Huckleberries: Not your usual business card, but it did the trick

Contractor Kevin Serr of Compass Construction, a disaster restoration business, usually doesn’t receive a resume scribbled on the back of a Keystone Light beer box that once held 12 cans of 12 fluid ounces. But he did this week. From a fellow named Ken, whose qualifications, according to his beer-box resume, include a valid driver’s license, two snow blowers, chain saws and a power-line tree trimmer. Kevin, a Coeur d’Alene resident who also serves as vice president of the Spokane nonprofit Blessings Under the Bridge, was intrigued by the unusual application. Or was it a business card? He appreciated that Ken had repurposed the beer box. Also, Kevin suspects that the applicant is like many of the people to whom he serves meals under an I-90 overpass on Wednesday nights – someone trying to get by from day to day. Kevin told Huckleberries that he’s going to reach out to Ken. Mebbe give him a job and a backpack. And a stack of business cards?

Spare tires

When Julie Titone tells you to check your spare tire, she’s not talking about the one you earned honestly by refusing to do push-aways from the dinner table. She means the one in your trunk. The former North Idaho regional editor for this newspaper squandered seven hours of her life, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., recently trying to fix a flat tire. Snafu begat roadside service glitch in icy conditions. Stir in bad luck overall and you have Julie’s day. Julie, now with Sno-Isle Libraries and living in Everett, learned this lesson: Make sure you can remove your spare tire from your car. She couldn’t. Nor could the two strong men who service tires for a living. A VW dealership was needed for the job. You’ve been warned.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner – “Someplace the days are sunny/and someplace skies are clear;/someplace the buds are blooming,/but someplace sure ain’t here” – the late Tom Wobker, The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Someplace,” from Sept 4, 2012) … So how high is the snow in your ’hood, Debra Cashman? High enough for the dog to trot across it and over the 5-foot fence. Which isn’t all that bad, the Rathdrum teacher tells Huckleberries. She’s more concerned that the moose, elk and deer might trot back over from the other side … Huckleberries is sad to report that Java on Sherman is closing its doors with a “Java’s Moving On” party from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday after 22 years in downtown Coeur d’Alene. However, the Java shop in Hayden will remain open … Singing the Winter 2017 Blues: “Oh my aching back. Even with a snowthrower, moving slush and ice is a bear” – former KHQ broadcaster Hugh Imhof, now retired in Spokane … Fan Mail: “Thank you good sir for letting me know that I am old as dirt” reader John Bennehoff re: Huckleberries comment that those who remember the old Tiparillo cigar ad slogan (“Should a gentleman offer a lady a Tiparillo?”) are as old as dirt.

Parting shot

After a six-week trial run, Huckleberries will drop down to a four-times-a-week column rather than five times – Tuesday through Friday. You can teach an old dog like Your Huckleberry Hound new tricks, like writing five columns per week instead of one. But he’s still an old dog.

You can contact D.F. Oliveria at daveo@spokesman.com and/or follow him at www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo or @HucksOnline.