Cindy Hval

I’m not a fan of surprises. The exceptions being ones that involve flowers, candy or jewelry. Other than that, I like schedules, routines and order.

Leon and Dale Brown beat the odds, both surviving a year as corpsmen in Vietnam − and coming to each other’s aid on the battlefield and at home.

Jeunette Nelson was born in 1912, the same year the Titanic sank − but unlike the ill-fated ocean liner Nelson really has proved to be unsinkable. As her 103rd birthday approaches on Nov. 16, she said, “I think I’m going to start counting backwards, now!”

On Saturday, Pope Francis arrived in Cuba, hailing the detente between the United States and Cuba as a model of reconciliation. But for Cuban national Denia Correa, who came to the United States as political refugee, the Pope’s visit is just one more sign that after 19 years, she may soon get to see her family again. “My childhood was very good. I grew up in the country, rode horses and learned to drive a tractor,” Correa said. “But I always knew I wanted to leave Cuba.”

As whirlwind courtships go, this was a tornado. Ken Lewis met Carolyn Boyette on a Monday, secured a date with her on Wednesday and had an engagement ring on her finger by Friday.

Poetry is as timeless as language itself and a local group offers a supportive forum for poets, both novice and accomplished. Since 1937, Poetry Scribes of Spokane have met to share poems, offer feedback and indulge in their love of verse.

The spicy pepperoni beef sticks were gone. So were the Corn Nuts. We pondered the teriyaki beef jerky beneath the sickly flicker of the florescent lights at the Break Time in Houston. I paused to make an entry in my journal/reporter’s notebook.

Tech. Sgt. Stacy Trosine is on the journey of a lifetime. The Fairchild Air Force Base airman is hiking 710 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, much of it alone, in honor of three soldiers she served with in Afghanistan. She started the trek on Aug. 8.

Storytime is always a popular activity at Spokane Public Libraries – especially during the summer months when kids flock to sign up for the summer reading program. But on Aug. 4, a larger crowd than usual filled the South Hill Library. More than 150 kids and adults jostled for space, eager to meet the special guests who’d come to read a few stories.

When I received an email notifying me that a local media group had won a silver CINDY award, I was puzzled. I didn’t know I had an award to give, let alone one for “programming that achieves the highest levels of excellence in production value and message effectiveness.”

He circled warily, his small bike wobbly on the grassy lawn of the North Side apartment complex. He glanced at the boxes of books as he circled ever closer. Finally, pushing his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet firmly on his head, he approached the blanket where a teacher from Shiloh Hills Elementary School sat ready to read him a story while he slurped on an orange Popsicle. The books, teachers and Popsicles arrived via the SHOWmobile – or, Shiloh Hills on Wheels – summer library program.

Her name was Feather. She had huge blue eyes and wavy black hair, and she was my first best friend. My sister informed me that her name was actually Heather, but I thought Feather was a far more exotic and suitable name for my flighty friend.

The hollow thunk of a foot hitting a rubber ball rang out across Grant Park on Sunday afternoon. Dog-walkers, bike-riders and others out for a leisurely stroll paused to watch the unusual action. “Um. It looks like they’re playing kickball,” a man said to his companion.

I loved to listen to her talk. Though soft-spoken, Betty Schott, 98, had a sharp mind and an even sharper sense of humor. She smiled easily, laughed often, and called me “honey.”

The first time John Wilkens saw his future bride, Edith had the mumps. He caught a glimpse of her on the staircase when he came to came to see his sister who was friends with Edith’s sister. The mumps didn’t put him off, and Edith liked what she saw, too.

Imagine being told you could learn to juggle at any age – that the flexibility and mobility issues that often accompany aging aren’t barriers to tossing some colorful beanbags in the air and catching them. Then what if you were told that juggling can improve brain power, concentration, dexterity, reaction time and may even help prevent Alzheimer’s?

The road to true love may never run smooth, but in Archie and Awana McLauchlin’s case the road to matrimony was bumpy indeed, and involved both a car and a bus breakdown. They met in the fourth grade when Archie briefly attended the same small Oregon school as Awana. “I was only there for three days and she’s the only thing I remember,” he said.

Thirty-five years ago, when Mount St. Helens erupted, a layer of ash covered the region like a grimy, gray blanket. It was dirty. It was dismal. And it was a pain to clean up. While most residents bemoaned the ugliness of the ash-coated landscape, Shirley Johnson saw a glimmer of beauty in the grime.

It seems the dirge lamenting the demise of printed books and the stores that sell them was sung a bit too soon. Last month, the Christian Science Monitor featured an article about the rise of independent bookstores.