April showers of foolishness abound
In decades of columnizing, I'm quite sure that Main Street's publication day has fallen on April 1 before today. I've never written a faux column and I've never been a fan of practical jokes, although I don't begrudge others who go all-in to celebrate the spirit of the day. (Yes, Mr. P, I'm talking about you!)
The best 100 April Fools' hoaxes are counted down online at hoaxes.org/aprilfool with the No. 1 spot having taken place in 1957. A BBC news show reported that Swiss spaghetti farmers were enjoying a bumper crop and included footage of peasants harvesting strands of spaghetti from trees. Viewers flooded the station with inquiries about where to find spaghetti tree seeds. Check out the website for the other 99 and take everything you see or read today with a giant grain of salt ... if you can find a salt bush that's blooming this early in the year.
Last October, I stayed up way past my bedtime to catch a glimpse of the Blood Moon. Since we live right in town I drove to the Rathdrum Prairie for an unobstructed view. The night was clear enough but I never really saw the red tint to the moon during the lunar eclipse.
Saturday morning, there's another possible viewing so instead of staying up late, I'll get up early. The window of opportunity will be brief, between 5 and 12 minutes for the total eclipse. The first visual here will be about 2:30 a.m., with a partial eclipse between 3:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. This is the third in a series of four lunar eclipses known as a tetrad. I'm not an astronomy geek but I do enjoy the possibility of seeing phenomena of nature in real time and real life.
Our youngest daughter graduated from high school in 1995 and the grandsons live in other states, so we don't have the chance to cheer for family members in school activities. But for years, we've spent time in the bleachers rooting for the home teams. Last week I received a sweet email from Trojan tennis player Emily Danforth, whom I also see at various events with her camera shooting for the yearbook.
"You have no idea how important it is to us kids to have people like you in the community cheering us on!" wrote Emily.
It's a nice reminder that supporting young people who are involved in positive activities is noticed by them. If you'd like to support the PFHS tennis team, its annual spaghetti dinner/auction is next Tuesday in the high school commons from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Just $6 per person.
Easter trivia: Peeps have been around even longer than me; the first of the iconic marshmallow confections were created by hand in a small candy company in Bethlehem, Pa., in the early 1950s. Now about 5.5 million Peeps are made every single day in a variety of colors and shapes.
Taking another trip around the sun on April Fools' Day are Ed Frazey, Martha Goose, Kim Haddock, Steve Gibbs, Candi Applegate, Chris Thompson and Payton Peugh.
Wish a happy birthday on Thursday to Lee Periman (80!), Jonathan Owens (50!), Cheryl Marcheso (40!), Beth Barkley, Dallan Pope, Kathy Willy, John Tindall, Julie Lockhart, Brian Hall, Judi Jackson, Nell Gordon and Taylor Huber.
Friday birthdays are Liz Montgomery, Doreen Porter, Cameron Dominquez (20!) and Cindy Jordan.
On Saturday, Kathryn Eachon turns 87, sharing the date with Marshall Meeks, Nancy Gurno, Keith Hanlon, Duffy Taylor, Ann Fox, Nicholas Kane (20!), Pappy Butler and Toni Hackwith.
On Sunday, Sharon Stevenson (60!), Terri McTavish, Sharon Wagner, Kelli Hawkins, John Negaard, Jamie Dallas and Gail Osterson will blow out their birthday candles.
Bruce Hough, Jeff Cox, Caitlin Hodl and Tyler Bush start out the week by eating cake on Monday.
Carrie Gridley, Katie Keane (30!), Mary Epstein, Melaine Spalding and Eli Gonzales were born on April 7.
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. 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.