Huckleberries: Geese and quacking journalists come in gaggles

Geese aren’t the only strange birds that come in “gaggles,” according to Merriam-Webster. Journalists come in gaggles, too, because they fit the dictionary definition of “a group, aggregation or cluster lacking organization.” That certainly describes some of the press conferences I’ve attended in my 47 years as a newsman. M-W uses reporters and photographers as the example for its secondary definition of “gaggle.” Huckleberry Friend Jeanie Buchanan, of Spokane Valley, was thinking about the somewhat thinned ranks of White House journalists when she posted this information on her Facebook page Friday PM. The ones you hear quacking up outside Minister of Propaganda Sean Spicer’s office are from the understandably unrepentant New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Politico, Buzzfeed and much of the foreign media.

Technical difficulties

If you’re a Zags fan, you’ll know the punch line to this Facebook post by Linda Thordarson Harris, of Coeur d’Alene, from Thursday evening: “Got home just in time for the second half of the Zags (vs San Diego) game …” Linda was doing a not-so-slow burn, blaming the lack of a TV picture on the reception and badgering her huband to fix the problem. Then, he directed her gaze to the ticker at the top of the screen, telling of technical difficulties. D’oh! … Speaking of that Gonzaga-San Diego game, Marlisa Keyes, of Sandpoint, suggests: “It’s time to start a GoFundMe account for the WCC (West Coast Conference) to fix their technical issues” Bingo … Quotable Quote: “Winter is an awful lot like an ex-boyfriend who says he understands about the breakup but keeps calling every weekend to see if you’ve changed your mind” – SR Front Porch columnist Cindy Hval/Facebook.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “La La Land” was deceived./“Moonlight” won the prize./Warren Beatty was the clown,/In everybody’s eyes – Remember The Bard (“2017 Oscars”) … The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is now hiring “detention deputies” – $19.79 per hour. Two or three years of working in the cross-bar hotel in Kootenai County will qualify you for much more on Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s payroll. And you’re welcome, Spokane County … From Spokane police scanner (as heard by colleague Nina Culver Friday): A police officer wondered where his complainants were. The dispatcher told him they had to make a stop at Taco Bell first. Priorities … You want Scotch eggs with some HP brown sauce close to home? asks Christa Hazel, a Coeur d’Alene school trustee. Try Paragon Brewing, 5785 Government Way, Coeur d’Alene. Huckleberries seconds that emotion. Paragon dishes are displayed so beautifully, it’s a shame to eat them.

Parting Shot

In the “Rubbing Salt into Wounds” Dept, North Idaho College basketball announcer Dick Haugen Facebooks: “So the only local team to finish 30-0 in recent history is @NIC_basketball.” In its final season of National Junior College Athletic Association play (2015-16), the NIC men’s basketball team finished the regular season 30-0 before stumbling in the Region 18 and the NJCAA tournaments. Here’s hoping the 29-1 Zags don’t stumble again until they hoist the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship trophy in March.