A very interesting life ends too soon

On Friday, Patrick Jacobs suffered a massive heart attack, and on Sunday he passed away, surrounded by those who loved him most and best. Patrick was beyond three-dimensional; it takes four dimensions at the least to contain his many passions.

I met him a decade or more ago when he was managing a visitor center for the Coeur d'Alene Chamber. His love of where he and generations of his family have lived was evident in the stories he would share with travelers. He was possessed of self-deprecating humor, was a man with eclectic tastes in cuisine and people, a bona fide history buff of the Coeur d'Alene area and a pop culture commentator without pretension.

Patrick became one of my favorite local writers, and when he found his niche as an Everyman's food critic, it was a recipe for inspired prose. Patrick was a brutally honest reviewer without being brutal or mean-spirited. As a restaurant reviewer, he once asked me to answer questions for a recurring feature on "Get Out! North Idaho."

So a few years ago when I was doing morning radio, I invited him to join me on the air. Alas, I never succeeded in convincing Patrick that he would be a fabulously interesting interview. He was rather shy and humble despite his larger-than-life persona. A gentle man, and a gentleman.

In this era of online and social media, we connect in ways that are far from being superficial. In some ways it can actually be more authentic and perhaps more honest. Patrick connected with many people in real life and with many more via his blog, Twitter and Facebook. I'd venture an observation that as much as anyone I've known, the diversity of people who followed, appreciated and admired Patrick's writings and musings is unparalleled in these parts.

The age of 42 seems much, much too young to even speak of a legacy but our friend Patrick Jacobs certainly left one. He also leaves behind heartbroken family and close friends. Peace to them all.

Places to go and things to do:

Tonight at the North Idaho College gym at 5:30 p.m. is the annual Special Needs Recreation Basketball Extravaganza. It is free for the family and is a fun and inspiring time.

Tonight through Friday, the Post Falls Lions Haunted House opens at 6 p.m.

Lots of options for Halloween - trick or treat in downtown Coeur d'Alene from 4-6 p.m. and also at Post Falls City Hall and at the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce all day on Friday.

The CitiFall Festival at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Halloween from 5:30-8:30 p.m. is free for the family with two cans of food, hosted by Heart of the City Church.

The 12th annual RLM Harvest Festival at the church on Cecil Road in Post Falls from 5-8 p.m., free for families.

And for those who haven't voted in advance, Tuesday is election day. Exercise your civic duty and cast a ballot.

Happy birthday today to Sandy Patano, Jerry Baltzell, Kara McCollum, Amanda Krier, Mary Ransdell, Dave Clark and Shawn Duncan.

Tomorrow wish a happy birthday to Rainey Coffin, Lori Dahlke, John Kelly, Lori Jurado, Vivian Stadley, Brad Oliver, Kay Mills and Derek McGee.

Halloween birthdays with more treats than tricks for Kathy Prosser, RaeAnne Capaul, Krysta Huft, Amber Copeland, Tom Hasslinger, Rob Moser, Jabet Wheeler, Tyler Engelbrecht, Kevin Grady, Linda Haughton, Jaks Fowler and Susan Johnson.

On the first day of November, Randy Martens, Bernice Dymek and Pam Jank will put on their party hats. Mike Miller, Alan Zerba, Charity Thompson and Kathleen Lazor share birthdays on Sunday.

On Monday, Jill Jurvelin, Alex Capaul, Hara Allison, Karen Pearl, Patti Harris, Jerry Mason, Tim Wark and Kelly Tuntland will blow out their birthday candles.

Taking another trip around the sun on Election Day are Annie Mote, Angela Cross, Kirsten Donovan, Nancy White, Mic Armon, Julie Schmidt, twins Zachary and Ryan Englebrecht, and father and son Chris and Mitchell Copstead.

And a very special Happy Birthday on Nov. 4 to Ruth Olsen, who's turning 93 years young. She was just 23 when she and her late husband, Cecil, came to Coeur d'Alene. And in a wonderful bit of trivia shared by her son, Gary Olsen, many of those older trees along the lake, between Silver Beach and Tony's, were planted by Cecil in the late 1940s when Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive was Interstate 90.

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 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.