Merchants Overjoyed About The Underpass
Some people get all the breaks. On Saturday, they were the kids covered in fake vampire blood.
“We rode four times,” 9-year-old Kevin Mason said, trying not to swallow his plastic fangs. His buddy, Patrick Terlizz, nodded.
Darin Honodel gazed longingly at the Ferris wheel and asked the smeary-faced pair,”How much did it cost?”
It was free. But now it’s over.
“I wanted to ride it!” the 13-year-old said, resigned.
It’s not like the younger guys wanted to rub it in or anything. Darin only missed the clowns, the petting zoo, the magic show and the wagon rides. That’s all.
“Man!” Darin said.
The fun hub-bub was at Argonne Village. Merchants were elated because of the impending opening of the Argonne Road underpass, ending a year-long business dry spell.
“The amount we were down was incredible,” said Jason Moline, assistant manger of Super Save Drugs. Commuters found short-cuts, no longer passing the shopping center. Some thought stores there were closed. “It’s a welcome end,” Moline said of Monday’s underpass opening.
Sounds like a reason to party. And party they did.
Hundreds of folks descended on the stores Saturday like gnats to brown bananas. Many of the gnats were kids.
As the Ferris wheel turned on blue-and-white spokes, the cool kids looked half asleep. It’s no big deal, man.
Others were goofy and giddy. They’d giggle and hold their hands out, shaking, as if they were either going to clap or grab their face and scream like Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone.”
And parents? Well, some couldn’t cope. Mary Meier watched her 13-year-old son get hoisted in the air. She tried it herself, but only made it around twice. A recently deceased turkey sandwich was haunting her.
“It goes reaaallly slow,” Meier said, watching Matt’s bench sway in the wind. “And the car rocks a lot.”
Adults tended to like the wagon ride instead.
“We probably gave 1,000 rides,” Larry Edmonds said as he trailered his two Clydesdales.
While the horses may have been tuckered out, merchants were smiling. “It’s been the busiest day we’ve had in a couple years,” Moline said of Super Save.
Pet City sold clear out of kittens. It was so busy that even Jack, the prankster parrot, was too pooped to pop off. He usually drives the staff crackers by mimicking the telephone ring or the door chime.
“He’s been pretty quiet today,” manager Tami Dombrosky said. “It was a little too much for him.”
, DataTimes MEMO: Valley Snapshots visits weekend gatherings of all kinds in the Spokane Valley. If you know of an event that might be of interest to readers, please let us know. Write: Valley Snapshots, Valley Voice, 13208 E. Sprague, Spokane, WA 99216. Call: 927-2170. Fax: 927-2175.