Autograph seekers find rogue love

While other media tried in vain to interview Sarah Palin on her recent book tour, Huckleberries Online simply embedded a Berry Picker with the ex-VP wannabe when she visited North Idaho. Christa Hazel was in the right place at the right time to be drafted by the extended Palin family into helping with the book signing in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint. Christa sent photos and text messages to Huckleberries Central throughout the day. Afterward, she provided this personal account of the Sandpoint native who’s the talk of this country: “I sum her up as gracious, charismatic, engaging and energetic. She seemed to be in a zone meeting/greeting/ signing. She was unbelievable in her stamina for all the signatures. She smiled as brightly in the evening as she did in the morning as she was boarding the bus from the (Coeur d’Alene Resort).” And: “I never saw her frown, look tired, sigh from fatigue, or rest. Todd Palin was the same way. I also noticed that she spent extra amounts of time in Sandpoint for the students that interviewed her for a school assignment.” At Sandpoint, Sarah Palin endeared herself to her fans further by wearing a UIdaho sweatshirt. Seems her fortunes, like the Vandals, are on the upswing.

More Palin

Christa offered this brief comment re: Todd Palin: “The former First Dude is of slight build, like a runner. He looks handsome in person. He is in the 5’9 to 5’10-ish range. He was nice, warm and friendly. While he didn’t hog the limelight, he was present and participating. He greeted everyone immediately after Sarah Palin greeted them. He signed some books when asked” … In Case You Wondered: Fifty-nine percent of my online crowd said they considered anyone to be crazy who’d wait all night at Fred Meyer in single-digit temperatures for Sarah Palin’s autograph. Another 28 percent said the Palin devotees were “inspired,” while 8 percent said they wish they could believe that much in a politician … Here’s what Palin tweeted about Coeur d’Alene afterward: “Coeur d’Alene = awesome! Proof that these ‘non-traditional’ tour stops r more than worth the effort 2 reach out&hear from 1000s of heartlanders” … On her Raspberries blog, Trish Gannon, publisher of the River Journal, described how cold it was at the time of the Palin tour: “It’s so cold that I’m shaking like Sarah Palin taking a geography exam.”

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “Roll the presses/print big bunches;/everybody/likes free lunches” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“U.S. Monetary Policy”) … Overheard: As Cindy Hval exited Boo Radley’s/Spokane recently, a small child and his mother blocked the aisle. The frazzled mother held a box that the boy had evidently opened. The kid who looked about 3 wasn’t happy either. He said loudly, “My face is NOT smiling. It is NOT happy right now!” Cindy fell in love with the phrase and plans to use it as her own from now … Huckleberries Poll: 91 percent of my online crowd said the state of Idaho should sell the unused governor’s mansion.

Parting shot

At North Idaho College, Sentinel columnist Connor DeVries has had it up to here with instructors harping on “social equality, racism, feminism, commercialism or whatever.” He doesn’t want to hear about Bush’s mishandling of the Katrina disaster from his anthropology instructor. Sometimes, he said, “the constant barrage of agitprop usually doesn’t even make sense.” One instructor, for example, waxed poetic about the evils of corporatism for 15 minutes and then invited the class to attend a lecture about the Kroc Center. Quoth Connor: “The instructor had obviously never wondered how the Kroc Center got its name.” Sounds like things haven’t changed since I attended college back in the late ’60s when Ray Kroc was transforming McDonald’s into a global presence.