Huckleberries: The cold wet shoulder, veep style

You heard about those 2,700 cheering Repubs who greeted Vice President Dick Cheney at the Coeur d’Alene Airport Thursday. And you may have read about the 50 Demos who were directed to a dead end road a coupla miles away to protest Dead-eye Dick’s visit. But there wasn’t much said about the dozens of poor souls who braved the weather to see the veep, only to be left standing in line when security grunts closed the Empire Air hangar. Repubs Who Weren’t Allowed to Come in from the Cold included ex-legislator Gary Ingram. Gary erred in judgment when he left his CdA home at 3:40 p.m. First, he was caught in a traffic jam on Lancaster Road. Then, he was forced to walk about a half mile in wind-driven sleet to stand in a line two blocks long. At 5:20 p.m., he was 10 persons away from the entry when the hangar door rolled down. Trish Gannon of The River Journal was caught in the same line. But a full bladder came to the rescue. As she froze in line, Trish said, she contemplated going to the parking lot “to squat behind a car and expose my bare bum to the icy wind.” Luckily, she flagged down a security guard at that crucial moment, and he escorted her into the hangar to use the loo in the Empire Air executive office. Afterward, the badge forgot about her despite the three sweaters and a heavy coat Trish was wearing that expanded her girth to 80 inches or so. No telling what Trish coulda been carrying. Meanwhile, Gary Ingram was left to contemplate an ultimate irony: The first ticket issued for the Cheney rally had gone to him.