Cindy Hval

Not all widows are gray-haired senior citizens. In February 2007, Chris Buob’s life changed dramatically. Her 49-year-old husband suffered a stroke and died.

The corn is high in Harold Rooks’ garden in south Spokane. A rooster crowed from the chicken coop as Rooks checked the status of his ripening tomatoes. A shiny red tractor sits just outside his back door. “My wife would never let me buy one,” Rooks said, and chuckled. “When I get there she’s gonna kill me!”

Not all widows are gray-haired senior citizens. In February 2007, Chris Buob’s life changed dramatically. Her 49-year-old husband suffered a stroke and died.

Lamaze breathing techniques recently helped me endure an excruciating experience at the grocery store. Shopping shouldn’t be painful, but on this sunny Saturday, I experienced a “perfect storm” situation at the checkout line. And like the hapless victims on Gilligan’s Island, my three-hour tour stretched into an eternity when I was stranded in checkout purgatory.

It’s fair to say that Mary Ann Wilson, creator and host of the hugely popular “Sit and Be Fit” exercise program, never expected to appear in New York City’s famed Central Park. But that’s exactly where she’ll be on Friday and again on Sept. 30. Partnering with the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Wilson, will be the featured guest at two live events in Central Park. The events are part of Fitness Fridays – a series of group exercise shows that are part of a citywide effort to draw older adults into the park.

Certain talents run in families. Some boast generations of excellent cooks or writers or musicians. In Sue Borg’s family, a knack for cheerleading seems to be genetic. Borg and her daughter, Sarah Bunney have been coaching the Shadle Park cheerleaders for the past 10 years. The family has a long history with the school. Borg, class of ’68, was a Highland Dancer and met her husband, Greg there. Bunney, class of ’90, was a cheerleader, and her sister, Leah Borg, ’02, cheered as well.

Cash-strapped college students often look for ways to stretch their meager resources. Tom McKay did. In 1940, while attending Eastern Washington University (then Cheney Normal School) he gave rides to several students from Spokane to help defray his gas costs. “I had to pay 18 cents a gallon,” he recalled. One of those students was a pretty girl named Louise. In their daughter’s Otis Orchards home, Louise described their first meeting. “Tom stopped by my house with a friend. These two brash young men were bragging about everything.” She smiled. “They were so cute!”

When Grant Yates retired after a lengthy career as an auto mechanic, he and his wife, Joyce, sold their home in California and moved to Deer Park. Never one to sit idle, Yates indulged his love of woodworking and began crafting birdhouses in his shop. He placed them in their spacious backyard among Joyce’s lush plants and flowers.

According to an official mayoral proclamation, June 30 was decreed Florence Hansen Day in Spokane. Who is Florence Hansen? “She’s somebody who has a great passion and commitment for helping others,” said Jeff Thomas, associate director of Frontier Behavioral Health. Hansen is a longtime board member of the organization.

It’s faded and threadbare and its edges have begun to unravel. I pulled the white-flowered pink towel from the dryer and folded it, carefully smoothing the frayed trim. Each time I find it in the laundry I set it aside to go in the rag pile, only to snatch it back and replace it in the linen cupboard.

Certain talents run in families. Some boast generations of excellent cooks or writers or musicians. In Sue Borg’s family, a knack for cheerleading seems to be genetic. Borg and her daughter, Sarah Bunney have been coaching the Shadle Park cheerleaders for the past 10 years. The family has a long history with the school. Borg, class of ’68, was a Highland Dancer and met her husband, Greg there. Bunney, class of ’90, was a cheerleader, and her sister, Leah Borg, ’02, cheered as well.

If given the opportunity many kids would spend the whole summer playing video games or watching television. Not 7-year-old Carter Thomas. His Tuesday and Thursday summer evenings were spent running with dozens of other children, ages 5 to 13, in the Mile by Mile Family Running Club. Recently, as he waited for the group to gather at Holmberg Park in north Spokane he confided, “I do races all the time – sometimes by myself.”

In 2008, when we last visited Hugh Grim, two towering vintage windmills stood sentry in his yard at the southwestern edge of Spokane. The retired construction foreman had discovered a fascinating, labor-intensive hobby – restoring these relics of rural engineering. When asked if there was another windmill in his future, Grim said, “We’ll have to see what happens.”

