Second Anniversary

Today marks the second anniversary of Bayviews. I've written 250...Well, this will be 251 posts over those two years ranging from Humor to frank opinions.

8005 folks have visited me during that time, with 15,197 page views. I've had a great time doing this. I hope some of you have enjoyed it too.

Not Travelin'

Now that I have crossed all the i's and dotted the T's, I'm ready to take off for the sunny southland...Except...I'm not going after all. (Reminder to self...call S/R and uncancel February delivery)

Several things kind of all came together, I decided I didn't want to leave. First, accommodations at my first stop became iffy. Then my Daughter called, saying she would be out of town. Besides, if I left, where would people get their potato salad fix.

I'm staying here. Home is where the heart is.

I, along with Backwoods Bob, my computer guru, am developing a site that will strictly be about the Captain's Wheel. It will be called, "As The Wheel Turns." We will feature special events and entertainment info along with the special of the day...That sort of thing. It will be fun, and let hungry people know whether tonight is the night for that special treat.

It will be designed to operate from INWBA. I've already lost the URL, but will come up with it soon.

A Town With a Complex

I grew up in the shadow of Seattle, Washington. I have lived in other, even larger cities. While I really like at this stage of my life, the laid back environs of Bayview, I can't help wondering about Spokane.

Opening my paper this morning...No actually, I didn't have to open it. One the front page of the Spokesman-Review today was a picture and a headline. Not unusual at all. What I felt was unusual was that it was a picture of two sports reporters from ESPN.

It has long been held that reporters interviewing reporters is not news so much as that is is a form of Journalistic Incest. Above this picture of reporters covering the Ice Skating Championships is a Banner Headline remenicient of the pronouncement of the end of World War 11, saying,"IN THE SPOTLIGHT."

I've always thought that front page headlines are for front page news, not a sporting event. The evidence here points to the Paper, and the City, having a huge Inferiority Complex.

Coming Events

I will be out of town during most of February. Before I go, I would like to acquaint everyone with coming attractions at the Captain's Wheel.

This Saturday, January 27 kicks off our annual Beach Party. In complete denial, we are ignoring that by the calendar, it is still Winter. Live music, tricycle races, beach balls, drink specials, limbo contests...I haven't heard if there will be bikini contests or not.

February 24 will be our Mardi Gras Party. Best costume prizes, drink specials...Loads of fun.

March 12? St. Paddy's Day, what else. The theme will be a Pajama Party. Live Music, Prize for best PJ's.

Come on down Saturday night...Your last chance at Herb's Potato Salad until March.

Cab Tales...One More Thought

Aside from the occasional crisis, many fun times were had as well. Most of the great night spots that were around back then are gone now. Sherman's, The Cotton Club, scrubby old Betas, and of course, Chelsea's.

Chelsea's was a bar that booked Blues Bands. Good ones. It also had a well developed drug culture. This wasn't necessarily management's fault, it just king of followed the musical scene.

One night there was a band playing there that went on break. When they lit up in the parking lot, Coeur d'Alene's finest descended upon them. It turns out the smoke was under Idaho statutes, a controlled substance, of which it was unlawful to possess or use. Marijuana. Pot. Acapulco Gold. Stinky Weed.

When the break didn't end, some curious wandered out and discovered the problem. Not accepting defeat, and with the knowledge that the bar was full of underemployed musicians, volunteers jumped on the stage, and finished out the evening.

I visited Coeur d'Alene recently. Well, actually, I was a refugee from the power outage caused by the big wind storm that moved through a while back. I hadn't spent any time in the City much since I moved to Bayview lo these twelve years ago. The only watering hole that was familiar was the Iron Horse.

Downtown Coeur d'Alene had morphed into Yuppie Heaven, with wine and coffee bars lining the streets. I thought it was a flashback to the early Sixties in Malibu. I felt like a foreigner. I fled back to Bayview...My comfort zone...

Cab Tales...Stuff

A lot of strange things happened while I drove cab, but it is necessary to point out that these interesting incidents are punctuated by hours upon hours of boredom.

Occasionally though, things got interesting. I think back to the apprehension of the man that stole Shasta's life from her, and how, when I was driving, after the bar crowd had been taken home, I would have been at Denny's that night, and would have immediately dove into the deal.

On another occasion, I was driving the Photographer Son of a prominent Innkeeper late one night. They wanted to visit the cash machine at what was the bank at 3rd or 4th and Sherman. The only problem was that in circling the block to hit the cash machine, I used the alley between Sherman and Mullan.

Exiting an alleyway can be tricky, since if you are tired, and careless, and enter a one way street, you can find yourself going the wrong way. I did, and the City's finest was right on it. Unfortunately, and incidentally, I would like to see this changed, there were no one-way arrows pointing which way was one way, when exiting the alley.

Fortunately, as the aforementioned passenger got out and used the cash machine, the officer warned me and let me go. The Coeur d'Alene Police were pretty good about letting simple stuff slide, as long as the violation wasn't a safety issue. Later, a young Red Head Rookie tagged me twice in the hwy 95 35MPH zone while in an emphasis patrol.

That pretty much ended my cab career as I couldn't afford the insurance rates that the tickets earned me. (The violations were 8 and 9 miles over the limit after 2:30 AM without any conflicting traffic)

Competition Gets Fierce

There were at the time I was cabbing, two companies competing with each other. Sunset Taxi, my company, and Taxi by Hall. Taxi by Hall was owned by the same guy that repairs two way radios, and had our frequency on a portable that somehow fell into the hands of their drivers.

This kind of changed the chemistry, as they used cell phones, knowing that a radio signal can be heard by anyone with the right frequency. I noticed a sharp increase of fares that were no shows, especially if we were running a little behind. After discussing the situation with some of our regulars, we found that shortly after calling us, Taxi by Hall would show up.

Sometimes they would explain that we called them to help out since we were very busy. That never happened. Once, I caught the driver in the act of stealing fares, and took the passenger back.

Finally, I devised a code sheet which named the common stops such as the Resort, Chelseas, Iron Horse,and so forth. On the chart I devised, we had four possible numbers, which changed with a prefix number denoting the column to be used. The drivers had numerical charts, the dispatcher had alphabetical so that they could go right to the proper business name.

From that time on, we never lost another customer through cheating. The moral here, is it's not nice to eavesdrop...

Cab Tales...Honesty Pays

Some of the more fun times were with the bartenders around town. We had a policy that if a bartender worked in a bar that used our service, they went to and from work free.

We also had our regular patrons, many of them older folks that didn't drive anymore. One such customer was a sight impaired lady that lived up on Miles in Hayden. Once a month she would take a cab to town and cash her Social Security check. She got to know us by our voices. That will be part of another story.

On an evening after taking this lady to town and returning her home, I had occasion to pick up an off duty bartender from the now defunct Gibbs Tavern, on Northwest Blvd. This lady was kind of drunk. Actually she was knee walking pee in the corner drunk.

I got her to her apartment, and half carried her and her purse in, flopped her on her bed and left. The next day I got a call from our office wondering if I had seen a purse belonging to the blind lady. Bingo. I raced down to Gibbs and asked them if they had an unidentified purse.

They did. I and the bartender, not the same one, opened it and ascertained that one, it did belong to the lady in question, and two, that an envelope containing several hundred dollars was still there. The drunk bartender, waking up and finding a purse that didn't belong to her had without looking in it, brought it back to the bar, figuing she had grabbed someone elses when she left.

I counted the money in front of the duty bartender, then drove it up to her house and returned it. After assuring her all the money was intact, I left.

Three days later, my boss, (Jerry Anderson) handed me $100.00 as a reward. I was uncomfortable about accepting money for just being honest, but he said that the customer insisted on it. So I took half of it down to Gibbs and shared it with the honest bartender. It turns out that there are more honest people out there than many would imagine...

Cab Tales...Prisoner

Perhaps the most difficult story to tell is the one I'm about to describe. I saved it to last because it is such an emotional experience, both for me and the victim.

One night, I got a radio call from Texas Bob. He had picked up a woman wandering around scared, beaten and looking for help. Since I was in charge of the shift, I arranged a rendezvous with him to take charge of his passenger.

She was scared and had been badly beaten. The story she told was chilling. Her live in Boyfriend was a Meth addict and perhaps a dealer. He got mad at her, threw her into his truck, drove to Fernan Lake, where he stripped her and threw her into the water naked.

As she managed to wade ashore, he came back. He threw her back into the pickup, raped her, (she called it rough sex) and threatened to kill her. He then took her home, where he barricaded the door to a bedroom, not allowing her access to the rest of the house, or freedom. That imprisonment lasted several days, while he apparently waited for her bruises to disappear.

Somehow she had managed to escape while he was out. It has to be pointed out at this time that she was injured too badly, prior to this for an escape. I called the Women's shelter, but there wasn't space for her there.

Her parents lived in Hayden. I offered to take her there. She started to go for that, until she realized that the guy that did all this to her would head straight there. I took her to my place and left her with a place to sleep.

The next day I called the Coeur d'Alene Police, and had an officer meet us at my home. A criminal complaint was made, and that was the last of the situation that I was aware of. I still wonder what became of her.

Cab Tales...And the Police

Quite a bit of interaction occurs between Police Officers and Cab Companies. When they stop and arrest a drunk driver, we are called to transport the passengers, if any.

One evening I was called to a freeway stop on Westbound I-90 between Fourth and Fifteenth Streets. When I got there, the City Police Officer, (a young one) had an elderly lady arrested. It must have been a slow night, because there were six or seven Law Enforcement cars at the scene to back up the apprehension of this 72 year old lady.

Her passenger, was her Husband, an older man needing transportation. He was spitting mad. When I arrived on the scene, I asked a Sheriff Deputy what was going on. He essentially replied, "probably nothing, but it's not my stop."

