A song from my father

Anniversaries of life-changing moments in time can be painful, and this year Oct. 12 will mark a decade since my much-loved father died.

It seems like only moments ago on a sunny October morning that my world shifted when he left it. Not a day goes by that I don't miss his smile, laugh and advice. He was the most authentic person I've ever known and the best dad.

So the past few weeks I've had him on my mind more than usual, thinking of all that's happened in the past decade without him. On a recent Sunday morning while volunteering serving breakfast at the American Legion, one of the older veterans handed me a plain CD and told me to listen to the song. I put it in the pocket of my apron and there it stayed until just a few days ago.

Curiosity finally got the best of me and I put it in the player. I was immediately transported to my childhood when my father would read the Uncle Remus books, voicing all of the characters, including Brer Rabbit. "Please don't throw me in that briar patch!" and singing my favorite song of all in his rich baritone.

Stunningly, there on that CD, in what had appeared to be a random gift from an elderly acquaintance, was a single song ... the song of my childhood. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah ...my oh my what a wonderful day, plenty of sunshine heading my way.

Forever grateful that Mr. Bluebird's still on my shoulder and that after a decade, my father still finds ways to remind me of his love.

The second Maison de Couture style show is Friday evening at the Coeur d'Alene Inn. Rookie models will be showcasing outfits from the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores, and all outfits will be available for purchase. I'll be making my runway debut along with the star of the show, Minnie McDonald, 89.

During rehearsal Monday night we visited a bit, having a good laugh about getting outside our comfort zone as first-time fashion models. It's all for a great cause: the St. Vincent's HELP Center, which provides one-stop resources for the homeless and anyone struggling. The center assists more than 100 people each weekday, year-round.

Miss Minnie and I will be joined by a couple dozen community members including some brave men - Mayor Steve Widmyer, Chief Allen, Steve Griffitts, Ryan Davis, John Beutler, Greg Helbling and Nick Smoot. Definitely worth the price of admission to see who takes a turn down the runway Friday night! Info: (208) 416-4717.

Miss Olivia Backs may be half a year from her third birthday but she's already made her auctioneering debut. Along with her renowned professional auctioneer parents, Rose and Matt Backs, she attended the Washington State Auctioneers Convention in Spokane over the weekend. Following the Northwest Auctioneer Championships is the Fun Auction. In front of the crowds, standing on a chair with help from her mom, Olivia took the microphone like a pro to sell a Rapunzel doll. Not all of her words could be understood until she got to the "Sold! Sold! Sold! Sold! Sold!" part. The winning bidder? Her daddy.

Highlights: tomorrow night is Volleyball 4 the Cure, when the regular season IEL match between Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene combines as a fundraiser to benefit Hospice of North Idaho, Patient Support Fund at Kootenai Health and Susan G. Komen. Raffles and some great volleyball action! JV at 5:30 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m. in the Arena at Post Falls.

On Saturday at 4 p.m., the Run for Your Lives Zombie 5K Fun Run/Walk will definitely put the "fun" in fun run. There is a costume contest for participants to win tickets to Scarywood, and the first 100 registrants receive a free ticket to the Lions Haunted House. Register online at postfallschamber.com or 773-5016.

Happy birthday today to Mr. Wonderful aka Pat McGaughey, Dale Bennett, Craig Hampton, Bev Finney, Suzanne DeTar, Laurie Rumore, Joel Elgee, Barbara Baltzell, Josh Hissong and Jeff Hill.

Tomorrow the legendary John Rook - co-creator of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame - joins Randy Wells, Kathy Epstein, Greg Luraski and Ron Deering on the birthday list.

On Friday, Bill Everson, Nancy Kosonen, Steve Fitzhugh, Lori Gravelle, Bob Cox, Allan Knight, Lynn Jackson, Mollie Sommers, Marlea Kruger and Mike Way are also celebrating birthdays. Michael Pereira, Chris Pasquale, Greg Worley, Genie Riegert, Chad Anderson, Cindy Odd (60!) and Warren Anglin will blow out the candles on Saturday.

Happy Columbus Day birthdays to Tom Elliott, Jeff Yates, Donnie Murrell, Alan Brown, Kathy Getchius, Kirk Hjeltness and McKade Brown.

Monday celebrants are Edna Martin, Jeff Johnson, Derek Scharf, Serena Pratt, Kathy Pierce and Judy Bennett. On Tuesday, Leslie Lien, Jeff Elder, Dave Chambers, Karen Hammond, Linda Polley, Gary Ghramm and Suzanne Metzger take another trip around the sun.

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 and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.