Lynn Jackson came up with a unique way of asking a girl out while attending high school near Lansing, Mich., He had an old hand rotary press that he used to print up “date cards.” From his South Hill living room, he smiled at the memory. The cards said, “Will you go out with me?” he recalled.

In 2008, when we last visited Hugh Grim, two towering vintage windmills stood sentry in his yard at the southwestern edge of Spokane. The retired construction foreman had discovered a fascinating, labor-intensive hobby – restoring these relics of rural engineering. When asked if there was another windmill in his future, Grim said, “We’ll have to see what happens.”

Under sunny skies at Mirabeau Park in Spokane Valley, Nick Lunga is living his dream. He spun, twisted and shouted as he attempted to break the hold that a very determined German shepherd had on the chew toy in his hand. His efforts proved fruitless.

I’ve always been a hands-on journalist, because I believe the best reporting comes from actively experiencing community life. I’ve sat on a $600 toilet, flown in a biplane and fired fancy handguns, all to accurately report a story. But Saturday, I took hands-on to a whole new level when I was invited to judge the Knobbly Knees and Bonny Knees contests at the Spokane Highland Games. For more than 50 years, folks from around the region, and even the world, have gathered at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center to celebrate all things Scottish. The heavy athletics competition anchors the annual event. Kilt-clad contestants throw hammers and toss cabers among other traditional contests.

For some teens history is either a class they have to pass or a list of recently visited websites. For Mt. Spokane High School’s Richelle McDermott history has become a passion. In May, McDermott took first place at the National History Day state contest. “I was very jazzed!” said Mt. Spokane history teacher Luke Thomas. “I’ve been teaching this for eight years, and this is the first student I’ve had place.”

The Spokane River beckoned under a balmy sky at Camp White in Post Falls Thursday afternoon. Nathan Mayfield, 2, couldn’t wait to get his feet wet. “Go to pool?” he asked, pointing to the shimmering expanse of water. His mom, Jessica Andrew, 18, laughed. “That’s a big pool!”

A few years ago, when gas prices hovered around $4.50 a gallon and the country stood mesmerized as each passing minute brought another sharp increase to the pumps, I realized our garage resident and source of pride since Henry Ford plopped the first engine into a Model T, had morphed into a gas-guzzling bucket of tin. I also realized my frivolous driving habits had hit the brick wall of reality. It was time to rely on mass transit for my work commute.

I remember when I was in my early teens, my mother had surgery and was home recuperating. She asked me to run upstairs and get something from her dresser. In performing the errand, I saw a note she had lying next to the item I was to retrieve. It was a list of questions for her doctor, one of which stated “OK to resume relations?” It took me several seconds to figure out what that meant – and then I was horrified. My mother? Having sex? With my father? Oh please, God, let it not be so.

Sometimes falling in love has painful consequences. For Jim and Andy CastroLang it meant giving up another lifelong love. The couple met in August 1981 at Blessed John XXIII University Center in Fort Collins, Colo. Andy had been hired to facilitate campus ministry. Jim was a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest.

Don’t be alarmed if you see dozens of miniature Mel Gibsons running around town on Aug. 6. Chances are the kids have just come from the 2011 Spokane Highland Games. Braveheart face-painting with accompanying balloon swords is just one of the many family-friendly activities offered at this year’s Games. However, those who prefer real sword action won’t be disappointed. “We’re going to have a Claymore demonstration,” said Ruby Devine, co-chair of the Spokane Highland Games. A claymore is a Scottish broadsword. “It’s a very large sword,” Devine said. “Mike Winderman and Eric Slyter will offer sword-fighting instruction as well as a demonstration.”

Tomatoes and strawberries aren’t the only thing growing at Riverfront Farm. On a recent Thursday morning, the urban garden teemed with kids sporting Green Collar Job Corps T-shirts. Green Collar Job Corps is the youth entrepreneurship and employment initiative of Project HOPE (Helping Our Young People Excel). “We’ve got 28 kids from ages 11 to 19 involved,” said board president Andrew Larson. “We’ve grown every year.”