I hustled the husband into my cab to get him out of there before he got arrested for "Contempt of Cop." Actually, that isn't against the law, but interfering with an arrest is. He explained to me that yes, he had drank quite a few, but his wife had only one glass of wine three hours back.

He then went on to state, that while the officer said he had pulled them over, that they had pulled to the side because it was cold and the window wouldn't roll up. The officer then pulled in behind them. They took this frail lady, securely handcuffed, guarded by at least eight of our finest, to the Grey Bar Hotel.

I explained that when the officers got to the jail they would administer a sobriety test. At that time, she would obviously be released. I felt he was too angry to take directly to the jail, so we went for coffee. I bought. We eventually arrived at the jail, and sure enough, the wife had been released without charge.

Aside from this elderly lady being roughhoused, cuffed and hauled off to jail, the car had been towed, police tows being quite expensive, and it turns out the whole arrest was based on the smell of alcohol in the vehicle. Duh...So much for the designated driver theory...

Cab Tales...Suicide

There are many bizarre ways to kill oneself. On this cold Winter
night, I met a man that wanted to commit "suicide by Taxi."

It all started when I made a routine pickup of this guy on North Fourth Street, in Coeur d'Alene. He climbed aboard with a sack holding a jug of Vodka. "Take me to Fernan Saddle," said he. OK...Ive been stranger places, and away we went.

On the way up the mountain, I asked him what he was going to do when he got there. He calmly informed me that he was going to kill himself. I asked him why he would do such a thing. He then told me that he discovered his wife had been cheating on him and he didn't want to live any more.

Further questions revealed that the method he was going to use, was to get out of the cab, sit down in a snow bank, drink the jug of Vodka, and wait to freeze to death.

By this time, my mind was going a mile a minute. How do I stop this. Do I stop the cab, turn around and go back? No... He might jump out, then be impossible to find.
I kept on driving up the mountain and started to talk with him. I used about all the diplomacy I had in trying to get him to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, we reached the summit. I looked at him and said, "I really don't want you to do this. You're a nice guy, and if things don't work out for you, a real nice lady will be out there for you. Why don't you let me take you home...No Charge..."

He then said, "OK." I drove him back to our point of departure, didn't ask for a fare, and wished him well...

I don't know what happened to him after that. I never saw him again. I hope he made out OK...

Cab Tales...And Greyhound

Occasionally, something would go awry at Greyhound and the local agent would enlist our Cabs to bail them out. I recall two incidents, one Summer and one in the dreaded 91-92 Winter.

One Summer evening, I was called to the local depot to carry a passenger to Creston, Washington. When I got there, the passenger, a young man, told me that when he got on the bus in Spokane, with a ticket to Creston, it was the bus to Coeur d'Alene.

It seems that they thought he was going to Creston, B.C. with a connection in Coeur d'Alene. Unfortunately, wrong Creston, and late at night, there are no buses going anywhere out of Coeur d'Alene. I spent most of the night driving to Creston, West of Spokane on highway 2 in the middle of the state and back.

The second incident was much hairier. It was late in the Winter-Spring of 92. The fourth of storms dumping more than two feet of heavy wet snow had finally, and the only time I could remember, caused me to pull both cabs off the road for the night.

Myself and Bob, the Texan, were having coffee at Denny's when we got a call from our dispatcher. Apparently, a Greyhound had broken down in Worley,and had to be rescued.
It was very cold, the roads were a mess, but I had to go anyway. Twelve passengers were stranded without heat on that bus.

The station manager would ferry a small bus to Worley, where I would then bring him back to Coeur d'Alene. The Goat trail was trecherous that night, but by that time after driving all night all Winter long, I became quite good at driving in poor to horrible conditions.

We made it there and back, the folks on the bus went on to Lewiston and all was well.

Cab Tales...The Chase

Most nights, (12 hour shifts) are routine. From time to time, that changes. One night, I got called to a bar on Appleway, where an off duty bartender from another business needed a cab.

When I arrived, the situation was a little more complicated than that. A woman that had apparently been abused, was in the bar with her domestic partner, and wanted to escape.

After talking the situation over with me, the off duty bartender arranged for the guy to be blocked from pursuing us while I loaded the woman into the cab. It started out alright, but as we approached the cab, the man dodged the blockers and headed for us.

We got in the cab, locked the doors and left. Shortly thereafter, he followed, trying to stop and capture my passenger, which wasn't going to happen. I got on my radio to ask for police assistance and headed down town. We stayed on the freeway and main arterials so that we didn't need to stop at a light.

After being assured that the police were going to rendevous with us shortly, I headed down to Mullan going East toward the police station. Just in time, I remembered there are never police officers at the station during the night.

Keeping my dispatcher aware of my intended route, I hopped back up to Sherman going East. At I-90 and Sherman I got back on the freeway toward 4th street. I was told to exit at 4th where police would meet me. Got off...Nary a flashing light in sight.

The guy following us almost crashed me at the 4th & Appleway intersection, as I was turning left. Finally, up popped a police car which pulled him over in the parking lot of the Sunset Bar, right where we started from.

Several weeks later, I was transporting a guy whose car had broken down. He started telling me about the chase, and how he got a DUI out of it. He also mentioned that it was one of our cabs that was involved. I grinned, and admitted it was me, and explained that regardless of who was right or wrong, once a passenger gets in our cab, we protect them. He allowed that he had been a damn fool, which I agreed with.

Any other time, all I would have needed to do was exceed the speed limit by 10 MPH and police would have been all over me...

Cab Tales 11

The most interesting part of driving cab at night is the life lessons learned. Coming from a suit and tie business background, I had no idea how to handle unruly drunks or worse, drug users.

I learned than size, age, or physical condition had little to do with keeping the upper hand. I went from being scared half to death, to a calm deliberate peace maker. I once remarked that we had about the same job as a police officer, but without the gun or ability to lock up anyone.

Many of my stories will take place during the horror winter of...I think 91-92. I'm terrible about remembering exactly when events took place. While driving cab, I've been invited to participate in drug use, sex, and well, you get the picture.

Lest anyone wonder about what my reaction was, and I was single, I considered myself a professional. A person that an inebriated lady could feel would see her safely home...I did exactly that. Temptations aside, my belief was that if the female in question didn't know me, and wouldn't have extended an invitation while sober, she damn sure wasn't going to be used, while under the influence.

From time to time, I gave free rides. Not often and not to friends. It was always due to a humanitarian situation. I have no confessions, as such because I was proud of my conduct. More to follow tomorrow...

Cab Tales 1

When I arrived back in the Coeur d'Alene area in 1990, I had left the Seattle area with my tail between my legs, severely depressed. I had sunk my net worth into a startup company called Westgate Mortgage Corp. I started this company in the fall of 1986. Interest rates were at a low of 8 3/4% for the first time since 1979. The spring of 1987 saw interest rates surge upward to 10 3/4% in just two weeks.

I was caught with over $5,000,000 in rate reduction refinances in process, losing most of them. After struggling for 2 or 3 years, I sold everything and moved to Dalton Gardens. A homecoming that was 18 years after I had left the first time.

Close to broke, discouraged and probably clinically depressed, I opened a used paperback store called, "Herb's Paperback Exchange." Very little income was derived from that, and I called an old friend of 20 years, Jerry Anderson. I told him I wanted to drive cab for him. Thence this relationship became a two or three year gig, ending with me managing the night crew.

In the next few weeks I'm going to write down some of the more unusual experiences I had while driving for Sunset Taxi. I hope it will prove interesting for you, as I plumb the depth of memories that have somewhat faded.

Sunset Herb

Starting next week, I will do some rememberences from my days as a Coeur d'Alene Cabbie.

Occupation

The clear difference with our occupation of Germany and Japan after WW2, and our situation in Iraq is simply this...

With our occupation of the two world war two opponents, we knew that all of the people we dealt with were enemy, and while we treated them very well, the focus was they will try to mess with us, and we were on guard.

Iraq is a new and very different situation, insofar as we are trying to win the hearts and minds of these people and trying to establish a democracy. Democratic government, in this part of the world is not part of their culture. Country after country in that area has strong leadership, or downright dictatorships.

It would appear to me that we have a choice. We can either back a strong dictator, or turn the country over to the fanatic imams. If, of course we opt for a strong dictator, it's too late to recall the previous one.

I see a division of the country. To the north, the Kurds are not going to give up their prosperous economy, oil production, or independence.

To the south, Iran will at some time soon, flow over the Shiite area, burying democracy forever. The Center? Saudi Arabia and Syria will fight over the remains.

Bayview Access

Brodh2O, alias Mommy Dearest has been nagging me to tell the story about opening up the Hwy 54 access to Bayview, many years ago.

Actually, most folks in Bayview already know about this, and is was well covered by the Spokesman-Review at the time, but oh well, I'll tell it again. This story resonates with many because it kind of is a David/Goliath story.

Back in the spring of 1995, I moved to Bayview. I knew exactly two people when I got here. I was used to seeing the highway to Bayview coned off by Farragut management, but only on week-ends, when I usually didn't leave town. Prior to that time,many efforts had been made to lift the blockade.

Wednesday, prior to the Fourth Week-end, I pulled up to the kiosk in the center of the divide, behind three motor homes. As they inched forward, visiting with the pretty blond that was greeting at that time, I realized I was late for happy hour at the Wheel. That ticked me off.

When I finally edged up to the lady, I asked, "Is this going to happen all Summer?" She replied that yes, it would. I pointed out to her that it is illegal to block a State Highway. She laughed at me and replied, "not if it goes through a State Park."

Well, having been in the Real Estate and Mortgage business for many years, I had some knowledge of right-of-way law. The next day, I called the State Police, talking to Captain Powell, then Commander at the Hayden Headquarters. I requested that he arrange the arrest and conviction of the parties at the park for this illegal act.

