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| Kerri Thoreson |
Proof that dreams float
If you have ever seen the look on the face of a little kid after dropping their ice cream cone on a hot day, I bet that's what I looked like last Wednesday when the weather got in the way of what promised to be an incredibly fun event. Fred and Diane Finney had invited us to the christening of their gorgeous lake yacht, La Dame du Lac. The day of the big launch dawned with weathercasters predicting 70 mph winds and golf ball-sized hail by late afternoon. For obvious reasons the Finneys were reluctant to bring the boat out under those conditions so the christening was rescheduled to Sunday. Alas, previous travel plans prevented our attendance.
True that while coming aboard the 100-foot long, 28-foot-wide luxury yacht would be quite a thrill, what's even more interesting to me than the multi-million dollar price tag is that Fred designed and built his dream boat himself. For most of the past 100 years there's been a Captain Finney on Lake Coeur d'Alene. The lake and river are as much a part of Fred and Diane's life as the air they breathe. Dreams come in all sizes and shapes. In the Finneys' case they also float.
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The annual week at the lake for the Fullwiler sisters again featured old friends. Jill, Wendy and Polly Fullwiler and their cousins Jan and Sue invited assorted pals from high school for an evening of reminiscing at their cabin. Wendy and I were a pair to draw to back in the 1960s. Her mischievous grin and infectious laugh are unchanged and I marvel as the years melt away. We don't see the gray hair or gravitational pull on body parts, the four-decade connection transports us back to carefree teens growing up in a Coeur d'Alene of yesteryear.
Another pair of lifelong friends spent the weekend together. Margie Williams Nordstrom's good friend Jan Patzer Fristoe surprised her by hand-delivering a box of Harry and David's chocolates all the way from Medford, Ore., in honor of Margie's 65th birthday last Friday. Friends since classmates at Coeur d'Alene High School, Class of 1960, this is a particularly poignant visit for the duo.
Margie is facing serious health challenges and this connection of friendship through the years and across the miles is a bright spot. Margie and her husband, Rich, and sons Bruce and Eric would surely welcome our good thoughts and prayers.
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This is a great weekend to enjoy local events. Tomorrow night is the free summer concert at Q'emlin Park in Post Falls, featuring one of the best blues bands in the region ... Charlie Butts and the Filter Tips. Really. And if you've not experienced the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's Julyamsh Pow Wow and Tribal Encampment at the Greyhound Park and Event Center, do. It's extraordinary.
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Belated birthday wishes to Debbie Brown, who celebrated Sunday, and Katie Brodie, whose birthday was on Monday.
Kerri Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. "Main Street" appears in The Press every Wednesday. Kerri can be reached at rkthor52@aol.com or on her blog at http://fyinorthidaho.blogspot.com/
