Huckleberries: Restored to health, CdA music man ensures that the bands play on

You wouldn’t know that Chris Guggemos of Handshake Productions had survived deep waters, as he worked the crowd at his downtown Coeur d’Alene concert Tuesday.

For 26 years, the Coeur d’Alene man has provided free summer concerts at three Kootenai County locations or more. The 26th year was in doubt when cancer, surgery and treatment caused Chris to lay low last year.

Chris has made no secret of his courageous battle with cancer, during the 2016 concerts and on his Facebook page. Many concert-goers knew of his struggle, including the six or so that called Handshake Productions this spring when Chris failed to publish the 2017 schedule.

Chris tells Huckleberries that the callers were tentative. They said something like: “Hello. I see that the website still has last year’s concert info. I know that the guy running the shows had cancer, and I’m wondering if he’s OK. And will there be concerts this year?” Chris would respond, “I am the cancer guy, and I am recovering nicely.” Relieved, they would tell Chris that he had been in their thoughts and prayers.

Chris was unable to provide the concert update as usual due to technical difficulties with the local website host. Finally, he got things ironed out, posted the new schedule – and the shows have gone on.

Not that brother

Christa Hazel, an attorney who recently ended her service as a Coeur d’Alene schools trustee, married into a family of attorneys and Gonzaga fans. The legal beagle brothers include husband Joel and Tony, a Spokane prosecutor who was appointed Superior Court judge this spring (and now is running to hold onto the job with the endorsement of this newspaper). Toss in Michael, an organizational communications grad-level prof at Gonzaga, and things get confusing, Christa tells Huckleberries. Through the years, Christa has introduced her brothers-in-law as “this is the one I’m not married to.”

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: To save myself/ from being stricken/ I never ever/ kiss a chicken – “The Bard of Sherman Avenue: Poems by Tom Wobker” (“Bird Flu”) … By the way: Councilwoman Kiki Miller of Coeur d’Alene and friends deserve a major hat tip for lining up advertisers for the free summer concert series offered this year by Handshake Productions. By the time Chris Guggemos returned to work from cancer surgery and treatment in December, Kiki and Co. had lined up half the advertisers for this summer … On Wednesday, I mentioned on my Huckleberries blog that a 30-ish female in Denver Broncos colors (orange blouse and blue shorts) was being handcuffed outside my Coeur d’Alene office window by local police. And a commenter quipped: “I think all Denver fans should be cuffed and stuffed.” Are you ready for some football? … Poll: Local chamber of commerce sorts won’t like the outcome to the Tuesday poll – 54.5 percent of my blog readers say they rarely eat, drink or be merry in downtown Coeur d’Alene … Tweetable: “(Wednesday morning) I saw a panhandler at Lincoln St. exit dressed like he was ready for Mariners spring training, complete with ball and mitt” – tweeted SR colleague Rob Kauder. The beggar would probably get more dough if the M’s broke .500.

Parting shot

So author/columnist/Huckleberries blog sub Cindy Hval was at the ice cream cooler of her local supermarket when she felt a hand grab her bottom. Angry, she explains on Facebook, she whirled around to confront the attacker, only to look into his “big, blue eyes as he grinned happily.” The male said, “Hi, hi!” Cindy spared him a lecture. She concludes: “It’s flattering to know a younger guy finds me attractive, even if he is in diapers and sitting in a stroller.”