He stammered a bit, then said, "gosh that's a state agency. I'm going to have to get guidance from Boise on this. Put your complaint in writing and I will forward it." I could feel a runaround coming on and asked, "and how long will that take?" He estimated two weeks.

That afternoon, Thursday, I dropped off the written complaint and left to work my way through the roadblock. At my office, around 11:00 AM,the following day, I received a call from Captain Powell. It was a conference call including the regional manager of the Parks Dept. and the Idaho State Transportation Mgr. for North Idaho.

Bottom line, they agreed to remove the cones after I suggested we could live with one lane open for through traffic. Some of you will remember the small black sign that went up Friday afternoon, just in time for the holiday weekend.

One month later, the park abandoned the center kiosk as a safety measure, replacing it with a former outhouse on the headquarters side of the road, where it still stands. I thought that appropriate.

"Sweet Herb"

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year, as I didn't last year either.

Amongst the political rants, bitterness, rancor, obsessing, naming and other sins of commission that we see on the internet, comes along "Wondering." In chastising a person she believes fits one or more of these categories, she referred to me as "Sweet Herb."

I am of mixed emotions. One would, of course like to be thought of in positive terms. The downside is that I have alternately profiled myself as a Curmudgeon, a nasty old man with issues, and of course a Muckraker.

I ask you...Am I to start the New Year trying to fit this new image, or attempt to regain the ground I lost when this person called me "sweet?"

After reading this, and pondering, I picked up the "Today" section of the Spokesman-Review. The featured article was the history of names for babies over the years. Someone asked me, not too long ago, where and how I was named Herb.

I was told by my Mom that there was a comic strip character named Herb, in the 30's.

In an amazing example of prescience, they named me after this comic strip. Go figure.

Now, facing the New Year, I find myself in a dilemma. Curmudgeon or Sweet Herb? Wondering has, without knowing it, picked my New Years resolution. I will try my best to live up to this "sweet" image, kicking and screaming all the way. This will be a stretch for a comic strip character named after a Curmudgeon. Or...Whatever...

Waterford Park Strikes Out

At a recent hearing before the Kootenai County Hearing Examiner, Waterford Park Homes, LLC was denied approval of a conversion from a commercial building next to the boat launch, to that of a residential condominium.

This project has long been a sore spot with local residents, who feel Bayview is becoming a "Company Town", owned and controlled by Bob Holland, owner of Waterford Park Homes, LLC.

The following points were raised by the examiner, as part of the recommendation for denial. Waterford Park has the option of appealing to the County Council, but it is believed that after so many egregious actions by the applicant, there probably won't be a friendly welcome there either.

.The property is currently zoned commercial and is not appropriate to be used as residential purposes.

.There is insufficient parking available for a residential condominium development.

.The development does not meet Americans with disabilities Act certification.

.This development currently has various Red Tags from the Kootenai County Planning and Zoning Department and the Idaho Department of Lands for development code violations and has proceeded with work on this development without required permits.

.It sits on the identified flood plain of Lake Pend Oreille.

This should drive a nail into the heart of a very unpopular developer, were it not for the fact that the community doesn't have the proper permit for that, either...

An interesting conjecture would be that now the building has gone through the construction for the conversion without permits, can it be then retro-constructed back to commercial, or would that permit be denied, too?

The moral of this story is that after buying, then throwing out mobile home owners in one park, and after having given eviction notices to another, creating several dozen homeless, the tight knit community of Bayview is outraged.

When I was in the service, we had an expression that fits here. "Don't pee in your own mess kit."

Gerald Ford...RIP

I honestly never liked Jerry Ford. He, through his caretaker role as president, let his ego rule him, and caused the Reagan era a delay that was critical, insofar as it allowed Jimmy Carter into the Presidency, and the decimation of our armed forces.

Yet he was an honest man...A principled man. He actually thought he could win the election that he lost to perhaps the biggest loser that we ever had as a president.

I go to bed tonight, with these mixed feelings. Having said all this, however, rest in peace, Mr President. Unlike others, you never shamed the office.

History will undoubtedly treat you better than we will.

Storm Clouds on the Horizon

As I prepare for the year 2007, several vagrant thoughts cross my mind. What I believe I'm seeing is the period just before a thunderstorm hits. The hair standing on end,ozone smell in the air, the waiting...

Some of the same storm warnings are apparent in human behavior. People seem more aggressive, less polite...As always, folks are killing each other in the name of God, Allah, (same God)or just because we use a different Prophet as an intermediary.

In review, Catholics and Protestants still fight over religious differences in Northern Ireland, even thought they worship the same Deity...

Shiites are killing Sunnis, even though they both follow Mohammad...

Muslims and Christians over the World seem bent upon Crusades 11.

In Israel, Hamas and the PLO are fighting over whether to eradicate the Israelis now, or later, and let us not forget the Kurds, screwed out of their homeland by Imperial Great Britain, after the "War to end all Wars."

All of these religeous wars, killing in the name of God, plus the freaks. Rogue Nations such as North Korea, that want power for power's sake.

I wonder...I worry...My hair is standing on end and I smell ozone...

Christmas Eve in Bayview

I stepped out on my deck a few minutes ago. The Village is dark and silent, except for decorations that twinkle over the water of the bay.

The kids and grandkids called today wishing me a Merry Christmas. Taking a day off from Potato Salad, I'm baking. The Seahawks lost again. Life goes on.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL, GOOD NIGHT...

The Promised Land

I have been fighting Internet Explorer for over a week. First I down loaded, as instructed, IE version 7. They called it Beta 7. Now I know what beta means. "Experimental."

I couldn't stay on line more than a few minutes, without the system going into "program Not responding." They didn't respond...I did!

After switching between version 6 and 7, I finally gave up. Suddenly, from the hinterlands, a voice appeared. They were friends, there to help. There was Adam, and a lady,(sorry I didn't get your name) from the contractor that services Time-Warner, late at night.

Then there was Backwoods Bob, Bill McCrory, and Tyskoduk. They all stepped up to help me in my fathomless ignorance of what happens when your computer has a mind of it's own.

Finally, I sucked it up and typed in: http://mozilla.org/products/firefox/. An amazing thing happened. When I down loaded Firefox, they brought my cookies, favorites, and all other stuff that had been saved on other programs.

I am now not, as you can see, locked out of Blogger.com. I am free to cast aspersions upon the character of the bad guys, praise the good ones, rake muck to my hearts content, and of course, send forth unsolicited opinions on many various topics.

I have reached at least one, of the promised lands. (The next might be tougher)

Thank you all for being there for me and Merry Christmas to all...

Microsoft Sucks

Lest any of you think I have a fixation on sucking, let me explain. I have been denied access to posting on this blog for two days. The reason?

I routinely downloaded an update from Microsoft from Internet Explorer version 6, to 7. This is called a "Beta" version. Every 20 minutes or so, the program would become unresponsive.

I have been very critical of Time-Warner recently, but I got help through one of their contractors that provide tech support. We finally decided to delete version 7.

That worked fine, except in the process, I could no longer access the blog. Yesterday, Bill McCrory spent a huge amount of time patiently trying to lead me to the promised land. We finally gave up. Today, another fine fellow, Backwoods Bob, who is a computer engineer, came to the rescue.

It turns out the "Beta" means experimental. Bob was able to go into Microsoft Support and discover that their "Anti-Phishing" program has flaws that is causing service interruptions. We deleted that, tweaked version seven and all is fine today.

The Wordslinger from Ontario,Canada in Tech Support, Bill McCrory, and Backwoods Bob are the most patient I've ever known. Try talking out a problem with a mostly deaf person, and I'll guarantee most people would give up in disgust. Thank you all.

Now I can go back to muckraking and expounding unsolicited opinions.

Death Defying Acts

Whether your favorite adventurer is a mountain climber, white water kyaker, parachuter, stunt pilot or whatever, millions of dollars per year are spent rescuing them.

The American people are a generous sort. Willing to help out their neighbors when in distress. Stepping up, such as in the Groene situation. I applaude that spirit.

What gets to me though, is that adventurers such as the three lying dead on the slopes of Mt. Hood, in Oregon, decided to face the challenge of climbing one of the stormist, snow blown peaks in the Country during bad weather. Did they get a comprehensive weather report before tackling the Mountain? I would hazard a guess that they did not.

For too long we have footed the bill for reckless adventurers when their foolish behavior gets them into trouble. I believe that if these people insist on doing these kinds of things, that they should be required to sign a waiver that explains they will be responsible for all expenses of rescue, and require them to bond the government, or arrange for private financing of the bail-out.

Famine & Pestulence Next?

Our good friends the Cascades didn't step up this time. Thursday night, all hell broke loose. We had winds of forty to fifty miles per hour, punctuated by gusts of who knows. The top half of trees that had stood for a hundred years or more, twisted off and fell,usually on top of something.

Since the papers have covered this story well, I will bore those of you that are local. For those that live in the mid-west, they're going to say, "What's the big deal." For those Snowbirds that are from this area...It's a big deal.

Because of the sharp rise in the foothills that we call home, tornados, although not impossible, don't occur often. What we get, is in a strong storm, downbursts that will twist the tops or even the top half of large living trees until they snap.

Thats what happened Thursday night. I would have reported this earlier, except for the fact that my power was out for more than 24 hours. I became a refugee. Friday morning, I hopped in my very fortunately undamaged car, and surveyed the damage.

The famous Bitter End Pine? Gone...Or at least half of it. A tree that has been threatening our Trailer court? broke into little pieces, missing everything. (If you didn't know, yes, I am trailer trash.) Yes. One of those people that retired without large pensions. Not your fault. My bad, but nevertheless, here I am.

