Elections, and a life well-lived

Before the Wednesday morning quarterbacking in the wake of the election begins in earnest, I'd like to express my gratitude to live in a country where I was able to put my name on a ballot, go to my neighborhood polling place and cast my vote without fear of retribution or death. I'm also grateful that there were so many citizens willing to put their names on a ballot and endure the rigors of campaigning, all for the responsibility of serving in public office.

My late father, who served as a Kootenai County commissioner, introduced me to this Theodore Roosevelt speech decades ago, and it's definitely appropriate for the day after an election. "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly: who errs and comes short again and again, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

It's fitting that just days after this election we honor those who have worn the uniform of the United States military through the generations and those who serve on foreign soil today. Those who have given their last full measure of devotion on our behalf are deserving of our gratitude beyond what words can convey. Veterans Day is more than just a Monday holiday in November. It's visible in the everyday life we are blessed to know in this country. I always stand humbled in the company of the men and women who have served.

So many milestones came and went during the four-month hiatus of Main Street. The incredible Betty Owens passed away at the age of 105. What a treat it was to interview her on the radio on her 103rd, 104th and 105th birthdays. She had the distinction of celebrating her 11/11 birthday in two centuries, 1911 and 2011. She was a remarkable woman who will be laid to rest at Forest Cemetery on what would have been her 106th birthday on Nov. 11.

Highlights ... Give Hunger the Bird turkey drive for the Post Falls Food Bank at StanCraft, fundraiser for Heritage Health (formerly Dirne Clinic) dental services at the Hagadone Events Center, the annual Post Falls High School Craft Fair and the Coeur d'Alene High School Holiday Craft and Food Faire, are all on Saturday. On Monday, American Legion Post 14 and VFW Post 889 will hold Veterans Day ceremonies at 11 a.m. at the Ronald D. Rankin Veterans Memorial Plaza, at Government Way and Garden Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. The Veterans Bell that long stood near the Third Street boat launch will be at the plaza for this year's ceremonies, rung by World War II veteran Jim Shepperd as he has done for decades.

Happy Birthday today to Anna Rolphe, Hap Hilbish, Joe Lenon, Lauren Gray, Kim Wilhelm and Ken Brandvold. Tomorrow Chuck Lempesis, Rocky Watson, Tracy Akerman, John Williams, Mike Dornquast, Lauren Dornquast and Harold Howard will celebrate. On Friday Keith Allen, Joanne Wilhelm, Jens Jensen, Jeff Tucker and Aaron Birdsall take another trip around the sun. On Saturday Gratia Griffith, Todd Tondee, Ben Rae, Janine Avila, Gary Ulvan, Matt Lyman and Dennis Hall will put on their party hats. Sunday birthdays are celebrated by Jeanne Norton, Beverly Pogue, Kathleen Tillman, Bret Bowers, Marlow Hendricks, John Evans, Diane Horton, Dale Broadsword and the U.S. Marine Corps, celebrating their 238th birthday. Semper Fi. On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Ellen Jaeger, Ruth Pratt, Graydon Stanley, Eugene Boyle, Aaron Roberts, Amy Colbert, Kim Malar, Kelli Fahy, Ron Lahr, Ruth Morrow and Emilia Ovstedal mark the date of their birth. On Tuesday wish Faith Mitchell, Marshal Mend, Dana Ryan, Greg Gervais, Robert Lantz, Antigone Twidt, Brenda Murphy and Amanda Behringer a happy birthday.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. Find her on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com, where you can also submit birthdays.