."
It would be an understatement to note that my jaw dropped as I stood there in disbelief.
After the jaw dropping came the laughter.
"You are kidding me," I said, already quietly relieved that I would not have to spend the day sitting at a desk, watching students do their assignments.
It was obvious that she was pretty embarrassed to have to send her former teacher---also the teacher to many other SHS staff members---home, but it had to be.
After I had retired, the district and probably the state had implemented the requirement that all personnel working with students be finger-printed.
Although the incident that morning could have been received as a giant insult to someone who had taught at that school for so many year, I did not argue the point.
Instead, I told her that I would happily go home because I totally respected the requirement, even though it seemed a little crazy in my situation.
So, I did, and she found another substitute who had been finger-printed.
Considering this personal experience, I do have to wonder if such scrupulous and attentive vetting is going on with all the hiring and firing over in West Bonner County School District.
I hope so.
For some reason, however, reading all the stories in the newspapers makes me wonder even more.
Just sayin'.
Happy Wednesday.
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