In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, just south of us about 25 miles, a different story. Two trailer park/RV parks experienced serious damage. In Spokane, Washington, West of us, four deaths occured. At the height of the storm, we had 50,000 folks out of power. 50,000 might not seem like that extreme, except we are rural, and 50,000 power users represent several hundred square miles.

Those of you that have boats in the local marinas? Don't worry. The winds came at us from the West, Southwest, and the marinas at lake level suffered no damage that I have heard of. Had the wind reached thse velocities from the other direction, it would have been bad.

I retreated to a motel in Coeur d'Alene, whence I rediscovered the local night life in the city. Then, retiring to my room, I wondered if my home was alright. I wondered that all night. This morning, broke with sunny skies, windless and beautiful.

All I had suffered was loss of sleep. My home is fine, and all of those of our community. Somehow, we dodged the bullet. I will sleep well tonight. I wrote this so that those of you that winter elsewhere, could too...

Time-Warner Sucks

Time-Warner Cable appears to be headed for self-destruction in a big way. Since they took over Adelphia, here in North Idaho, we've had nothing but problems. Within the first few weeks we had service interuptions that lasted from hours, to days.

Now, in a dispute with the local Fox outlet, we will lose fox, and possibly Fox Sports Network if they don't come to agreement before Midnight tonight.

The current dispute is over whether Time-Warner should pay KAYU, a UHF station, and Fox outlet for Spokane, Washington and surrounding areas.

Both sides actually have made gross misrepresentations while stating their positions. KAYU is a UHF station with very limited broadxcast radius. With cable, their advertisers get a huge boost in viewership which should and does make more money for the station.

Time-Warner, has dug their heels in over this issue, claiming that the station is viewable by antenna, ignoring the fact that direct broadcast is very limited. T/W is on the eve of losing Fox, and the resulting loss of NFC football coverage after today. This would take the coverage of our regional team, the Seahawks, and Mariners away.

In the opinion of Bayviews, these entities need Babysitters, not Litigators.

The giant sucking sound you will hear tomorrow, across our area, will be the telephone overload, as disgruntled Seahawk fans rush to order either DISH or Direct TV...

Religious Warfare

Somewhere, somehow, we have lost the ability to call a spade a shovel. In the ever increasing desire to never offend anyone or any group, we hear nothing about the truth of our War against terrorism. That truth is that we are at war with a religion.

Certainly, not all Moslems are warlike, or terrorists, but a large enough percentage of them take to heart the directions that Mohammed left regarding the killing of infidels. When he was driven out of Mecca to Medina, he returned, killing all of his detractors in the process.

I believe that until we recognize why we are at war, and approach it from the religeous warefare angle, we can't win because we are not participating in the same contest they are.

We have the Saudis, supposedly our friends, funding terrorists every bit as much or more than Kaddafi ever did, but because of politics our government covers it's eyes, ears, and mouth, much like the three monkeys of "see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil."

Bayview Invaded

Bayview was invaded today. No, not by black helecopters from Canada, (they need passports now, you see) Not by philandering Cops, but by birds.

Big White headed Bald Eagles. As magnificent as they are though it sometimes pains me that our National symbol is a carrion eater. I guess that Turkey Buzzards were'nt National or sexy enough, but they have much the same diet. Roadkill tops the menu, but for December at the Lake. Then, their attention turns to dying, spawned out Kokanee, or Blueback as we locals call them.

These birds will hang around Bayview and environs until they have cleaned up every scrap of decaying fish, at which time we will run them off for having severe halatosis.

We invite those bird watchers to join us in celebrating the arrival of the Eagles, and your participation in "Happy Hour" which ohmygod, has already started without me. I'm outta here.

TV Networks Rule?

Well, the BCS has spoken. Florida will play Ohio State, instead of Michigan. I truly believe that the networks have with the power of the dollar, completely taken over any close calls that occur under the present system.

Lets step back a moment. When Ohio State, #1, beat Michigan, #2 only by three points,at Ohio, which with home field advantage was a toss-up and Florida with an identical record was beat by #8 Auburn, I have to question the objectivity of the decision.

Strength of schedule can hardly favor Florida, with the SEC only having about three competitive teams, and Big Ten, or Twelve, or what ever they are called now, never gets a rest from top flight competition.

I think it boils down to TV. They thought that two teams playing each other for the first time would be more interesting than a rematch...But was it fair and objective?

Kootenai County Prosecutors Flaunt Porn

While deputy prosecutors are in the County Courthouse on a daily basis, trying to convict child porn offenders, and other crimes of a personal nature, the prosecutors were caught recently by the Spokesman-Review, trading porn and child porn e-mails in a joke format.

Fresh from the Joseph Duncan case, one wonders what in the form of evidence is circulated as "funny" e-mails among law enforcement and the Prosecutors office. We need a huge broom...Right now...

For the story on this, go to Huckleberries

Names & Places

Two or three years ago, I went on a road trip to beat all road trips. I started in North Idaho, went the Northern route ending up in South Carolina. I came back by the Southern States, up through the Ozarks, Branson Missouri, and on the the West coast by way of Phoenix, Arizona, thence back to Idaho.

One of the things I always wanted to write about, was some of the outstandingly funny names for some places. Now, I readily admit that I live right next door to Athol, Idaho, so I'm not picking on just one region.

Most of the fun stuff is in the South. I credit them with having outstanding senses of humor. For instance, how about Wetumpka, Alabama. This is a place that students reach high school age before they can spell their town's name...

Flippin, Arkansas...Now there is a town that must party a lot. How about Zephyrhills, Florida. Windy there perhaps. Oh yes, folks, there really is a Tallahatchee Bridge. It crosses the aforementioned River just past the Talladega Raceway of NASCAR fame. Nothing was being thrown off the bridge as I passed though.

Los Banos, California, which if I remember my Spanish is translated to, "the toilet", was an interesting name for a town, but I would have picked Rialto for that name, myself.

Anchorage, Alaska isn't hard to figure out, but how about Anchorage, Kentucky? Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is one of my favs, but Bug Tussle, Oklahoma beats it out.

Truth or Consequenses, New Mexico, named after the game show...

Some visualization is required for many of these names, but I urge you not to use that while considering Humptulips, Washington...

Solutions in Iraq

I am not a military genius, but during my life, we have fought five major wars, and numerous minor engagements. Simple observation, plus some military experience, mated up with the fact that I don't have a a personal agenda, qualifies me to speak on this subject.

What got me started, was reading a fine editorial by Michael Goodwin of the New York Daily News. To paraphrase him, we need an outside the box solution, not just a tweaking of the existing plan. (I use that word loosely)

He goes on to suggest embedding US troops in the police and army units. The logic here is sound. These folks can't very well take off on a vengeance crusade, with our people with them. He further wonders why this hasn't already taken place. I think I have the answer to that one. Politics. We set out to turn the government back to the Iraqi people too soon. Having wed ourselves to that course, our government is having trouble using reverse gear.

Back in the Sixties, President Kennedy set up an irregular Army unit called Special Forces. They were irregular in the sense that they did not exist to fight battles and charge the enemy, as the Rangers did. They led indigenous forces that were under trained for their mission, in fighting their own battles.

Sound familiar? Yup! The mission that the Green Berets fulfilled in Viet Nam. Today we have a large contingent of these A-Teams available, but we aren't using them for which they were trained. The following is a cut & paste from the Army mission that explains the Special Forces and their role.

Special Forces Operational Detachment A (SFOD A) The "A Detachment" or "A Team" is the basic SF unit. This twelve man unit is specifically designed to organize, equip, train, advise or direct, and support indigenous military or paramilitary forces in UW and FD operations. The detachment has a commander (Captain), XO (Warrant Officer), and two enlisted specialists in each of the five SF functional areas: operations, weapons, engineers, medical, and communications. Each SF company has one SFOD A trained in combat diving and one SFOD A trained in military free-fall parachuting.

Attach these guys to each Iraqi unit, with the ability to call in air strikes if necessary and we might find a way out of this mess. We then pull back our line troops to the porous borders of Iran and Syria to hold territorial integrity.

That's my take on this...If any of you have a better idea, let's hear it...

Silent Days

It is much like I imagine the sight one would see if everyone fled Bayview during the night. The Christmas poem comes to mind. "All is calm, all is bright." Not a single sound is to be heard here today.

The snow drifts down, coating the trees and roofs with winter white. Tomorrow is supposed to usher in a winter storm.

Wait, I see a fisherman's boat sliding into the bay. Hopefully, he or she has the winning fish in the current fishing derby. My newest neighbors, driving the junker that starts up every morning at 5:30 AM sans muffler just arrived,and the spell is broken. The snow stops and a blue sky emerges...

Snowbird Study???

Saturday's Spokesman-Review revealed that fact that a WSU Assistant Professor recently received a grant to, get this, spend the Winter in Arizona! He is according to this article, studying the interplay between permanent residents and snowbirds.

This educator shows his elitist side when stating, "I'm an expedition-type backpacker." and "have never been in an RV, much less slept in one."

OK, he is to be admired for admitting up front, that he has actually no qualifications to study RV folks. None at all. Turns his nose up at those that don't camp out in a sleeping bag on the ground at 30 below. Probably shops at all the "In" outfitters, you know, L.L. Bean and such. Anyway, I digress.

This smarmy, unqualified individual just got PAID to do what the rest of us can't afford to do, because not all of us can afford $3.00 per gallon gas, and 6 miles per gallon on our firmly parked RV's.

The source of this magnificent grant wasn't revealed, and a good thing. They then avoided the ridicule that I would have heaped on them. Am I envious? Bet your ass I am. The only way I'm going to get anyone to pay my way to Arizona this winter, is to piss off so many people that they take up a collection to get rid of me.

In case you haven't guessed yet, this is my first installment on the aforementioned plan...

