Trish Gannon/River Journal and I had a conversation on Facebook, launched by Trish's comment: “Wow! After 25 years residency, I have finally been called for jury duty.” Which prompted me to post: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Take it away, Trish: “I feel like I'm going to reprise childhood, sitting on the bench, bouncing up and down, shouting, 'Pick me! Pick me!” and probably with the same disappointing result. … Seems like the only things kids picked other kids for when I was in school were athletic games. I would only get picked fourth if there were only four people to choose from.”

Question: When did you get picked during your grade school days, when classmates were choosing up teams? First? Mid-pack? Last or close to last?

Trish Gannon re: “Connell cage roughness goes viral”: You know, I really stink at evaluating games but I looked at the ‘short’ video and nothing stands out as particularly harmful. I remember one game in Priest River where one of our kids actually got punched, and the ref didn’t stop the game ‘til the blood was dripping on the floor. There have been several games where I have shouted from the stands at the ref that if he won’t control the game, I’ll get out there and do it myself (don’t sit next to me at a game, particularly if one of my kids is getting fouled).

Question: Do you conduct yourself well, as a parent, when your child is playing organized sports?

February is often considered the longest part of winter. The snow has been around for so long that green grass and hot sunshine seem less an actual memory, and more like a concept we’ve heard of but never seen; perhaps it was in a book we read, or a movie we saw.

Of course, we’ve read all our books by now, worked our way through even the ‘B’ movie selection at the video store, and navigating this winter’s two perennial choices—rock hard, slick-as-glass ice or slush to your knees—can make going outdoors, particularly in the evenings, a less than enjoyable exercise.

What’s a person to do? Trish Gannon, River Journal

Imagine my surprise when I discovered I'd been mentioned in an article about how to waste time! *Disclaimer* Do NOT read this article unless you really don't have anything to accomplish today.

What's your favorite way to waste time?

Among the items that Publisher Trish Gannon/River Journal lists among her must-have tools to get through the winter are (complete list here):

• Roof rakes
• Super hot hands
• A plastic grain scoop
• A good sled
• Yaktrax
• Softlips lip balm
• Sorels (or other good winter boot)

Question: What tool do you consider an absolute must to get through winter?

I have too much stuff. This is not some blindingly new realization for me; I’ve known I have too much stuff for an awfully long time. But I’ve noticed that my discontent with owning too much stuff has been growing, day by day. This feeling has been exacerbated by the movement of all my now-grown children to homes of their own because, surprisingly, when children move out most of their stuff stays behind. And it grew exponentially when my brother Joe moved in with me, and his stuff was added to my own. Seriously, I can’t find anything in the kitchen cupboards anymore without a dozen things falling out on top of my head/Trish Gannon, River Journal, Politically Incorrect. More here.

Question: Do you feel that you have too much stuff? What do you do about it?

What makes a man sexy? Sitting in a business meeting and listening to Dave Sleyster talk about the origins of his business, Energy Electric, I found myself pondering this question. That’s partly because Dave is a sexy guy—an opinion I’ve heard expressed by many women, and one I agree with. But why is he a sexy guy? The answer came quickly: sexy men have two basic qualities. One, they have a huge ability to laugh, including at themselves. Sexy men know when to take things seriously, and when they don’t need to. And two, sexy guys are those who live beyond themselves; they’re taking the time to give something back to the community/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.

Question: Who’d make your list? Why?

I have a habit of checking out the book shelves whenever I’m invited for the first time to someone’s place. The titles reveal a lot about the host family. I have 3 1/2 book shelves. My books reveal that I collect old books, biblical & religious books, books about newspapers & columnists, poetry, and sundry other subcategories including sports. Trish Gannon, again on her Facebook page, prompted my thoughts about my books with this comment: “As research for a future story, I have counted 719 books in my house, not counting those belonging to my brother Joe.”

Question: How many books do you have in your house — and what do they say about you?

At about noon today, Trish Gannon/River Journal wrote on her Facebook page: “There is a mouse butt on my floor. Tail, hind legs and hindquarter … and … nothing else. Guess the cat was full.” I appreciate Trish’s nonchalance at finding part of a mouse in her Clark Fork house. It wasn’t that long ago when we tossed pots, pans, & anything else that was near a mouse carcass we found under the dining room table. I suspect the dog drug the mouse into the house. But that didn’t appease Mrs. O. (AP file photo, BPI Digital Photo)

Question: Do you freak out when you find a mouse or mouse dropping in your house?

