The lost art of SHARING THE ROAD...
...OR, why you shouldn't use the freeway any more than necessary!

It almost happened again dept.: Coeur d'Alene is blessed (and perhaps cursed) by the presence of Interstate 90, which cuts through the north part of town. A lot of us who live here hop on the freeway, to get from one part of town to the other, and I do that too. I may have to change my driving tactics...

Tonight, it happened again. I entered the highway on the Lincoln Street on-ramp, and as I did, I saw another 18-wheeler barreling down the highway to my rear. Again, there was no one in the left lane. Again, the trucker did not move over for me, so I could merge. Again, I had to drive for about 50 feet down the shoulder of the road, slowly, so he could pass me so I could get into the right lane! Again, I JUST ABOUT GOT KILLED OUT THERE!!!

It's pointless for me to complain about this. Truckers aren't gonna listen to me, after all. I can rant and rave about this all I want, and express my feelings about how I feel that professional truckers think they own the damn road, and how their driving habits seem to be getting worse and worse, but I won't do that.

What I will do, however, is think twice about getting on the freeway if all I'm doing is going from "point A" to "point B" here in town. It's just not worth it for me to take the risk of entering the Interstate highway unless I absolutely have to. That's one of my New Years' resolutions...one which might just save my LIFE!
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I'm not sure if I can swallow this dept.: On the news just now, there was one of those "stranger than fiction" news stories about a guy that got mad at his girlfriend for being on the cell-phone all the time, so he forcibly opened her mouth, and tried to shove the cell-phone down her throat! It had to be surgically removed!

Now, I must admit, I've kinda had the same thought, whenever I've seen someone who's driving in busy traffic, yakking away on a cell-phone. To JUMP IN THEIR CAR and CRAM IT DOWN THEIR THROAT! Well, even if I was so inclined, I'm not agile enough to actually do that. So another one of my New Year's resolutions will be NOT to get a cell-phone this year! I can't afford to; I've gotta watch out for all the other driving BOZOs who are yakking on theirs!
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A bit less for your money than before dept.: With a lead-in like that, it's only natural that this is a blurb about gas prices. A & D Mini-mart, where I get gas, has been really trying to keep their gas prices down. Well, the bad news is, it rose two cents a gallon, but the good news is, it's still under $2.00, but just barely. Fearing the worst, I got gas there yesterday for $1.99. The Exxon station at the corner of Gov't Way and Appleway has the same price.

Another reason why I use A & D, is that their pumps are the easiest ones to use. I tend to get confused by all the different gas pumps out there; each with their own "procedural" programming that you have to perform, just to get gas. I have pulled up to some pumps I couldn't figure out at all, and the clerk has actually had to come out and show me how to do it. And, I could actually hear that clerk muttering all kinds of mean & nasty things under her breath as she tromped back inside to resume her cash-register duties.
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I resolve to make resolutions dept.: See? I've already succeeded. I've made two "resolutions" up above. Well, it's time for me to make two more. First, I need to watch my diet more closely. Even though I've had severe gout attacks, I've relapsed into having the occasional gravy-covered eggs and hashbrowns that make breakfast almost a religious experience for me. And, I've gotta stop that. So, I resolve not to tempt fate as much by eating salty things. I've been 'better' this year, but I've still got a ways to go. Me around a bag of potato chips is like an alcoholic around booze. My junk food cravings get THAT bad.

Also, even though I can't do as much as I used to do, I've gotta get into the health club more, and use the exercise bikes and swimming pool, if nothing else. My weight has held steady the last coupla years, so maybe if I get moving, I can lose some weight and ease things on my joints just a bit. Maybe I'l take a walk around the dike road, since a lot of the snow around here has disappeared. I'll be easy to spot...I'll be shuffling along the road, sorta like Tim Conway on the Carol Burnette show.
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Okay, here's where you gotta help me out dept.: I get photos of our area from various sources, which I post here, and it's fun, because I can provide some of my own memories, since I've been around here since the Ice Age. But, I'm not sure about this picture, so if you know where it was taken, you can let me know, and I'll post yer answer right here....>>>***<<<....right THERE...for everyone to see.
This is an old black and white photo of Coeur d'Alene lake. Whoever took it was really good at generalizing; you can see the caption, "upper end Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho". My question is, "where ON Coeur d'Alene Lake?" My semi-educated guess? I can see a town on the shores of the lake, and I think that's the little burg of Harrison, but I'm not sure. This photo was probably taken before the advent of color film, say, early 1950's or thereabouts. (Late '40's?) So, put on your thinking cap (but don't lose any sleep over it!) and let me know what you think!
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So, anyway, have fun with your resolutions. You might as well make one or two, because if you don't make a resolution, well, you've "resolved" NOT to make a resolution. In short, "no choice IS a choice"!!!