From Under The Rocks

Well, It's started, and even before the newly elected Congress is seated. It would appear that the far left and moderate wings of the Democratic party are already in full battle for party control.

In an unbelievable attack, Robert Scheer, from the ultra-left, is attacking the Dems for not supporting the Pelosi choice for Majority Leader of the house. Disregarding both the overwhelming vote for Hoyer, and reality, he hacked away with generalities, slogans, vitriol and essentially, threw down the liberal gauntlet, declaring the war for control to be on.

My take on this new war, is that more casualties will ensue from this internal dispute than our "Occupation" of Iraq. I use the term occupation, since "War" denotes uniformed official troops fighting on the battlefield.

All this, before these newly elected leaders have even taken their seats. As I read the editorial page of our Spokesman-Review, it occured to me that the Republican Party has to do nothing. Attack nothing. Let the Democrats self-destruct. They don't need any help...

Auctions, Indeed!

It has come to my attention that an auction has recently been held, for the goal of having lunch with several minor officials. Hey, don't get me wrong... If these folks need sponsors so that they don't have to buy their own lunch, far be it from me to interfere...

On the other hand, (do I sound like a one handed economist?) If we are going to start sponsoring lunches for good causes, I am willing to volunteer myself for the good of the community. There are several very good reasons for this, the first being that I am cheap.

I must assume, while we are at it, that someone other than the aforementioned big wheel picks up the tab. Should that not be the case, I humbly withdraw my name as a volunteer er...Victim, ah..."Blogstar."

North Idaho Says Goodbye

Sunday at the Captain's Wheel was all about saying goodbye to Jerry Berry, principle owner of the Wheel, friend to all and a great guy.

A potluck dinner, a celebration of Jerry's life, and a bunch of deranged musicians, doing what Jerry loved the most, performing music 'till the cows come home. Over thirty musicians crowded into the Wheel to pay respects to one of the great Inn Keepers we've known.

The crowd, estimated at over four hundred, staged through, sampling the food and the many memories of Jerry Berry. There were never any strangers in the Wheel when Jerry was present. He would come over, throw an arm around you and make you feel like a million dollars.

He would have looked at the festivities, then probably use his favorite expresion, saying it was "Hoodakai."

At this hour, the party still goes on...We'll miss you, Guy...

Hate Crimes...Over The Top, Or Not?

I have mixed feelings over this issue. There are really good arguments for both sides of this.

First, It looks like the Sand Point Judge abrogated her duty, in slapping the hand of the man, (not boy) that criminally assaulted a minor girl.

Secondly, is the issue of hate crimes. The debate can swing to and fro, but it appears to me that mebbe the pendulum has swung too far again.

To attach a "I hate you because," (choose your own category)to the crime, in many cases raises the level of what normally would be a misdemeanor to the level of a felony.

Not because the injury was egregious, but because your motives were politically incorrect.

In the case of the injured teen, the charge should have been aggravated assault, a felony.

To re-classify this to a federal hate statute, might or might not fly. Definitely, an appeal, or civil suit is in order.

For the higher purpose of designating simple assault as a hate crime, elevating it to felony status, needs a very lot of discussion...

Election Aftermath

Democracy spoke loudly yesterday. Many issues were out front from corruption to the occupation of Iraq.

It does not surprise me that the Republican Party lost both houses of Congress. It would, however surprise me if the Democrats prevailed two years from now.

I believe that the overturning of the Bush doctrine was President Bush's own fault. Once he formed an opinion or direction regarding most of his policies, he became rigid in support of them. Perhaps he felt secure with control of both houses of Congress. Many mistakes, including the disbanding of the Iraqi Army, and many other miscues that showed poor planning, became evident as events played out.

Our political parties and their supporters have become so polarized that the vast majority of middle America can no longer identify with either the radical left, or the radical right. Bottom line, most Americans are not radical. Only during the nomination process does the radical element rule, leaving us with the choice of one radical or the other.

What happened yesterday should be a wake-up call to both parties. "Your success depends on the people that hired you.

In perusing the comments tonight, I ran across a comment from a person that I had previously respected, although he was of the opposite political persuasion.

In one sentence, he lost all of my respect, because he chose the low road in commenting about the personal life of a winning candidate that he was opposed to.

Crapping on our fellow men/Women doesn't add anything to our lives. It just shows how shallow we can be...

Jerry Berry 1935-2006

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Poem by Walt Whitman...

Jerry Berry has left us feeling a great loss. Those of us that knew him as a friend, as an employer and as a guest. His greatest legacy was that we heard repeatedly, "he made us feel welcome, whenever we came in." No Innkeeper could ask for a better epitaph.

There will be a celebration of his life, and his deeds at the Captain's Wheel, Sunday, November 12, at 2:00 PM. This will consist of a potluck dinner, and what we assume will be a rambunctious jam session consisting of the music and musicians he loved so much...

RAPE

Bayviews has discovered evidence through folks that were both there, and have talked to the rape victim since the attack.

There is now, not any doubt that a rape took place. The Idaho State Police are investigating, which is as it should be. There are whispers that the Sheriff Department attempted to sweep this under the rug, even to the point of intimidating the victim. That accounts for the story about the victim not wanting to press charges.

I gotta call bullshit. This Asshole lured a woman that had been drinking into a situation where there were no witnesses. She has since then left town, feeling that North Idaho doesn't serve justice.

How, can a government expect the citizens to respect law enforcement, when some of the officers approach Nazi like attitudes. We have Kootenai County Deputies that are Bullies, invent reasons to stop motorists, and even, according to one attorney I talked to, lawyers are afraid to oppose in court, for fear of reprisal.

When I grew up in the forties and fifties, law enforcement officers were revered and honored as those that protected us. We waved to them, and they waved back. We always knew that as kids if we were lost, stranded or otherwise in trouble, we only needed to call a cop.

Now look at us. How could we have allowed our honored officers to become depraved monsters, looking for busts, and harrassing our citizens. More interested in arrest stats, than justice. The sad part of this whole thing, is that the "code of silence" prohibits those good guys that serve, and know why they serve, and who they serve, to speak up.

Perhaps we should rename them "Piece Officers, rather than Peace Officers. I am Herb Huseland, and if you Piece officers want to screw with me, go for it.

Sheriff Deputy Shamed

In new developments, Bayviews has learned that the sexual adventure featuring an unnamed deputy and an unnamed partner have some interesting features.

First, it is unclear whether the partner was a victim of rape through intimidation, or willing. Secondly, it happened here in Bayview.

State Police investigators have been prowling the local businesses, taking statements from involved witnesses. We will bring you more, as information develops.

We are unwilling, at this time to speculate too freely about this, as a possible victim should be able to keep their identity secret.

Bayviews has learned, however that the Deputy was known to this person. It was also learned that they went to high school together.

Apparently, this Officer, whose beat did not include Bayview, met the woman outside the bar to give her a ride home. What happened after that is pure conjecture.

Milestone Reached

I installed Site Meter around February 1, of this year. Today, I passed 10,000 page views. Thank you all for your interest in an old Codger's rants...

VISITS

Total 5,248
Average Per Day 36
Average Visit Length 1:15
Last Hour 1
Today 20
This Week 249

PAGE VIEWS

Total 10,030
Average Per Day 51
Average Per Visit 1.4
Last Hour 2
Today 66
This Week 358


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Worst of the Best

What should be one of the most beautiful times of the year, what with the leaves turning to gold, The air is clear and winter approaches is not this year.

This year, the fall beauty is marred by the shrill voices of political extremes and bottomless discontent. I haven't seen many recently that have stepped back to observe the mayhem that is taking place.

The saddest part of the whole scene is that these idiots that sling mud, (and worse) don't even have a clue as to how many people they are turning off. Many people that I talk with just simply ignore the political process these days. They don't believe in either of the major parties, or for that matter, the minor ones either. They are drop-outs.

How much further can we go, before the majority of the population turns off, and then what? Isn't that a recipe for dictatorship? If serious candidates don't step up soon, we will have only the choices of extremists from the left, and the right, with nothing in between.

What I mean by serious, is those office seekers that have more depth than a few sound bites in a commercial. Candidates that look for consensus, rather than a way to bury the opposition.

I despair...

Halloween at the Wheel

Hilarity reigned at the Captain's Wheel last night. As usual, the costumes were original, great, and on occasion, very popular.

One celebrant walked into the main Bar carrying a sign that brought down the house with cheers, whistles and the occasional signal that the subject of the sign was number one, using an alternate finger, of course.

The subject of ridicule was "Bob". One can only wonder which Bob he was referring to. Could it be that Bob Holland of Waterford Park Homes was the one?

Holding the sign was Chad, former employee of Waterford, and yours truly, Bayview Herb.

Inappropriate Endorsement

This Morning, October 28, I received an automated phone message from a man whose first name is Drew, last name unheard. He represented himself as from the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, and urged me to vote for Brady for Governor.

I believe that it is inappropriate, and possibly illegal for a State employee to actively campaign for or against a political office seeker. My blog is down, so I am sending this to Huckleberries,and INWBA, in the hope that it will get out...

Halloween @ the Wheel

Most Bar/Restaurants consider New Years Eve as the biggest nite of the year. Not so, the Captain's Wheel in Bayview, Idaho.

Halloween Nite brings out costumed people from miles around to party at this Bayview location. Tonite, the customers will stand four deep at the bar, looking over a vast array of very carefully thought out costumes and makeup.

I am working, thank you Lord, in the kitchen until probably 10:30, and will miss dressing up with the rest of you. I will, however, come out long enough to hoist a drink to you ghouls and other weird characters.

Happy Halloween Y'all

Yuma, Arizona

Several of my friends...Maybe most of my friends, are wintering in Yuma. Today, while perusing my site meter, I noticed that I got a visit from there. This cannot be a random hit. Someone down there, has decided that they needed to find out what was happening here in Bayview, if for no other reason, than to gloat about the difference in weather.