On her Facebook page, Trish Gannon writes: “Worst thing you can hear while your son is killing a monstrous wolf spider for you? “My god, how come you’re not dead yet?” I’ll have nightmares that a truly ticked off spider is determined to get in the house for revenge.

Question: My wife spotted the first of the wolf spider invasion this weekend — an arachnid that had gotten into our garage. Have you found any wolf spiders in the house yet?

I was born in Chicago, a town with its own long history of racial tension, and my parents were hillbillies, one from Texas and one from Tennessee. It would not be surprising to many to learn that my upbringing was steeped in racism, yet it wasn’t—somehow my parents managed to raise their children to be almost color blind. When my little ‘sister’ Chrissie went to kindergarten, she came home quite irate, asking “Why didn’t you ever tell me that black people were different than us?,”—a  ‘knowledge’ that had apparently been shared with her by either her teachers or her classmates/Trish Gannon, River Journal (Politically Incorrect column). More here. (River Journal photo of Trish’s niece & nephew)

DFO: I was delighted during my recent vacation to California to meet my two Ethiopian nieces, Marte & Buzai, for the first time since their adoption by my nephew Josh and his wife, Heather. I guess this means my full-blooded Portuguese family is wonderfully integrated now.

Question: Were you raised color-blind?

Trish Gannon: “I admit, I lost count a couple of times but I think my estimate that there were 172,493 mosquitos in my house last night is still pretty close.”

Question: What’s the mosquito count at your casa (note to Bonner County Republicans — “casa” is Spanish for “house.”

My friend Ward, whose house fronts on Sandpoint’s new traffic circle, would disagree with my support (for the new roundabout at Boyer and Larch). He’s been quite fond of saying he’s willing to sell tickets for seats on his lawn to watch what a disaster this will be. And I can’t blame him for being less than positive about it. No one likes to be a guinea pig, and given the high truck traffic at the intersection of Larch and Boyer, this might not be the location I would have selected for our first traffic circle. (Division and Pine, that’s where we need one! Just sayin’, Kody)/Trish Gannon, Politically Incorrect, River Journal. More here. (Idaho Conservation League photo)

Question: Who do you think has the right-of-way in a roundabout?

“Mower won’t start, charge battery, install, mower starts, PTO (power take off) won’t engage, belt off. Put belt on, mow some tall grass, mower dies. Won’t start. Push to car, jump battery, PTO won’t engage, belt off. Put belt back on, start mower, mow some, disengage PTO, engage again, belt falls off. Turn off mower, put belt back on, mower won’t start. Push to car, jump start, mow some more, belt brakes”/Trish Gannon, via Facebook, re: struggle w/a under-performing mower.

• My mother is a tremendous blessing/A Butterfly Moment
• Heroes among us/Kerri Thoreson, More Main Street
• The vine inspiration/Ralph Bartholdt, Skookum Photography
• Hallelujah, spring has sprung/Slight Detour
• Private eye/Tumblewords
• More below

Question: When is it time to take a faulty lawnmower to the dump?

A few months back, Dustin and I were creating ham sandwiches for lunch when I bemoaned the fact we had no regular potato chips… because nothing tastes better than a ham sandwich crammed full of those crispy critters. It got us discussing the odd foods that can sometimes be paired together with surprisingly tasty results. I mentioned to Dustin how in our youth, my friends and I used to dump peanuts into our Coke. He was stunned. I thought everyone did that, but maybe it was just a southern thing. Then he mentioned one of his own favorites, dunking French fries into his Wendy’s Frosty. I was stunned. Yes, French fries with gravy, that I can understand, but in ice cream? Really?!/Trish Gannon (Politically Incorrect/River Journal). More here.

Question: Remember when Trish Gannon/River Journal asked Hucks Nation to provide some odd food pairings that various Hucksters found scrumptious? Well, she’s used some of your comments in a recent Politically Incorrect column here. Feel free to suggest other odd pairings of foods in the thread below.

