Mr. H not the only one with big boat
You may know that the biggest megayacht owned by a Kootenai County man is Duane Hagadone’s Lady Lola. But did you know another local owns a megayacht only a few feet shorter? Spokane’s Dave Lenartz was sailing the ocean blue in his 45-foot Megabyte, reputedly the third-largest boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene, when he pulled into Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and spotted a monster that shared the same hailing port: Coeur d’Alene. At first, Dave thought he’d found the Lady Lola. But he learned from the crew he was wrong. It was the Lady J – about 190 feet long, with a grey steel hull and three full-size decks. After describing the Lady J to friends via e-mail, Dave asked: “Who else besides Duane Hagadone has this kind of money from Coeur d’Alene?” Answer: Gary and Jeaneen Norton, owners of Silverwood Theme Park, near Athol. BTW, Gary has a ready reply when asked how he got the Lady J from CdA to wherever: “with a very big trailer.” It’s a rich man’s joke. (Huckleberries Online has a link to photos of the Lady J: www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/nhb).
Interlopers Anonymous
First, you should know that an “interloper” is “a person who mettles in others’ affairs.” Onward. In his CdA Press column last week, weather diviner Cliff Harris took a swipe at the SR while grousing about the accuracy of Washington forecasters in predicting North Idaho weather. Seems he was set off by finding a free copy of the “interloping Spokesman-Review” in his driveway. And used that to rant about the supremacy of “backyard weather observers” over Washington types. Speaking of accuracy, let’s look at Cliffie’s winter forecast from Nov. 29: “I still see a very SNOWY (his caps, not mine) mid-December through the end of January six-week cycle, even at the lowest elevations, where 30 to 40 inches of white stuff may accumulate with double the amounts in the ski resorts of the region, maybe even triple, near 120 inches (10 feet) in places. Skiing should be great.” Anyone who makes a prediction like that and still calls snow “white stuff” shouldn’t criticize others.
Poet’s Corner
Our legislators and their flunkies/are more laughs than barrels of monkeys;/but speaking frankly, heart to heart,/I fear they may not be as smart” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Idaho Legislature”) … My dentist likes a fun day/Serves treats to kids on Monday./But the gas he used/Had him confused./And he made an ether sundae” – John Austin (“The Meaning of Ether”) … “There’s more than one way to skin a cat and if you really need a good icebreaker to loosen up a group of criminally insane men in a state hospital just ask for some ideas on that one!” – Dave Salsbury/Random Shallow Thoughts.
Huckleberries
For those keeping score at home, Marina Kalani, the ex-drug court queen who’s embroiled with Prosecutor Bill Douglas at the heart of the Kootenai County Courthouse e-mail tug-of-war, changed her name in fall 2002 from Marion Keegan. She’s part Polynesian and wanted her name to sound that way. Works for me … Separated At Birth: OK, the photo on Huckleberries Online does make Prosecutor Douglas look a bit like Bill the Cat of Bloom County fame. Now, leave it alone … BTW, Lenartz (See: first item above) deserves credit for saving a 72-year-old man who was spitting up blood by piloting the Megabyte through 50 miles of rough seas as evening turned into night to Mexico’s Baja shoreline. The rescue was written up in Latitude 38, a West Coast sailor’s mag.
Parting Shot
On the day Terri Schiavo starved to death with judicial approval, the American Family Association offered this bumpersticker @ 50 for $47: “Remember Terri (www.stopliberaljudges.com).” Vultures – AFA Online, I mean, for trying to make hay outta this tragedy. As far as the judges go, my words for Greer & Co. can’t be printed in a family newspaper.