Huckleberries: When the sting of Tequila provides relief

As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted by my retirement Aug. 17:

Pecky Cox, of Priest Lake, hunts mushrooms alone. Mushroomers are like huckleberry pickers. They don’t tell anyone, even BFFs and family, where the best spots are. But Pecky has other reasons for her solitary quest for the perfect mushroom. It upsets her when careless friends step on mushrooms and small forest flowers. So she was alone up No Tellum Creek in Bonner County, Idaho, when she spied a prize chanterelle. Or, at least, she thought she was alone. As Pecky dug around the chanterelle, she was buzzed by a bee, the first of many. Stunned, she tossed dirt in the air and ran, leaving knapsack and mushroom stash behind. Only later, as she returned to gather her things, did Pecky feel the “cigarette burn” on her cheek. She said a bad word. Still later, as the pain and swelling from the injury intensified, she asked Facebook Friends how to deal with the sting. More than two dozen offered remedies. Benadryl. Witch hazel. Chewing tobacco. But “tequila” was the most popular response for Pecky. Quipped a friend: “Tequila on the inside and something else on the outside.” And, if the pain persists? Add salt and a slice of lime. And repeat.

A friend indeed

Christa Hazel, of Coeur d’Alene, discovered that Ryan Phillips was a friend, indeed, when her misbehaving Corgi, Millie, knocked the cellphone out of her hand and into Hayden Lake recently. Ryan? He’s the former Idaho Vandal legend and NFL footballer who provides color commentary with Dennis Patchin on the Vandal Radio Network. Christa’s cellphone, including driver’s license and important key cards, disappeared under a dock. The temps were in the low 50s that morning. Christa was dreading the short trip for a long wait at the local DMV when Ryan jumped into the lake to retrieve her device and cards. Understates Christa: “Now, that’s a friend.” One in a million.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “The leaves on the maples/are red as the dawn;/today they’re on branches,/tomorrow, your lawn” – Tom Wobker, The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Gentlemen, Start Your Rakes”) … After directing the crowd-pleasing collaboration of “Carmen” by Opera Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane Symphony at The Fox, Jadd Davis, of Coeur d’Alene, shaved his upper lip. In doing so, he bid adieu to his “Swanson.” Fans of the sitcom “Parks and Rec” will understand the reference … As Don Sausser watched from his condo perch in downtown Coeur d’Alene, the scene below reminded him of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. For about an hour, seagulls played tag with children and unsettled the huddled masses eating on the front lawn of the Coeur d’Alene Resort at the end of the recent Coeur d’Fondo bike ride. No, the late director Hitchcock didn’t make a cameo appearance in the Lake City’s version of “The Birds” … Bumpersnickers (on red Ford sedan) parked near North Idaho College: “Caution: Driver just doesn’t give a (crap) anymore.” And: “You call me a pervert like it’s a bad thing.” Huckleberries could comment on the driver’s outlook. But s/he wouldn’t care.

Parting shot

Shirley Stafford Thagard, of Hayden, was surprised to see her cable bundle soar over $170 per month after Time Warner Cable became Spectrum. So she did something about it. She reduced her cable channels and dropped her land line. Only to discover that her bill inched upward to $179. She buzzed Spectrum to complain. And was told by a representative: “Well the more services you have the more discounts. When you eliminate the services, the discounts are removed.” Any other questions?