Molly at Horizon was awesome but the whole terrorism mess means that you have to show proof of ID to open an account. So when I whipped out my driver’s license, Molly looks at me and says, “You know this is expired, right?” WRONG! I did NOT know it was expired and when I looked at her and said something lame like, “are you sure? ‘Cause that would have been back in October,” she looked right back and said, “Yes, October. Of 2007.” Boy, feeling stupid is never fun but it’s even worse when you feel that way in public. By the time I was done at Horizon it was too late to get my driver’s license renewed so I did it on my next trip into Sandpoint, which was to be a pit stop on the way to Spokane to pick up the new issue of the River Journal. That’s when I discovered that, when you’re over a year expired, it’s just like you have no license at all and you must re-do everything - eye test, written test and skills exam/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.

Question: Without looking, do you know when your driver’s license expires? And/or: Do you think you could pass a driver’s written test without reading the manual before hand?

Oh, sweet Avista. Three years ago (four?) my November electric bill was $400. I immediately called Avista to see what was going on. The lady I spoke with (typewriter keys clicking in the background) told me that my normal usage, their rate hike, and the current weather combined suggested this amount was probably pretty accurate. No problem, pay the bill. In the following months, the bill kept increasing, and the house was damn cold. Every month I called. Typewriter key sounds, “nope, this looks totally in line with your normal usage.” By February (bill $550) I got a friend in construction to come out and look at my place and see what could possibly be wrong (we were thinking some kind of electric ground fault or something)/Trish Gannon, River Journal (shown in condom dress she’ll wear to Blogfest ‘09 with daughter). Full comment below.

Question: Do you have a sweet Avista horror story re: winter bills?

The state is cutting funding for public schools. The levy has failed. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to cut 71 certified and 64 classified staff, an approximate one-third reduction in employees. How do you start? Given you must cut approximately one in every three employees, you might just gather everyone together and play duck, duck, goose, eliminating all the geese. Not that you’d be allowed to, but it has the virtue of simplicity. Instead, you must determine which programs you will cut. Because all extra-curricular programs were funded by the levy, you can eliminate all coaches, all publication teachers, all Aca-Deca teachers, the band and music instructors, art and drama, dance and cheerleading, photography and athletic directors. Unfortunately, most of these positions are not full time—they are ‘extra duties’ that staff pick up in order to work a full time position/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.

Question: How would you go about cutting 1/3 of the staff at the Lake Pend Oreille School District (if the levy doesn’t pass)? Bear in mind that teachers are paid at different levels. You may need to cut more people if you base your cuts on seniority only. Good luck.

Of all wildlife/vehicle encounters, moose are generally the most dangerous. In part it’s because their weight makes for a massive obstacle to hit at any speed, but in part it’s also their size—those gangly legs are generally the part that gets hit by the average car, causing the moose to be flipped into the vehicle. Which is exactly what happened to Adam. The moose’s legs hit his car on the right front fender, causing her body to crash into the windshield, roll over the top of the car and then down the back. The moose died. So did the car. “I can buy another used car like this for less than what it would cost me to fix this one,” Adam explained as he looked over the crushed windows and dented body. Which is what he hopes to do as the car itself runs just fine, and he can use it for spare parts/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.

Question: Have you ever hit wildlife with your vehicle?

When I was in high school, I cut out and kept a Ziggy cartoon. Do you remember Ziggy? (If you’re not old enough, don’t tell me. my daughter commented on one of my columns saying, “what’s a boob tube?) anyway, the cartoon showed Ziggy walking down a road in the middle of nowhere, hands in his pockets, whistling. And out of the sky behind him was this huge hand, poised to flick him in the head.I still have the cartoon, It’s my philosophy of life/Trish Gannon.

Question: Which comic character or stip shares your philosophy of life?

In the style of all these types of year-end communications my plan is to talk about the year just passed, and I preface it by borrowing from Dickens—these are the times that try men’s souls. They are times that are trying this woman’s soul as well, and the overriding theme of this year, for me, has been a struggle to keep my faith. Not just my faith in God, in a wise and all-knowing someone who guides the paths we walk, but also my faith in myself, and my faith that we choose our destinies, that no matter how difficult we find the path we’re on, we can only come out the better for walking it. That’s because 2008, with a nod to my grandma, was my year of eating the frog/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.

Question: Did 2008 try your soul? Or make you eat frog?