Huckleberries: As fortune would have it, they’re basking in presence of children

Most of us enjoy reading fortune cookie messages. They’re fun and generic like horoscope predictions. But Coeur d’Alene water superintendent Jim Markley and his wife, Debbie, don’t take the fortunes for granted. Seems the Markleys had tried for five years to start a family, without success. After much disappointment, the couple learned Debbie was pregnant. But they dined out at Peking North in Spokane with friends, before telling anyone. The fortune cookies made ’em do it. Jim’s read: “You will live to a ripe old age, happy in the love and respect of many children.” Debbie’s fortune said the same thing. Take it away, Jim: “Eight months later our son was born!” Unknown to the Markleys, a close friend saved the fortunes and gave them framed copies when their son was born. The Markleys now have two children. Jim says his fortune cookie prediction fits to a T: “I count ‘two’ as ‘many’ and am happy in their love and respect.  I am still working on the ‘ripe old age’ part.” Aren’t we all?

Deep-six Box 1167

Baseball clubs retire numbers of famous players. Mebbe the U.S. Postal Service should retire P.O. box numbers of infamous customers. Take the Aryan Nations, for example. Please. Seems P.O. Box 1167 outlived racist Richard Butler’s Church of Jesus Christ Christian in Coeur d’Alene. Earlier this year, that number was bestowed on Citizens for Better Education, a group backing conservative candidates in the Coeur d’Alene school trustee elections Tuesday. The post office number created a brief hubbub in the local blogosphere Thursday as some wondered if there was a connection between the two organizations. No one knew for sure who was involved in Citizens for Better Education until activist Duncan Koler, of Hayden, came forward to tell Chelsea Bannach of this newspaper that his group “strongly opposes” anything to do with the Aryans. It’s time to deep-six P.O. Box 1167.

Huckleberries

Speaking of fortune cookies, stout Councilman Mike Kennedy got this message at Panda Express last week: “Work on improving your exercise routine.” Sez Mike: “Thanks for nothing, Panda Express” … If you spot a man in a ditch along Highway 95 near Hayden Super 1, you might want to do this before calling 911 – see if he’s playing video games, like that guy was Friday. EMTs are busy … At the Kootenai County Demo luncheon Friday, Lakes Highway District candidate Dan Malcolm told how he wanted to move back to Wallace from Cottonwood as a kid because his new town had no pretty girls. His father told him to check out the girl in the desk behind him. Dan then motioned to wife, Carol, and said: “… 47 years later.”

Parting shot

Cindy Hval, of Spokane, who’s my sub on the Huckleberries Online blog (www.spokesman. com/blogs/hbo) and a writer for the Voices, had a close encounter with a racist eyebrow technician recently. After admiring Cindy’s nails, the tech asked her where she’d gotten them done. Cindy told her. Then, the tech asked: “Are they white? I only want to have white people do my nails.” Cindy said she had to “shut my gaping mouth because she had hot wax in her hand. But how I wish I could have thought of something appropriately withering to say.” The lack of a tip probably said enough.