A Brand New Day
Sydney Sales Remember the recent column about unstoppable spread of “pumpkin spice everything”? Apparently, local barista Lindsay Boschma complained to her family about pumpkin spice so insistently that her older sister, Sydney Sales, created a unique piece of artwork to cheer her up. The girls' dad, Mark Sales of Coeur d'Alene, reports that everyone had a laugh, but Lindsay's aversion to pumpkin spice remains just as strong.
Wow! Suddenly I'm a little nervous, like a kid on his first day of school.
Sure, I've written plenty of feature-type columns through the years — in different parts of the United States, and even in places like Europe and the Middle East.
But I've never stepped on stage with the glorious backdrop of North Idaho sitting right alongside.
I'm not sure where to start, exactly, so I'm taking the no-nonsense advice of reader Sue Nussear, who admitted she didn't grasp the point of my Friday columns until I finally described things more clearly.
Mincing no words, she wrote: “I wish you had written it in the beginning of your tenure.”
OK, Sue, since you've converted to become a fan, this time I'll try to explain from the start.
The idea here is to have a lively, ongoing conversation about whatever's happening in the community, or maybe just something that strikes any of us as either newsworthy or humorous.
THERE ARE no rules for this type of column.
We'll just enjoy it as we go.
Along the way, we're going to fold some earlier projects into this space, things like the popular “I Wonder,” and more of those polls in which you chose favorites in music and movies.
I suspect we'll be going all over the place, and soon there will be social media involved, as well.
We are literally going to do this thing together.
My role will be something like a moderator, suggesting some topics but inviting guests to have a say on, well...
Anything.
For instance, in the next week or two, we'll be discussing tattoos with messages, the future of our airport, a neighborhood hurricane hunter, some business names that don't seem to make sense, the local impact of #MeToo... and the IQ of ducks.
Plus, the weather.
Everyone has something to say about the weather — and in our case, the possibility of actual climate change in North Idaho.
What do you think?
LET'S START with that: We'll soon be doing this on Facebook, as well, but you can always, always get into the discussion by emailing me at [email protected].
So we're agreed.
Our very first puzzle is whether or not climate change has fiddled with local seasons — and will there be no going back?
But hey, if you'd rather weigh in on Tuesday's election results or anything else, be my guest.
The only caveat is that we're all friends here, so you must be courteous. If you absolutely need to curse, do so under your breath.
Whether we're touching on politics or debating the best recipe for turkey stuffing, this is a place to be lighthearted (if possible) and when it's appropriate, to have fun.
Come join us because it will be intriguing, interactive, perhaps informative and, hey, sometimes just goofy.
After all, you must be wondering how the IQ of ducks fits in, right?
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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press. Email: scameron@ cdapress.com