I noticed this morning when perusing the Spokesman-Review, that the temperature in Yuma was 99 degrees yesterday. I can only say to you guys, were you perhaps a little quick about going south? On the other hand, ( sound like a one handed economist don't I) I am going to join you all for a couple of weeks this winter, when you least expect me.

HJR 2

HJR 2 is a proposition to be voted on here in Idaho prohibiting same sex marriage and other same sex partnerships. Idaho already has a law prohibiting same sex marriage. That leaves the other, more subtle items. Civil unions or contracts between same sex partners would also be illegal.

Some consequences of this proposed law might prohibit me from hiring or appointing an attorney-in-fact, or granting a power of attorney to another of the same sex. I might be prohibited from co-owning real estate or other property with a male business partner.

While I am in full support of the current law prohibiting marriage between members of the same gender, civil unions and/or contracts, rights of inheritance, etcetera, are none of our business.

This proposal is bad law, full of unintended consequences, and overkill. I recommend a no vote.

Duncan Trial

At last they got it right. Joseph Edward Duncan, kidnapper, child molester, mass murderer, plead guilty this morning. For weeks, the majority of our area's citizens, family members of the victims, and County Commissioners have begged the prosecutor to plea bargain this case for the sake of 9 year old Shasta Groene not having to face her molester in court.

Based on the previously leaked agreement that was rejected, and the announced provisions today, it would appear that the defense caved on an important issue. That being following the federal trial upcoming, the right of Kootenai County to re-impose the death penalty is retained. As it is now, three consecutive life terms without possibility of parole were handed down.

Bayviews applauds the attorneys involved for doing the right thing, even if belatedly. While some surviving relatives still wanted the death penalty, Shasta Groene was the only one that personally had to go through the entire experience, and her interests should be paramount.

It now appears that if the federal trial does not convict, or doesn't opt for the death penalty, the County will. Kudos also, for the great coverage by Tayrn Brodwater of the Spokesman-Review, who should be considered for a Pulitzer prize...

Idaho Proposition 2

Proposition 2 here in the State of Idaho sounds wonderful. Protects private property owners from unreasonable taking. What isn't so wonderful, is that through the smoke screen of hyperbole, this law, if enacted would essentially eliminate zoning laws.

The part of this proposition that deals with land use, holds that the State, or subdivision thereof, cannot limit what you do with your property. If the highest and best use is a wrecking yard, or slaughterhouse, then you can built it, even if your property lies within a residential area.

Passage of this proposition would visit anarchy upon us. It's simply bad law.

Veterans Hospital Death

Swimming against the current, as I tend to sometimes, I have to disagree with the majority of folks that are chastising the V.A. for not reviving the elderly vet that collapsed in the parking lot, recently, in Spokane, Washington.

Like most government installations, when quitting time comes, it is sudden and thorough. The V.A. emergency room had closed a few minutes earlier than the man's arrival.

Where the criticism is unwarranted, is that every Vet, including me, got a letter a few weeks ago, announcing the closure of the ER at 4:30, PM. This was due to budget constraints, and a lack of after hours use.

If there is blame here, it belongs to Congress, which has consistently underfunded the VA, even while processing hundreds of Iraqi injuries. I read this morning, where a Congressman, McMorris was going to investigate. If this is the case, I suggest that this congresswomen use a mirror.

Oktoberfish

The two day Oktoberfish tournament kicked off in Bayview at the Captain's Wheel Restaurant last night with an auction and fishing derby rules and sign-up.

Over two hundred liars, (oops, make that fishermen and women) which made it kind of crowded. We have no numbers as to how many well intended fisherpersons didn't make it out on the water, but it was a hell of a party, anyway.

Yours truly made his first attempt at making German Potato Salad for the event, which apparently was successful. Winners and such will be posted as I get the information...

Bayview
10/09/06

The winners of the Oktoberfish derby were as follows:

First place, winner was Frank Whitney, of Chatteroy, Washington. His fish was a Rainbow, 10 pounds eleven ounces. He won a prize of $3809.00 and possession of the traveling trophy, the "Golden Trout."

Second place, was taken by Dan Covey, Post Falls, with a 'Bow weighing in at eight pounds fifteen ounces, for a prize of $2285.00.

Third, was taken by Bill Rogers of Hayden, with a rainbow weighing in at eight pounds fourteen ounces for a prize of $1524.00.

The derby was a great success. Special thanks go to Ralph Jones, who organized the entire affair for the Bayview Chamber.

Political Warrior

I have been reading an exciting biography this week. It's the Life and Times of L. Keith Bulen. He was a king maker in Indiana, creating careers for such luminaries as Senator Lugar, and the current Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels.

Later, Bulen became the convention coordinator for the 1980 Republican Convention, held in Detroit, as well as holding the position of Eastern Regional Coordinator for Reagan/Bush.

It brought back memories of my own early years as a Young Turk in the Reagan campaigns of the sixties. So many parallels exist, that I felt like I lived in this biography myself. It is an extremely well written book, but then I may be prejudiced. You see, it was written by my brother, Stan Huseland. I'm very proud.

I can even arrange for the purchase of this book, if anyone is interested...

Oops...Again!

I wrote this yesterday, and posted it, but google apparently lost it. Essentially, what I had to say is that Waterford Park homes is in the deep doo-doo again. It seems that they bought a float home to remodel for an office, having given up their previous space to condos that don't have occupancy permits.

Well, it turns out that they don't have one for the float office either. Something about commercial use permit for a float home in a residential setting. As a result, no sewer hook-up is available to them. The employees are having to walk up and out of the marina to use the public toilets at the Boileaus Condos.

It has been pointed out to me that occupying a building without plumbing is illegal, yet there they are.

One employee that I talked to yesterday, said that all of the hourly employees were laid off, including him. When I asked him why, he replied,"The County shut us down."

I'm not quite sure what that means, other than the previous info that we have had, but it sounds like Waterford Park Homes, LLC and the local projects are starting to crumble a little. Could it be that the bankers are getting nervous too?

Breaking all the rules is bad, even when you have friends at court. Breaking them when you have made enemies of practically everyone, can be a disaster. Shape up or ship out, guy...

Fish & Game Biology

A recent article printed in the Coeur d'Alene Press, Idaho fish and game expounded on the fight to save the Lake Pend Oreille fishery. Aside from the we will never stop fighting and don't give up this ship rhetoric, the finger of guilt must point toward Fish & Game, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Kokanee survival is the key issue here, but first we have to visit the food chain.

Algae is the basic food, eaten by phytoplankton, which is eaten by Kokanee which is then eaten by all the rest of the fish. Several issues affect the survival of the Kokanee, among them, the accursed Mackinaw, or Lake Trout.

The most damaging of the cases of this fishery demise, however, is not the predators. It's the management by the aforementioned agencies. For the first two or three years, phytoplankton is the source of food for these vanishing fish. Every fall, the Corps of Engineers flush the majority of algae and phytoplankton down the Pend Oreille River, as they rush to lower the lake level before the Kokanee spawn.

That sounds pretty good, if it weren't for the fact that to save the spawn, they are flushing the food source through rapid draw down. Picture your bathtub. Pull the plug. The swirling water will take anything light that will float down the drain. So it does on our lake.

Another factor, and possibly the more important of the two, is the 1968 introduction of Mysic Shrimp by Idaho Fish and Game. In an apparent attempt to provide more food, they failed to realize that shrimp avoid light, and only feed close to the surface during the hours of darkness, sinking to several hundred feet down during daylight, the periods that the fish are feeding, thence the twain don't meet.

The latest, and most ridiculous plan is to hold off on the draw down until after the Mackinaw spawn, hoping that they will spawn in shallow water, then drying the spawn with the draw down. Immediately following that, the lake will be flushed at an even faster rate, so that low pool will be reached in time for the Kokanee spawn.

It doesn't help to spawn more Kokanee, if there isn't any food for their survival. Will they never learn? Or is it all about Bonneville Power, and the water needed downstream, and politics as usual.

Greed Has Many Forms

Controversy flared yesterday, when the Idaho State Supreme Court rendered a decision regarding the high water mark on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

For those of you that are from out of the area, or unfamiliar with the issue, lakeshore residents along an area called Sanders Beach, have had trespass problems for years, as a street separates their houses from the strip of beach in front which they own.

For many years, the property owners have had problems with trash, loud parties and such in front of their homes, and in clear violation of property rights.

Because some prior owners, certainly not all, allowed public access, suggests that they were guests. Some have taken that as a public right to free access.

My position here, is that if the public good needs to be served by owning this beach, the public, through either City or County auspices, must purchase it, by either voluntary sale, or condemnation. The public must never be allowed to take property without compensation.

Recently, a local judge ruled that the high water mark denoting public/private ownership boundaries, was 2130 feet. This is two feet above the Summer high water level, excepting floods and such. The historical high water mark was several feet lower, prior to the building of a dam, which raised the level to it's current 2128.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-0 to overturn the local judge, and established 2128 as the true high water mark. It is sad, because some disagree with their ruling, they have cast aspersions as to the intelligence, or integrity of these justices. A unanimous decision suggests that the decision was based on good law, not emotion.

It would behoove those in opposition to look inside themselves, and ask if it isn't emotional attachment, rather than legal right that has formed their positions.

The Fiver

I recently posted an(I thought)innocuous comment on Huckleberries, a Spokesman-Review on-line blog. It was about an actual experience I had, on a night off at the "Wheel."

I had an occasion to sashay into the Men's room, (Beer had been flowing) when I happened to look down. Behold! I was peeing on a genuine five dollar bill. I stopped and thought. Then, gingerly, and by the tips of my thumb and finger, extracted said bill from it's nest.

