Huckleberries: Rock hound was in right place at right time to save wandering girl

A Huckleberry Friend was in the right place at the right time – to protect a little girl who had wandered away from her mother Thursday evening.

The Coeur d’Alene woman who asked to remain anonymous enjoys hunting those painted rocks that have cropped up around town for the last year. (See: Coeur d’Alene Rocks Facebook page.)

Ms. Rock Hound was searching for painted rocks at McEuen Park when she noticed the girl outside the popular children’s playground. So she kept an eye on her. Good thing. Minutes later, the little girl was about to walk out between two SUVs parked in the busy McEuen lot nearby.

“I hustled up there, held her hand and walked her back to the playground to find her mommy,” the woman said. “She was with me for about five minutes. I was on the phone with 911 when her mom (arrived).”

The Huckleberry Friend can only imagine what might have happened if “some creepy pervert” had found the girl instead of her. She warns: “Keep your eyes open when you’re out there.”

And if you find a painted rock while you’re doing so? That’s so much the better.

Archives

A quarter of a century ago, we were talking about “masseuses” at State Line busted for prostitution. A lead item in Huckleberries at the time told of a “masseuse” who was writing her wedding vows when “the Marines landed.” The item continues: “She was spelling out her love and devotion in the form of a poem. Apparently, she plans to keep working nights after the wedding, though. She didn’t put anything in the vows about ‘forsaking all others.’ ”

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: Roll the presses/print big bunches;/everybody/likes free lunches – “The Bard of Sherman Avenue: Poems by Tom Wobker” (“U.S. Monetary Policy”) … Watching a blond man-bun bike in front of the Coeur d’Alene Resort Monday, Huckleberries wondered: When will the man bun go the way of the mullet? (It can’t happen too soon) … A Huckleberry Friend spotted the perfect Idaho attire worn by a taxi driver picking up a fare at Coeur d’Alene Life Care Sunday: A Hawaiian shirt. Overalls. And a camo baseball cap … Happy 30th anniversary: On July 18, 1987, North Idaho College trustees in cooperation with the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations dedicated the NIC beach to the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe. A sign along Dike Road explains that the beach is the tribe’s “Hnya’(pqi’nn” (pronounced “hin-yap-keehn-un”). That’s “Gathering Place,” for all of us who don’t speak the Coeur d’Alenes’ dialect … Poll: Huckleberries blog readers are split on the impact of Avista sale to Hydro One of Canada – a plurality of 37.5 percent expect business as usual, while 36.8 percent predict things will go downhill while rates go uphill … Just a reminder, author Heather Branstetter will discuss her popular local history, “Selling Sex in the Silver Valley: A Business Doing Pleasure,” from 6 to 7:30 Wednesday evening at The Well-Read Moose in Riverstone.

Parting shot

So a teenager was manning the cash register at Cold Stone Creamery at Riverstone on Saturday evening when a middle-age man with a shaved head approached with his ice cream. “Do you want a tip?” asked the cuss-tomer. “Sure,” said the kid. Cuss-tomer: “Don’t go outside in the rain without an umbrella.” Kid: “Huh?” The cuss-tomer repeated himself. His wife laughed. The kid behind the counter stood silent with a blank expression. The cuss-tomer began to explain the joke. Nothing. Oh well. At least the “tip” provided a way for Huckleberries to leave you smiling today. You get the joke, right?