EVERY END IS A BEGINNING...
That's what my 1972 high school class motto said, anyway...

Last week, someone or something hacked into my computer. The hard drive is FRIED. I lost all my files, all my pictures, and my handy-dandy "Roboform" program which took me automatically to pre-selected websites. Now I hafta surf the old-fashioned way...I have to actually re-remember all of my passwords. As a matter of fact, I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get into this blogsite, but I guess my own organic memory-chips are functional. Although sometimes I think my brain needs de-fragging.

So, I am typing this using a new computer tower that a friend gave to me. He's gonna fix my old tower and keep it for himself, I guess. That's okay; even tho that other tower was a bit faster, all I use the computer for is blogging, surfing and Ebay. I read in the newspaper this week that younger computer users are more into "instant messaging" while old folks (guess I'm one, huh?) tend to e-mail more. I don't have to be connected 24-7, alla the frickin' time. So, the end of my old computer means, the beginning of a new computer, and as such, probably a new difference in this blog. Probably not as many pictures as before.
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Well, in Coeur d'Alene, there should be enough going on now, to keep gossipmongers happy for another half-decade...a computer-porn scandal at the Kootenai County Courthouse, and the unwarranted firing of KVNI radio man-about-town Dick Haugen. It looks like the Courthouse should start playing it safe, while KVNI should play it less safe. Dick Haugen was the town's main voice in the morning; he had numerous business and political connections. The KXLY broadcast group, based in Spokane, Washington, obviously doesn't care; it owns KVNI, and can hire and fire at will. KXLY values the CDA market, but obviously they don't care what Coeur d'Alene residents think. I have no idea why Mr. Haugen was "torched", and only the powers-that-be know for sure. And get this...he was fired two days after his father's funeral. With Christmas, a time of joy and remembrance fast approaching. Happy holi-DAZE!

KVNI's heaviest advertising period of the day was when Dick Haugen was on the air. His morning show was a concentrated 3-hour dose of everything that's happening here in the area. And he worked long and hard. To prepare for a show that starts at 6am, well, you're there long before 6am! And then he'd turn around and do 'color' for local evening sports broadcasts, and pull all-nighters during election time, running down the results. But that's the modern-day workplace, where all the parts are interchangeable, so Mr. Haugen will get replaced with some wet-behind-the-ears yuppie, or, heaven forbid, AUTOMATION...anyway, another prominent voice in the wilderness, gone. Good luck, Dick. Everything will work out for ya. Every end is a beginning, after all.
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Finally, my house has sold. A new place awaits. The end of my time here in Coeur d'Alene is the beginning of my existence in a small town on the Oregon Coast. I have needed a change in scene for much, much too long. Coeur d'Alene will always have a giant piece of my heart. I grew up here, got most of my education here, and undeniably, this place has large a part of my heart. I have many good and bad memories of things that have happened to me here in North Idaho. And I've felt really depressed here. I guess I'm trying to "shake things up" a bit.

The place I'm going to is smaller, more laid back, and if you can imagine this, it's over 60 miles away from the nearest interstate highway. I look forward to walking the beaches; to not have to worry about below-zero cold in the winter and scorching temps in the summer. How long will I stay down there? It's open-ended. Maybe forever, maybe not. But I've gotta try this. I'm getting to the age where, if I don't do it now, I'll never do it. So, every end is a beginning. And "change" is the only thing that's constant.
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It'll take me a little while to get the computer up and running down there, but when that happens, I'll lurk, blurk, and perhaps even comment at "huckleberries". Regarding this blog, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. It's hard to concentrate with all of this stuff piled up in my living room, boxes and boxes of things waiting to get moved. So, all I can say now is "take care", and as the Desiderata advocates, "strive to be happy".