I quickly walked it across to the sink, where it underwent a vigorous scrubbing. I then pressed it between two paper towels, and returned to my table. After great thought, and recognizing that I was going to owe my waitress a tip, I generously donated said fiver to the cause. (Later, I told her of the source) She laughed and accepted it.

Unbeknownst to me, and after an abbreviated remark to this effect on a comment segment of "Huckleberries", a feature of the Spokesman-Review, it hit the funnybone of the blogmeister of the S/R, Dave Oliveira. He posted it on the S/R blog. Then again, and then to add to the indignity, printed it the the paper.

I hadn't time to finish the paper this morning, so I didn't catch the print part. I went to the Post office for my mail. One friend was in there laughing about it when the postmaster ran out to tell me she would never eat my potato salad again.

Well, ma'am, unless another fiver shows up in my lifetime, I have great doubts that your health is in jeopardy...

Blogfest IV

I can't think of anything to say that hasn't already been said by Mari & Stebbijo, except to ditto the great time part.

I haven't been heard from for a few days, due to another communications blackout. I'm half-installed for Adelphia broadband, and my phone line went dead again. I personally think it's the Navy Base and of course, the black helicopters at work.

But I digress. We had a rather small but lively blogfest, with surprise guests, Spencer, and the newlyweds, Sam Taylor & bride.

Sue Turner showed up and was a delight. She ended up in a spirited but civil discourse on growth with Spencer, which is kind of like trying to train the fox, as he is entering the hen-house. Spencer being a developer, and Sue appearing to be no-growth. I politely struck up a conversation with another at that point.

We missed all of the folks that sent regrets. We would rather have had them with us, than regret missing it.

Meetings & Stuff

Busy day for me today. I ventured into the big city. Coeur d'Alene. Got a haircut, caught the hearing at the Courthouse between plaintiff C.A.R.E., which is a large citizen's group in and around Bayview, vs: defendants, Idaho Fish & Game.

The issue was a summary judgment barring development of the WW11 rifle training range into a world class range, where hundreds of sportsmen attend competitions, and the addition of a skeet/trap shooting range, all on property deeded to the state for the purpose of wildlife enhancement. It failed.

The true issue seems to be who runs out of funds first, the State, or the volunteers from Bayview...Duh!

After picking up Chinese over on 4th St, I met with our group of bloggers at the Kootenai County Courthouse, where we held a "Meeting in a Box. Dan English provided the meeting room. I'm convinced that he attended just to make sure we returned the pens in the kit.

I got to meet two other guys that are very interesting, and well informed. Thom George, and Mike Kennedy. Bill & Lisa McCrory also attended. Onward to Athol, where I croaked out two or three tunes at a Karaoke session, thence home.

These days off are going to kill me yet. Don't forget the Blogfest this Saturday, at 2:00 PM at the Captain;s Wheel in Bayview. Some new and interesting folks plan to be there. You plan on it too.

Making Waves

I met two wonderful Ladies this afternoon. They had just met, after 61 years of separation. You see, not all of the sailors at Farragut Naval Traning Base were Guys.

Phoebe DeGree of Bend Oregon, and Donna Lee of Portland, Oregon came to their first, and probably last reunion of Naval Personnel that trained here during the forties.

It turns out that they were bunkmates during 1944-45. Both were clerical Waves, serving the permanent party, or as they were known, "Ship's Company".

Donna had the upper bunk, Phoebe the lower. Fast friends for the last two years of the war, they separated to go their various ways. Phoebe married a sailor from the base. Both widowed now, they were charming company for an hour or so before it was time for them to leave. You see, they were both going out dancing at the Athol American Legion Post.

Oh, if I could only keep up with the likes of them.

Tapps

This weekend marks the 20th reunion of the WWII Navy Veterans that cycled through Farragut Naval Station, during the war. The Greatest Generation, and I have no problem in using that name, is aging and has announced that this is it, the last reunion.

Sixty three years ago, a huge effort was put forth to establish a Naval Basic Training Facility. The base was built, literally, from the materials onsite. Trees were cut down, milled onsite, then the green lumber was used to construct the entire installation, except the brig.

Today, the brig, built with concrete blocks, is the only building that was saved. According to the several vets that I interviewed, none of them were residents of the brig.

The organizers of the annual trek back to where they suffered the indignities of the Drill Instructors, have grown old, and tired, and unless younger Navy Vets come forth this will be the last one.

This week-end, we are enjoying the last great visit. Our lunch crowd at the Wheel was so great that I was asked to give up part of my day off tomorrow to help with the crowd. I am honored to help, and we here at the Captain's Wheel are honored by the visit of these, our heroes of another era.

Blogfest IV

Blogfest IV is on. We will meet in a social setting at the Captain's Wheel Restaurant in Bayview, Idaho, Saturday, September 16 at 2:00 PM.

All bloggers and blurkers are invited. It probably goes without saying, but for the few, only friendly non-combative folks are invited. Leave the on-line hassles at home, and you are welcome. We would like to see some of our friends from Spokaloo Falls show up, too.

This blogfest is not to be confused with the "Meeting in a box" gathering that some of us are putting together for Wednesday, September 13 at 6:00 PM. That group is for Kootenai County residents only, but is going to be mostly bloggers and blurkers. This meeting will be at the Kootenai County Administration Building on the floor adjacent to the Drivers Licence office. We have been specifically invited, as the planning people think we have something special to contibute.

I would appreciate an RSVP on both gatherings. hhuseland@aol.com

Planning & Zoning

For those that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I was recently asked by the Kootenai County Planning Dept. to conduct a "Meeting in a Box." This essentially, is a small group, 10-20 people in a forum, from which opinions about future growth will be discussed.

This is especially noteworthy, since I don't think I've ever heard of Government doing this before. That tends to make Kootenai County the for-front of citizen participation. My specialty, it turns out, is to gather up those ornrey Bloggers, corral them in one room, and ask them to put up or shut up...

I have accepted this challenge, and I hope that you do too. All Kootenai County, Idaho Bloggers, Blurkers, and ner' do well's are invite to this citizen input group. Who knows, a County official may show up to show you that they care...

This meeting will be held in the Kootenai County Administration Building. Lower level parking adjacent to the drivers licence office, and humorously, next to Planning and Zoning. Straight down the hall to the end, in meeting room A-1.

The date, September 13, Wednesday, 6:00 PM. Several very interesting people have committed to attend. If you want to get up off your dead *** and be counted, this is your chance.

The meeting room was graciously offered by County Clerk Dan English, who will be our host.

I ran into County Commisioner, Rick Currie and his lovely wife at the Captain's Wheel in Bayview the other night. I remarked that we would be holding this meeting, and when...

When he was about to leave, I suddenly had a thought. I walked up to him and exclaimed, wait a minute...If we do this, how can we complain about everything you do, if we become part of the process...He grinned, and said, now you are catching on.

A big cheer for the only incombent Commissioner, and a pretty nice Guy.

In an era that has spawned many politicians, with varied agendas, it is very refreshing to meet a guy who just wants to "Git er done".

Justice Trembles

It has come to our attention that in all, Waterford Park Homes, LLC has had eleven projects red tagged by the County. According to my sources in Building & Planning, all have been ignored, none have been lifted. When we were about to invite all residents of Kootenai County to build without permits, we hear that the Kootenai County Prosecutor is planning possible criminal charges.

When respect for the rules is flagrantly ignored, government must act, or forever be insignificant. We are happy that belatedly, the enforcement end of things will be protected.

Jim Wilson

I woke up to a nightmare today. Every Friday, at 4:00 Jim Wilson showed up at the Captains wheel. He had one drink, then asked, "Is there any of Herb's Potato Salad left? I always had a go box full of potato salad for him.

I made potato salad Friday. Jim showed up on schedule. Before clocking out, I made a go box for him, like always. I brought it out to him, and thanked him for his loyalty. He left with good wishes, and he thanked me for the Potato salad, and left, after buying me a beer for the courtesy.

Jim died in his sleep last night, and I find myself breaking into tears, and I don't know why, except my keyboard keeps getting blurred.

God Bless you, Jim...

May you have a safe journey to what is beyond. I loved you Man...

Bayview Disappears

As I looked out over the bay this morning, I realized I couldn't see across it. Smoke billowed down to lake level, smelling like a forest fire. I thought at first that it was one. It is hard to believe that the grass seed farmers were that callous.

Apparently they were. Traffic on Highway 95 between Chilco and Athol slowed to a crawl, as visibility lowered down close to zero. People in Bayview were choking with the air close to unbreathable.

Silverwood Theme Park, a tax machine that pays much more in taxes to the County than farmers, was obliterated by the clouds of smoke. Usually in these conditions, one or more guests or employees are rescued by ambulance.

Hopefully, the EPA will change this. That the fields were burned even though forest fires were already smoking up the sky was criminal. Recently, the EPA ruled that they were going to tighten up the rules.

It is terribly unfortunate, that our elected state officials didn't care enough to make these changes. Now the Federal government will. It's about time.

Comprehensive Plan

The Kootenai County Planning Department has held out an olive branch to those that oppose growth. This doesn't mean that growth won't happen, it just means that we are being asked for our opinions as to how to control it.

I applaud the Department for it's forward thinking idea of "Meetings in a box."

This is an informal way of collecting opinions from many different sources. I was honored to be selected by the staff, to conduct, host, and produce the results of such a gathering, consisting, but by no means eliminating others, bloggers. It amazes me that someone from the County would think that we bloggers are opinionated, but there it is...bloggers throughout the County that have opinions are invited to attend.

This is not a substitution for the blogfest earlier announced. That will occur in late September or early October. The purpose of this exercise is vital. It will form the master growth plan that we will have to live with for years. Done right, we shouldn't have to deal with a flurry of conditional use permits, or exceptions, as is now the norm...

