Huckleberries: After 58 years, Larsen’s perfect game still a wonder

You may have forgotten, but last Wednesday was the 58th anniversary of the only perfect-game, no-hitter thrown in the World Series – by Don Larsen of the New York Yankees. Larsen, who now lives in Hayden, blanked the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0. Everyone was dumbfounded by the feat, including Larsen and famous, longtime Yankees PA announcer Bob Sheppard, who said: “If Nolan Ryan had done it, if Sandy Koufax had done it, if Don Drysdale had done it, I would have nodded and said, ‘Well, it could happen.’ But Don Larsen?” Larsen’s career was otherwise unspectacular. In 14 Major League Baseball seasons, Don posted a record of 81 wins and 91 losses – and a 3.78 earned run average. He may still commemorate his extraordinary feat with a vanity license plate that reads: “DLooo” – for Don Larsen (no runs, no hits, no errors).

It doesn’t add up

Feeling lazy, Coeur d’Alene High instructor Bruce Twitchell stopped for dinner at a fast-food joint along U.S. Highway 95 recently. He gave a $20 bill to the cashier, who typed in $30 – and counted out $16.70 in change. Realizing he’d made a mistake, the clerk said: “Uh, I need a calculator. Hold on.” A minute later, the clerk found a calculator and punched in 20 minus 13.30, to show that he needed to give $6.70 in change rather than $16.70. Says Bruce: “Here is someone that is getting paid to work with money, and could not figure out that since he punched in $10 too much, to just subtract $10 from the change.” Adds Bruce: “And that’s why I continue to teach.”

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: Kombu?/No can do./Nori?/Same story – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“On Eating Sea Vegetables”) … Tongue firmly cheeked, a Huckleberries blog wag, pseudonymed “LastDemoInIdaho,” dismissed a possible plan in Dalton Gardens to scare urban deer away by shooting them with paintballs: “Paintballing will do nothing to deter the experienced flower-chompers after one or two splatters. They will likely sport their new colors as badges of courage!” … And the answer is: Ya betcha. Question for city of Coeur d’Alene website poll for October: “Do you take advantage of the city’s annual free leaf pickup?” Great public service … “Joker,” another Huckleberries blog wag, comments: “Why don’t we just scrap all elections in Idaho? Seriously, think of how much energy, time and money is wasted every year on these elections. The Republicans win every year. Let’s make things efficient and move to a monarchy or an emperor of Idaho.” Don’t think Idaho Republicans haven’t thought about it … Did the cellphone belonging to Constitutionalist Ray Writz really go off during his Senate District 4 video debate with Republican Mary Souza on the Coeur d’Alene Press Online? Bad form … Quotable Quote: “Every college major should have a published probability of moving back in with your parents” – Bjorn Handeen, of Coeur d’Alene … When told that GOP superintendent of schools candidate Sherri Ybarra was launching an online effort to produce a campaign slogan, blog commenter “GrayUser” deadpanned: “Couldn’t she just copy one off a website somewhere?” You get caught copying online wording from your opponent’s website once – and they never let you fuhgeddaboutit.

Parting shot

In the “I Think He Said Yes” category, Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon gave this answer to Huckleberries re: issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, if ordered to do so: “I have sworn to follow the Constitution. I will not abandon that oath. I take it seriously. I will follow the orders of any court of competent jurisdiction, which at this time is the Supreme Court of the United States.” Stay tuned.