Doggone, those pooches are difficult to resist
Thom George, a local real estate agent, struck a chord at Huckleberries Online (HBO) recently by discussing his struggle to euthanize his beloved toy poodle, Trixie. At 20, Trixie was deaf and blind but still could smell her food. Last summer, Trixie was moved to a covered patio because she was relieving herself in the house. Trixie lived on, lifting her head each morning as Thom filled her food and water bowls, licking his hand. An old dog weighing 9 pounds, however, doesn’t do well outside in winter, even with extra blankets and padding for comfort. “And so I wait another day,” Thom wrote in his Perspectives blog. “But it is time. It is not fair.” HBO commenters empathized but urged Thom to end his pet’s suffering. The vigil concluded at 8:22 a.m. last Thursday in a vet’s office. Then, Thom heeded the advice of another commenter: “Sometimes the best salve for the aching soul is another pooch.” After swearing off the care and maintenance of animals for all of four days, Thom became the owner of Izaak, a 16-week-old, male vizsla named after fisherman extraordinaire Izaak Walton. So another beautiful friendship begins.
Jury duty dodge
Yeah, I know, everyone should enjoy jury duty. In case you don’t, however, blogger Katrina/Notes on a Napkin offers 10 ways to avoid it: 10. Show up wearing a Charles Manson T-shirt, carrying a dog-eared copy of “Helter Skelter.” 9. As the judge reads the charges, count them down on your fingers, loudly saying “check” after each one. 8. Fake narcolepsy. 7. Bring your kids with you. Be sure to feed them a hearty breakfast of Nerds and Twinkies first. 6. Wait until the judge asks you a routine jury polling question, then shout, “You can’t handle the truth!” 5. Ask to see the breast-feeding facilities. 4. Start booing and hissing whenever the defense attorney makes a statement. 3. When you’re asked to take the juror’s oath, insist on a Klingon translation. 2. Whisper loudly: “This show was so much better when Jerry Orbach was on it!” and 1. Wear a T-shirt that says: “I’m blogging this.”
Huckleberries hears
That Jim Thompson has lost his job as a corporate exec in charge of Duane Hagadone’s newspaper chain but will continue on as publisher of the Coeur d’Alene Press. Seems Hagadone isn’t happy with his newspaper profit margin … That radio buddy Dick Haugen got a pink slip for his second Christmas holiday season in a row. Last year, KXLY booted Haugen from his longtime job as KVNI’s voice of North Idaho. Recently, he was a layoff casualty at KGA (1510 AM), where he has co-hosted the 5 to 8 o’clock morning program with Larry Wier.
Huckleberries
Overheard (at Sandpoint High, courtesy of the Cedar Post student newspaper): “Imagine life without SpongeBob.” And: “Sandpoint’s whiter than a KKK conference.” And: “The good girls have boyfriends, so I just wait to be the rebound” … U.S. Sen. Larry Craig continues to be the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. A Christmas “scene” making the Internet rounds from the liberal Daily Kos blog shows a hand reaching under a bathroom stall to give the neighboring occupant a large candy cane … For kindergarteners, “sentences start with a capital and end with a ‘pyramid.’ ” And: ” ‘Quiet’ means two different things to the teacher and the students.” And: “If you teach ‘Jingle Bells’ to children, second- and third-grade boys will always teach them all the ‘Batman smells’ version.” All this, according to blogger Jen/A Butterfly Moment, a kindergarten teacher.
Parting shot
If you’re a newby who’s trying to impress locals by looking good and showing off your money, you’re a “fancy dancer,” according to HBO regular Stickman. Stickman isn’t impressed with natives caught up in sizzle either.