Since this is a business meeting, I will attempt to hold it in Coeur d' Alene, date and time to be announced. The meeting must be held before September 29, as that is the deadline for comments. I need RSVP from those that are interested in attending. Please direct these to me at: hhuseland@aol.com...

Army vs. National Guard

I pretty near choked when I read the article in the Spokesman-Review about 550 soldiers from Ft. Lewis being assigned to fight fires in Central Washington.

That is the job of the Washington National Guard. If they are not available, where are they? Iraq? If the Guard is in Iraq, while regular army troops are hanging around in garrison, it makes me wonder if we have this backward.

Guard troops are to be used only in case of National Emergency. Other that that, their contributions to the community are riot control, flood and firefighting...

These are under trained citizen soldiers helping out in their own states. I don't like what I'm seeing, what with Northern State Guardsmen and women being assigned out of their own states for border patrol, or foreign duty, while the Army sits in garrison and trains.

Dog Days of Summer

There is a mystery about August. One day, people are swarming into the resort areas like ours, the next day they are gone. The weather is great...Maybe the greatest week-end weather we have had in memory.

Is it the cool nights that have descended upon us? The shopping trips for school clothes/supplies? Who knows. All I know, is that the seasonal heat has disappeared, the nights are cool again, and my tomatoes are ripening a month earlier than usual.

That brings us to another subject. Tomatoes. I have raised tomatoes as a religion for many years, both on the coast, and here. This year, with slightly modified methods, and great weather, I hit the jackpot. I have ripening tomatoes. Big ones. Blossom -end rot is still a problem, but not as bad as previous years. If I could find a place to buy calcium foliage spray, I would win that battle.

Labor day week-end is almost upon us. I've worked hard this Summer, which was good for me. Dropped from 200 pounds to a svelte 179. Anyone of you that knew me in my youth would wonder where I put 200 pounds. I do too. Hopefully I will keep it off.

I am still contemplating a blogfest, probably one or two weeks after Labor day, but need to consult DFO before setting a firm date.

Hollandville, USA

I am posting this as a community service, as requested by a great friend and community stalwart. For those of you that don't know, a moratorium on new float homes was put into place by the State of Idaho, several years ago. Apparently, they figured out that the float home owners didn't represent enough votes to form a dissident group. Fighting from behind for years, the Float Home Owners Association was created for the purpose of keeping the marina owners from totally controlling the price of moorage. Moorage that they can't leave.

"To all Bayview float home owners,

As some of you may know, Randy Ragan and I have been meeting with Bob Holland to push the dockominium concept forward. After several discussions, we have an outline of the anticipated program, which has been substantiated by Mr. Holland. I have attached it to this email in both MS-WORD and PDF format. Both documents read the same.

We are organizing a meeting with all Bayview Marina float home owners for this Saturday (Aug, 12th) @ 10:00AM. We have arranged with Steve from the Buttonhook restaurant to open early for this private meeting. Mr. Holland will not be attending this meeting.

Hope to see you there.
JR



John Ragan

MOR Manufacturing, President

5676 E. Seltice Way

Post Falls, ID 83854"

Bayview Chamber

Tuesday evening will be the usual chamber meeting at 7:00 PM. What won't be usual, is it will be followed by a potluck. I am about to trek down to the Captain's Wheel, where I have been commissioned to make a huge bunch of potato salad.

We expect around 70 or 80 folks to attend, so it will be a huge bunch of potato salad. Unlike the splinter group, numbering 15 by their own count, we have a large membership mostly comprised of individuals, with great support from local businesses.

I hope to see all of you there...

Patience

I learned something of value this week. Actually, I learn something of value every week, but this one was special.

I had just posted my last,"Whacko." I was in the process of copying my first paragraph for the purpose of pasting it to INWBA. Bad things began to happen. In three tries, I failed to highlight the offending three lines.

Every time I tried, the whole article would turn blue. I couldn't get the @*&%#@@ lines to highlight separately. I turned blue. I decided, (I had a few drinks prior to this decision) to punish my computer.

Never try to punish your computer. This mass of chips and garbage invented by that #@%*@# guy Bill Gates, is in charge. I head butted my screen. Nothing. Then I slammed my mouse down hard on my pad. That got my computer's attention alright.

The mouse was broke. The moral of this story is, of course, never try to outsmart the ugly gnomes that inhabit the mysterious computer. I was out of touch for three days, until I could run to town, get Office Max to recommend a new mouse, (I am now the proud owner of a Microsoft mouse) and then streak back to Bayview to install it.

Actually, remembering the 70's, streaking might not be the correct terminology. Bottom line, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DISCIPLINE YOUR COMPUTER. IT WILL RETALIATE.

Whackos

I have heard about, and actually experienced people that were a bit left or right of center, but this one took the cake.

I'm sitting at a neighborhood bar, having my first beer of the afternoon. It's a nice day, the sun is out, maybe a little too out. I was introduced to a man that was representative of all the answers.

I was awed. A man that had all the answers. I've looked for someone like that all my life. I listened carefully. Here is what he said, paraphrased.

The 9-11 Twin Towers debacle? CIA." Didn't you know that the navigation systems in modern jets can be flown anywhere remotely? "

His whole theory was that our own government attacked the twin towers to use as an excuse for attacking various other countries.

This jerk-off had maybe one or two problems with his analyses. First I am a qualified pilot. His idea that a commercial airliner could be made into a guided bomb was flawed in several ways.

First, The flight was a regularly scheduled flight, booked days in advanced. Secondly, the idea that an airliner could be remotely controlled, to crash into the twin towers is bullcrap.

This particular conspirator theorist, was an idiot. What is scary, is that someone might listen to him or his ilk.

For your information, should someone try to tell you an airliner can be directed to any target, here is the truth. Category three aircraft have on board radar, capable of zeroing in to fogged in airports, or those runways that are below normal minimums. In order for a commercial plane to land using this precision system.
You see, the target airport must also have the same equipment, thereby electronically controlling the descent and landing of that aircraft.

When idiots get just a little information about advances in navigation aids, they tend to idiotise. I confess, I had never actually run into one of them until now.
It is to me unbelievable that an otherwise intelligent person could get lost in this stuff. You tell me...I can't figure it out...

Heatwave

Blistering heat has descended upon us. The last several days have been especially uncomfortable if you work in a restaurant kitchen. It has been 120 plus degrees at the Captain's Wheel kitchen lately. Many diners visit us because it's too hot to cook at home. Don't forget to show your appreciation for those that do it for you.

Customers and employees alike have taken to jumping into the lake clothes and all, to beat the heat. No end is in sight though the nighttime temps will start down soon. Alas, I am preparing to go to work tonight. It's not much fun in this heat. Fortunately for the customers, the rest of the building is air conditioned.

The Real Story

Yesterday, I posted a rebuttal to the article by Maghann Cuniff of the Spokesman-Review. In it, I pointed out that this small group of dissidents are not representative of the vast majority of residents.

Today, I'm going to get more specific. This morning, I was contacted by a Bayview Water & Sewer board member, along with the patriarch of Bayview, Jim McDonald.

I stopped over at McDonald's Marina to chat with him. This is a man who feels heartbroken, that his work, and that of others since he and a few adventuresome souls started the Bayview Chamber in 1954 is being dragged in the dirt by some easterners and other recent emigrants.

These people invariably, after moving here for the peace, tranquility and ambiance in our area, settle in, then pine for the things they left behind. One of the officers, Tom Lloyd, moved here from Vermont one year ago. Bob Moore, another recent move six years ago.

We even had the so-called president, or whatever, state that they didn't want Bayview to become a party town. Well, let's see. We have around 750 permanent residents, and several hundred folks that recreate here in the Summer. We have seven resorts, five watering holes, two major restaurants. People have been partying here since the Navy held the big camp-out in Farragut back in the forties.

You people didn't have to move to a resort community, and hey, it's still not too late for you to leave.

Since the chamber was established in 1954, modeled more after a community Club than a chamber, and definitely not controlled by business only many public services have been brought forth by this chamber that you are dissing.

Establishment of the Bayview Water and Sewer District. The formation of a fire district, now merged with Athol to become Timberlake Fire District. Sponsorship of the 4th of July fireworks, and many other public services too many to name.

A small group of radical thinkers came forth, tried to take our chamber away from us last year and was rebuffed. Whether rank and file of this cell are all the same bunch is arguable. We here in Bayview have a very democratic forum in our Chamber of Commerce/Community club.

Bayview is small, and doesn't need splinter groups claiming the right of representation of our community. Especially people that are so new here, that they don't have a clue as to who has accomplished what. Visit with people that have made a difference in this village before you mouth off.

Summer Time

The lyrics to "Summer time, and the livin' is easy" crosses my mind today. Between vicious Thunder storms, we have had what I have never seen here in North Idaho.

All of our bad weather has happened in mid-week. Every week-end has been gorgeous. What's up with that? Tradition has it that all bad weather happens on week-ends, and good weather starts on Monday or Tuesday, ending of course on Friday or Saturday.

Bayview has been somewhat quiet recently, unless you count the remarks of disidents starting up their very own community club, because they couldn't control the Bayview Chamber of Commerce.

Well, that brings up another subject. A staff reporter working for the Spokesman-Review, interviewed several people that, I've never heard of, that stated the Chamber is representing business only, and not the community. Not true. While there are about five businesses that have membership in the Chamber, about 90% of the membership is are individuals.

The problem is in the quality of reporting. If all you interview are of the opposition, then what you have is a newsroom editorial, instead of information. I realize that "If it bleeds, it leads" does dominate, slanting opinion by either not trying to interview others, is not news...It's just the opinion of a very few.

I'm sorry, but I just can't ignore this...When I ran spell check, it stopped at newsroom. It turns out that the alternative they suggested, was"mushroom."