Summer's Last Hurrah...
Labor Day is upon us...is that a collective sigh of relief I hear?

Coeur d'Alene has basically turned into a tourist town, and a good tourist season will probably be just that needed shot in the arm for local businesses. And, I can't blame tourists for being tourists. Well, after tomorrow, Labor Day, tourist season will pretty-much be over. But not for me...I'm gonna be heading outta here in October for a while, because I am in dire need of a change of scene. So I'm gonna be one of them $#@!! tourists. Hopefully, I can be considerate enough to coexist with the natives and not seem obtrusive, and hopefully I'll be able to flow with traffic, unlike the time I was headed up 4th Street, a NORTHBOUND one-way street, near Java on Sherman, and someone made a right turn (SOUTH) from Sherman, coming at me head-on. That motorist was an out-of-stater. How do you plan for THAT? "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!"

Jerry Lewis came back to us dept.: I saw a little of the Muscular Dystrophy telethon, you know, that big annual event where stars of the past, present and future get up onstage to sing, hoping that Joe Bluecollar will dig deep and send in a donation. It's a noble thing, really. Although it's easier to contribute if you're a rich star. Hopefully they're contributing in a proportionate sense. In short, if I send in ten bucks, a star should send in, maybe 10-thousand dollars? They'll miss their ten-thousand less than I'll miss my ten bucks! Especially since I already donated this year. Over $5,000 to the Ironwood Medical Community for all kinds of "services rendered". So I can't contribute to Muscular Dystrophy, but if they want me to, I'll go onstage and sing! A lot of people will send in zillions of dollars...if I promise to STOP singing, that is! OWOOOOO.......

Some things never change dept.: I went to the store today, 'cos I needed a few essentials. Albertson's had green grapes for 88 cents a pound! Wow! Wish they were priced that low all year long! Anyway, as the checker finished checking and bagging my order, once again, it happened. I can never stuff the bills into my wallet and dump the coins into my pocket fast enough...by the time I've done that, the customer in back of me is paying for his order. In short, I try, try, try, but I can never get out of the checkstand fast enough! I'll pose this question: Am I a bumbling, imbecelic KLUTZ, or does this happen to everyone? Even at the coffee shop, when I pay and get change back, it seems like an eternity, me trying to get my money put away so I can pick up my coffee & cookie and sit down somewhere. The customers in back of me are probably thinking, "Get the HELL out of my way, you idiot...I haven't got all DAY!!!" (At least, that's what I think they're thinking. Do I think too much?)

What's this, "green space inside the city limits?" dept.: There indeed used to be green space in our town. Or, at least, OPEN space. I remember walking from my house up to the grocery store where I worked, and I crossed a big grassy field up near Borah School. We lived in a wooded area, and I would cut across a lot full of trees, and walk down another path to go to school. Mom would send us kids to a small store on 12th and Best (Anyone remember the LONE PINE GROCERY?) and my sister and I would ride our bikes in the Monte Vista subdivision, long before there were any houses on 12th or 13th in the area of McFarland Avenue. There were dirt roads at the time (back in the 70s); now when I drive in that area, it always blows my mind to see all those houses there, even though they've been there for 20-odd years. Because I remember that area when there was NOTHING there. Except dirt roads.












This here photo gets a little bit bigger when you click on it. Ah, the wonders of cyberspace...

Anyway, here's a shot of Coeur d'Alene (it's a 'dark' photo, sorry), and if you look in the middle of the picture, or at mid-upper-left, you can see OPEN AREAS inside of our city way back when. I think that big building in the foreground is CDA Homes, the retirement place, but I'm not sure. And at the bottom of the pic you can see Northwest Boulevard, and Canfield Mtn. at upper left, and Best Hill at upper right. The photo was taken somewhere around 1950, give or take a few years. I think that's why City Park means so much to me. A place that's still undeveloped, with plenty o'flat space to cavort in (except during weekends and holidays in the summer, that is).

When post-baby-boomers become grandparents in 30 years dept.: The following little drawing I've included here is meant to represent our gas situation. Right now, we can afford gas to get to where we're going. Of course, we might have to buy less food or other commodities...buy "store brands" rather than "name brands", perhaps. Or, heaven forbid, buy instant coffee instead of that latte'...now, THAT would take some serious adjusting. But anyway, I'm drifting off-topic here...you think gas is high? Well, it IS...but it could be worse, and probably will be. So, this is what YOUR kids are gonna be tellin' THEIR kids...














My parents used to tell me the same thing. Although, when I began driving in 1971, I was paying a cool 27.9 cents a gallon for gas. I could give THE ATTENDANT (that's right, you didn't pump yer own gas back then) a five-dollar bill, fill up the tank and get CHANGE BACK. If I had all of that gas I wasted cruising up and down Sherman during my high school days...I could stockpile it and never have to buy gas again. Or, I could sell YOU some for, say, 50 cents a gallon; you'd save and I'd profit. Oh, wait...there's that nasty thing called "inflation" out there...neverrrrr mind.........
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Those of you who stop by here a lot know I'm cutting back on my posts. I think I try to be an out-and-about know-it-all, and I just can't keep up that kind of energy. Maybe no one cares about what I think anyway, regarding topical, well, "topics". I'll still blog probably twice at week for the forseeable future. Unless something really hoses me. Then, the fur will fly, the hammer will fall, and I'll roar out of the blog-gate.