Huckleberries: Names give storms a homey feel

Spokane residents may have names for the storms and Mayor Mary Verner’s snowplow crew (many of which are unprintable). But we in Coeur d’Alene call our storms “Abracadabra.” Or “Bonanza.” Or “Crystal Run.” The one that blew through the Inland Northwest during the last week of December was “Debbie Sue.” The next one will be “Enchanted Forest.” If you think those names sound familiar, you’re right. They come from various North Idaho ski runs. And were part of the winning list submitted by avid snowboarder Logan Nosworthy, a Bryan Elementary fourth-grader, in the Coeur d’Alene Street Department’s annual name-that-storm contest. However, you won’t see listed “Pend Oreille,” the name of Logan’s favorite Schweitzer run, because spring should arrive before we get anywhere near a storm with a first letter of “P.” Knock on wood.

Snow penmanship

A bold woman has a thing for a guy named Brandon. Condo residents at Coeur d’Alene North awoke New Year’s Day to discover this message dug in the snow on the front lawn of the Coeur d’Alene Resort below: “I (Heart) Brandon.” Which is classier than the yellow signatures left in the snow in alleys by drunks who stagger nightly from downtown watering holes … In the “kids ask the darndest questions” department, Bailey Brodwater, 9, of Twin Lakes, asked mother Taryn Hecker-Thompson recently: “Why isn’t a ‘W’ called a ‘double-V’?” Anyone? … Obviously, Kootenai County Democrats need to rebuild their party after the last elected member (County Clerk Dan English) was swept from the courthouse in November. And they can start by changing their website. Which names Thom George chairman. Thom resigned a month ago … You can put that snowplow driver who lifted his gate to avoid plowing in my driveway after that “Debbie Sue” storm in the “may his kind increase” category.

Huckleberries

After Christmas, the Coeur d’Alene Church of the Nazarene offered this readerboard message for borderline worshippers who darken church doors semiannually: “We are here Easter, too” … You know you’re in North Idaho, Toto, when you see seven deer on Hanley Avenue during a trip to the Silver Lake Mall, as my wife and I did Dec. 27; they were an impressive sight … After he had been diverted from Oklahoma City to Albuquerque, N.M., to Denver and finally to Spokane en route home to Portland, my daughter’s boyfriend, Aubrey Perry, exclaimed: “I realized in Albuquerque that I’m not in control of my life. Southwest Airlines is” … Credit Coeur d’Alene Realtor Tom Torgerson for saving an old upright piano abandoned in the snow in a new Fernan Lake subdivision Wednesday. Tom snapped a photo, posted it on his Facebook page, and, voila, Ben Miller, one of his Facebook friends, “adopted” the forlorn instrument, with help from other FFs. Ben’s been laid up since New Year’s Day when a drunk ran into him. Ben plans to make beautiful music with his adopted piano as an antidote for his crash blues.

Parting shot

KHQ’s Mike Perry was in Post Falls trying to track down the Mega Millions winner Wednesday when he saw a man at Exxon Jifi Stop (Seltice Way and Spokane Street) checking his lottery ticket. Mike heard the lottery loser mutter: “You gotta have all the right numbers or you don’t win nothing.” Bingo.