The friend I never met
My column last week, "Man on the Corner" brought an outpouring of response.
In the column, I mentioned an elderly man who sat in his front yard for years and how I'd always meant to stop by and make his acquaintance. Until the day I noticed he was no longer there, his house vacant. I didn't know his name or what had happened to him. Now I do.
The man on the corner was Edgar "Eddie" Cotter, and thanks to Lisa Wagner and the crew at The Corner Cafe I was finally able to make his acquaintance, albeit posthumously. Eddie was a regular at the cafe, just a block from his house. He was a big man, 6-foot-7, who loved a good joke and telling stories over coffee with friends old and new. He also enjoyed sitting in a chair in his front yard, people-watching.
Lisa told me they knew Eddie had health issues but that he was always positive, telling them after doctor appointments that the tests were all good. Over the past few months the cafe crew noticed he was losing weight and his appetite had changed a bit, a visible slowing down of their friend. Eddie, who lived alone, never mentioned that he had cancer. They would call and check on him on those days he didn't make it for breakfast or lunch.
Earlier this month Eddie was hospitalized but lost his battle with cancer. On Friday I learned his funeral was the next day and it was there among his family and friends that I came to learn a little more about the man on the corner who had so profoundly affected me. I'll not be so quick to put something off until the tomorrow that may or may not come. I'll slow down and pause to smell the roses more often. The friend I never met will never know how grateful I am for the lesson in life. Rest in peace, Edgar Cotter.
A recent reduction of the "fleet" of vehicles in our driveway was surprisingly difficult. When you're married to a professional mechanic who's very good at what he does and you tend to get sentimental about cars, it's easy to collect far too many. Case in point, I still own a 1976 Dodge van I bought in 1977.
This week I sold the 1988 Chevy Cavalier Z-24 convertible that I've owned since 1989.
It was my first convertible and the most money I'd ever spent on something with four wheels. It's been in our regular rotation for the past 25 years, even though my primary source of transportation for several years has been a Sebring convertible.
On Saturday I posted the Cavalier for sale and it had a brand-new owner by the next day. I know the new owner will have many fun automotive adventures with the top down and the wind in her hair. But if anyone's waiting for my 37-year-old panel van to sport a "For Sale" sign, don't hold your breath. :)
On Monday during "Good Morning America," Lara Spencer was announcing the winners of an African safari and then mumbled the couple's name but what caught my ear was that they lived in Post Falls, Indiana. Just as I was thinking how odd that there would be a Post Falls in Indiana, Lara said, "no, it's Idaho, not Indiana." Geesh. But anyways, congratulations to the local couple whose names I don't know, who won an African safari. Maybe they can take the scenic route through Post Falls, Indiana.
Heard this call on the scanner Friday night toward the end of the Post Falls homecoming game: "Streaker at the game wearing a jock strap and a face mask heading toward Greensferry."
I'm not sure, but if there's a 'Robert's Rules of Streaking,' the jock strap might be a disqualifier.
Happy birthday today to Debbie Michalak, Justin Capaul, Andrea Rainey, Steve Evert, Dorothy Benoit, Carlena Shove and Cathy Schaede.
Tomorrow, Susan Cliff, Beck Jacobsen, Brenda Watkins, Gladys Sullivan, Michael McGee, Ronald Schlepp, Marcia Hughes, Teri Hudgins, Cheryl Snyder, Cate Kuhlmann and Charlie Taranto will blow out the birthday candles. Friday is the big day for Darci Allert, Luke Kilcup, Lisa McElwain (50!) and Dan Tesutov.
On Saturday, beautiful golden girls Helen Knott will blow out 88 candles and Ruth McDermid is turning 86, both sharing birthdays with Loretta Reed, Cindy Lash, Delraya Anstine, Kaley Fowler, Julie DeGon, Robert Hoyt and Paul Landers. Sept. 28 birthdays belong to Kayla Troxell, Meg Elyard, Natalie Loval, Ken Cook and Bryan Czarapata.
On Monday our oldest grandson Matt Snider, A'mya Ohlig, Gina Myers, Peg Mettalia, Phil Corliss, Greg Youngman, Shellie Mundy and Marilyn Griffitts are putting on their party hats. And on the last day of September our daughter Sarah Polk Bluff, Steve Griffitts, Chickie Albright, Debra Raymer, Don Schmitt, Jeff Baltzell, Wilma Mort, Dan Grimmett, Valerie Mesenbrink, Brett Hollenbeck, Ann Siebert, Liz Arakelian and Donna Cooper will enjoy 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 mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.