Huckleberries: Sid’s cheerleading ability may come in handy

Come with me, if you will, back to the school year 1995-96 and Coeur d’Alene High. I’m one of the judges for the Mr. CHS competition. The talent portion is under way. On stage is senior Sid Smith. He doesn’t have a guitar. He isn’t going to lip sync. He has no props. I know Sid. He’s a year older than my son, Seth. The two have played on the same Viking football teams. Sid’s a popular, yet reserved kid. I wonder what talent Sid will display to the judges. Then, he starts yelling and bouncing all over the stage. I make out some words, like “Go Viks.” Mild-mannered Sid is going cuh-razy. Jumping. Screaming. Tumbling. I’m stunned. So are the other judges. Minutes go by. Sid’s still at it. I begin to realize he’s doing a good job as a mad cheerleader. In the end, I award Sid a perfect 10 for talent for being so creatively un-Sid. He either won the overall Mr. CHS competition or finished among the leaders, I can’t recall. But I know that he’ll need his cheerleading ability now, after leaving his job as U.S. Sen. Larry Craig’s Idaho press secretary to become executive director of the Idaho Republican Party on Feb. 14. Rah!

Garage, sweet garage

In case you wondered, the answer is generally between $57,000 and $85,950. The question? How much do the units in CdA’s GarageTown USA cost? This, according to the latest New York Times article that focuses on the CDA/North Idaho area. On Feb. 1, Kristina Shevory reported for the Times Escapes section that GarageTown (the brainchild of builders Cliff Mort, Jae Enos and the late Tom Johnson) looks “like industrial warehouses with metal siding, roofs and roll-up doors. Step inside, and the units can resemble an art gallery or rec room.” She focuses much of her story on Michael Hunt, who bought two units – one for use as a batting cage and gym for a baseball team he coaches and the other to shelter his fishing boat and Mercedes convertible. “I have fun when I’m here and so do my kids,” Hunt told the Times reporter of his GarageTown getaway. “Our house is a toy box, and this is much quieter.” Now, you know how the other half lives when they have more toys than a three-car garage can hold.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: Beneath the snow and ice/that choke us,/still fast asleep is Spring’s/first crocus – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Sweet Dreams”) … Berry Picker “Zelda” remembers winter 1968-69 both for deep snow and for Union 76 balls. Sez she: “The Union 76 stations did a brisk business because everyone wanted one of those orange 76 balls to put on the end of the aerial so you could be seen at intersections. Now what do we do?” … Another blog commenter described North Idaho as “three months of winter and nine months of tough sledding” … Councilman Woody McEvers announced to Huckleberries Online that the feud between Time Warner and KAYU that blocked KAYU Fox programming had ended with this note: “Got a call from Bruce at Time Warner, KAYU FOX is back on cable. … ‘Simpsons’ and, oh yeah, SUPERBOWL! Sweeeeet …” Indeed … Weeks ago, Sara Anderson/f-words blogger figured Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani should quit the prez sweepstakes when she saw their political calendars discounted 50 percent while those for John McCain and Hillary Clinton were full-priced at the Moscow mall. A clerk said all the calendars shoulda been marked off. Still, Sara was right about Giuliani.

Parting shot

You can imagine how Joan Harman/Dalton Gardens felt after shoveling 2 feet off the driveway and then around the dog pen when she saw a snowplow approach. She was standing next to the road when the plow passed, creating a berm that blocked the driveway. Joan sighed. Then, she watched amazed as the driver backed up, extended his blade and shoved the new berm out of the way. “Here I am entering my mid-50s and finally discovering a nice snowplow driver.” Such small acts of kindness keep us going during this mother of all North Idaho winters.