Cindy Hval

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.”

Love can make a person do unexpected things. For Rusty Clemons, it motivated him to wash dishes at his brother’s Colville restaurant. A pretty waitress named Marie had caught his eye. One night when the dishwasher didn’t show up, Marie offered to pitch in, and Rusty quickly volunteered to help her.

I’m no Rich Landers. This thought occurred to me last week, as I scanned the woods around me and looked in vain for something that resembled a trail. I’m quite sure this newspaper’s outdoors editor doesn’t often get lost in the woods. Particularly, when those woods are located within a gated community in Spokane Valley.

Tomatoes and strawberries aren’t the only thing growing at Riverfront Farm. Last 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.”

The newest attraction at Riverfront Park provides modern city kids a taste of old-fashioned country fun. Now, in addition to riding the painted ponies on the Looff Carrousel, children have an opportunity to ride the real deal. On April 23, Story Book Farm Ponies began offering pony rides, just across the river from the Carrousel.

There’s a new toy in town but its origins are positively prehistoric. The Recyclosaur, a Tyrannosaurus rex model kids can decorate, made its retail debut in April at Whiz Kids in River Park Square. Made entirely in Spokane from 100 percent recyclable and recycled materials, the Recyclosaur is the latest creation of 21-year-old Peter Thomas.

The newest attraction at Riverfront Park provides modern city kids a taste of old-fashioned country fun. Now, in addition to riding the painted ponies on the Looff Carrousel, children have an opportunity to ride the real deal. On April 23, Story Book Farm Ponies began offering pony rides, just across the river from the Carrousel.

A couple weeks ago, Derek and I took our 25th wedding anniversary celebration on the road and journeyed to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore. Our official anniversary was in March, but we’ve been celebrating ever since. After stocking up on red licorice and beef jerky, we programmed Lee (my GPS) and hit the Oregon Trail via Starbucks on North Hamilton.

Eastern Washington University dedicated the Walter and Myrtle Powers Reading Room in the former Hargraves Library May 26, . The tale behind that dedication involves a globe-spanning love story. Walt and Myrt Powers met 65 years ago at Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara in California. She was a Marine dietitian working in the dispensary and he was a Navy surgical technician. “I thought she was the most beautiful Marine I’d ever seen,” said Walt.

To know Ray Daves was to love him. And last Thursday, Trinity Baptist Church overflowed with people who loved him. Daves, 91, the Navy radioman who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Yorktown during the Battle of Midway, died June 3.

You know, I really didn’t mind the rain this spring. In fact, I kind of enjoyed it. My friends are none too happy with me when I say as much, pointing out how seeds have rotted in the ground, how they’ve been delayed in planting tomatoes (possibly resulting in too short a growing season for said tomatoes), how the weeds have proliferated, how the bugs are rampant and how it’s been too awful out to go golfing, boating, bike riding or … well, pick your outdoor recreational activity of choice.

The hospital can be a scary place for kids. That’s why Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital created the Clubhouse. Located on the fourth floor, the brightly painted room with its blue floors and red tile offered respite for children whose family members were being treated at the hospital. Under the watchful eyes of caring adults, kids could create crafts, watch movies, enjoy video games or play with toys. In 2009, the Clubhouse fell victim to hospitalwide budget cuts.

On Mother’s Day, my husband and sons spoiled me as usual with flowers and breakfast in bed. But the following Friday, I celebrated the holiday again – this time with a group of very special moms. For the past 15 years Catholic Charities Spokane and Spokane Consultants in Family Living have sponsored a luncheon for mothers of all ages and backgrounds with one thing in common: they are birth mothers.

If Mary Grayheck had let vanity rule the day, she might never have met her future husband, Roy. In 1946, she worked in an office at the Bremerton Shipyard and lived in a nearby dormitory for single women.

When Cole Ramey is on the basketball court with the State 2B champion Northwest Christian Crusaders, people notice. His red hair shines like a roadside flare and his lanky arms and legs churn in constant motion. But what many people don’t know is that Ramey considers every shot he sinks a miracle. As a second-grader, Ramey attended his older brother’s basketball game at a local middle school. While waiting for his brother, Ramey and some friends clambered around some volleyball equipment. He climbed a few steps on the referee stand and reached for volleyball net pole.

For many kids, middle school can be an unpleasant experience. For Jacob Hanes it was horrifying. He lived in Tennessee at the time, and the intelligent, articulate student became a frequent target of harassment and bullying. “If you weren’t white, Baptist, straight or Republican, you weren’t wanted there,” Hanes said. “Every day I was attacked by other students. I’d come home with black eyes.”

When Michael Lee prepared to move to the United States from South Korea two years ago, his dad gave him some advice about American culture. “When you’re talking to someone, look the person in the eye, and when someone sneezes, say, ‘God bless you.’ ” Lee came to the U.S. to finish his high school education, joining his brother, a student at Eastern Washington University. His father’s advice must have helped. Colleen Thornton, Lee’s counselor at Mead High School, said, “Michael acclimated quickly to the language and the culture.”

Connie Sisco knew something was wrong when it took her son, Alex George two years to remember the letter “T.” Sandwiched between an older sister and a younger one, Alex seemed like a really bright kid. “But,” she recalled, “he couldn’t remember letters.” He struggled through first grade, and in second grade underwent a battery of tests. “My heart grows cold when I remember … ” said Sisco. A neurologist at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital approached her with tears in his eyes. “The doctor said, ‘He’s the kindest boy, but frankly we can’t understand how he processes any information at all. We don’t even know how he can walk.’ ”

Gina Pfau has learned to avoid large crowds. For her the common cold can create uncommon trouble. “If I get a cold, I’m out twice as long as most people,” she said. That’s because germs that cause many to merely sniffle and sneeze can put Pfau in the hospital. The 27-year-old medical assistant suffers from cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States.

Some folks hanker for simpler times. They long for the Old West era, when you could spot the bad guys by the color of their hats. Days when skills like good riding and fast shooting garnered praise. One local group does more than pine for the good old days – they’ve recreated them. In 2000, Northwest Mounted Shooters introduced the fast-growing equestrian sport of cowboy mounted shooting to the Inland Northwest.

Writing a book is a lot like giving birth, except it takes a lot longer than nine months and nobody offers you an anesthetic. For the past 18 months, in between newspaper deadlines and family responsibilities, I’ve been writing my first book, “War Bonds: Love Stories From the Greatest Generation.” The book is a collection of stories about couples who married during or shortly after World War II – many of them featured in my Love Stories series in The Spokesman-Review.

Lauren Champlin and Emily Busch loved playing at Gleneden Community Park. Known as “Moose Park” because of the large moose statue near the playground, this neighborhood gem had all the ingredients for fun. Tucked away in the Gleneden neighborhood, the park’s five acres include a large grassy meadow, perfect for family softball games or soccer scrimmages. The girls enjoyed clambering over rock outcroppings and playing hide and seek among the trees. Swings, slides and a zipline offered hours of summer fun.