Bad driver was at wheel of NIC car
As law student Pam I Am returned from Gonzaga to Post Falls the other day, she noticed a small Dodge pickup with exempt plates weaving in and out of Interstate 90 traffic near the state line. Three young goofballs were in the rig – one of whom was throwing things out the window at other vehicles. Miffed, PIA phoned the DMV and local gendarmes. But they wouldn’t tell her who owned the exempt plates. Finally, an Idaho Transportation Department clerk did: North Idaho College. Pam, however, encountered more bureaucratic rigmarole when she called the college. The two reps she called were more concerned that someone had fingered NIC as owner than they were about the errant driving. One did promise to “deal with the problem.” Right. “Why would they want to hide the fact that the plates belonged to them?” Pam I Am asked Huckleberries. Maybe they were afraid you’d call Huckleberries, and it’d appear in the newspaper?
Service with a smile
Before you criticize young men, though, consider the one encountered by Lee Sorenson last Monday during Lee’s commute from North Idaho to work at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Seems the call of glazed doughnuts hit Lee at the border. And the next thing he knew he was at the Krispy Kreme checkout window fumbling for extra change. He was 50 cents short for a box of the delights. Stressed, Lee thought he had only three alternatives: Visa, debit or check. But the clerk had a fourth option. Lee: “I notice as he digs into his pocket and pulls out change for the till, what a clean-cut young man this is with an extraordinary attitude for 5:30 a.m. on a Monday.” Not only that, but the clerk sent Lee off with a “have a nice day,” too. How could Lee’s day be anything but nice after that kind of start?
Quotable quote
“Oscar was a doorstop; Oscar was in the basement. I went through a period of false humility. I thought if I had Oscar out people would think I was full of myself. Now Oscar is in a beautiful étagère near my front door” – actress Patty Duke of Coeur d’Alene, responding to a question from AARP mag about where she keeps her Oscar for portraying Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker.” Duke is among the gracefully aging Oscar winners featured in the current AARP mag.
Poet’s Corner
“They have thrown us out/And they’ve locked the door;/We can’t watch them make/Sausage anymore” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Closed Meetings”).
Huckleberries
The worst pickup line ever, according to dating expert David Coleman, who visited WSU recently? “I might not be the best-looking guy here, but I’m the only one talking to you.” Which prompted Huckleberries Online blog reader Milt Nelson of Rathdrum to provide a Seasoned Citizen version: “Hi, cutie … do I come in here often?” … John Livingston’s wife has been giving him crewcuts for 55 years or so. After the latest cut, she noticed something for the first time. She’d trimmed more hair off John’s ears than his head. … Gotcha: In Post Falls Wednesday, a Berry Picker spotted a vehicle with Idaho “House 56” plates – and tabs that expired in December. And wondered if the car was headed to the Department of Motor Vehicles … Bumpersnicker (on a gray Pontiac Grand Am with Kootenai plates): “Somewhere in Texas there’s a village missing an idiot.” This, along with an Oakland Raiders insignia. Guess the guy supported two losers last year … Phil Corless/The Old Goat Trail published a Sports Illustrated list of “The 25 Best Sports Bars in America,” including Jack & Dan’s in Spokane (No. 6) and Corner Club in Moscow (No. 21).
Parting shot
On Spirit Lake Monday, an oldtimer entertained S-R photog Brian Plonka and other ice fishermen with his ritual after catching fish. Every time he landed a blueback, the codger’d hold it up to his face and growl: “Hello, Hillary.” The Clintons are gone from the White House. But not forgotten.