Huckleberries: While the poet rode his bicycle circuit, his lady fair played for others’ supper

While Roger Dunsmore rode his utility pole circuit Monday, his wife, Jenni, played for others’ supper.

Roger, as you may recall (Huckleberries, April 24), is a retired University of Montana professor and top-notch poet who delivers poetry to the Coeur d’Alene masses in an unorthodox manner. He nails about 50 copies of a selected poem of the month to telephone poles.

The poem du jour for June is Quan Yin’s “Prayer for the Abuser.”

While Roger peddled his bike and stapled poems on his circuit ride, his poet/musician/artist wife Jenni Fallein was playing her guitar with Dale Young near The Art Spirit Gallery on Sherman Avenue. They and other musicians were participating in the 4th annual Street Music Week fundraiser in Coeur d’Alene.

The money for the Second Harvest food bank was slow in coming in Monday. “Maybe I should push the bucket into the middle of the sidewalk,” Dale joked, nudging the red bucket farther into the pedestrian space. “After all,” he said, “we’re doing this to feed people.”

Musician Doug Porter, in front of Christmas at the Lake, wasn’t attracting many donations either. At the corner of Second and Sherman, however, the Coeur d’Alene Youth Marimba musicians were a hit. Huckleberries didn’t check to see how much money was in the marimba bucket.

Coeur d’Alene still has a chance to take part in this terrific fundraiser started 15 years ago in Spokane by S-R columnist Doug Clark. The Coeur d’Alene musicians will perform at noon on Sherman Avenue for the rest of the week.

A pot to pee in

While conducting research for a writing project, Nic Casey of Coeur d’Alene discovered that urine was used in ancient times in the bleaching process for making white clothing. One line he stumbled upon was this: “Roman clothing manufacturers even kept pots outside their doors for passersby to pee in.” Nick found this fact interesting enough to print on his Facebook wall. And Huckleberries found it interesting enough to re-print here. But neither of us will blame you for saying: “Eeeewww.”

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: They can’t divide/ nor work with pi,/ but yet how well/ they multiply – “The Bard of Sherman Avenue: Poems by Tom Wobker” (Poem: The Pigeons Odd Mathematical Talent”) … If you enjoy Frisbee golf and haven’t played the challenging/fun Corbin Park course at Post Falls, you’re missing out … In the “Art Linkletter Kids Say the Darndest Things” category, 8-year-old Levi Pleger of Hayden wondered about the venue for his next piano recital. Levi had tickled the ivory for oldtimers at a local care facility previously. Levi asked his mother, Mandy: “Are we doing my recital at the old people’s orphanage again?” … Among the 911 calls Monday: A female with a bottle of champagne and her pants half down was sunning herself on the Centennial Trail near the popular LaPeep restaurant in Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone development. Huckleberries doesn’t envy the officer who responded to that one.

Parting shot

First you should know that St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things (or finding things). Which brings us to this question from Huckleberry Friend Anne Marin of Coeur d’Alene: “Who does one pray to when they have misplaced their St. Anthony pendant?” Anne, of course, was “asking for a friend.”