From Molokai with love

Cupids and questions...

No, no, we haven’t forgotten your Valentine’s Day memories.

We asked and you provided, both warm and fuzzy recollections of lovely days gone by — but also a couple of tales that didn’t exactly end happily ever after.

Surely we should start with our winner: Robin Near of Post Falls sent us the kind of story that makes you go: “Awww!”

Here’s Robin’s version of what happened on a Valentine trip to Hawaii...

“We were on Molokai, trying to get over the loss of our beloved dog. We were going to return to Idaho and rescue a dog, but someone had other plans.

“We were walking in the jungle, doing some bird-watching, when we met two very friendly Hawaiian women. They invited us to their relative’s farm.

“Two nights later we were enjoying a meal with Elea, her husband and children when I noticed some puppies in the backyard. The female runt of the litter stole my heart, and after some convincing, (husband) Al agreed we could adopt her.

“PeeVee is the smallest dog we’ve ever had at 11 pounds, but she has the biggest heart and personality. She helps us deal with Al’s disability — even hugging us several times daily by placing a paw on each side of our heads.

“We didn’t know dogs could hug. She also kisses and licks our ears to show affection like only a dog can do. She is our precious gift from Molokai and nothing can ever top it.”

What’s more, PeeVee is pretty photogenic.

Cool, eh?

On the other hand...

An emotional type of holiday like Valentine’s Day can go all wrong, too.

One reader who asked to stay anonymous (for obvious reasons) once worked for a restaurant in a large city.

“Probably the most memorable thing,” she said, “was when a woman served her husband with divorce papers at dinner on Valentine’s Day.

“She made a big scene about it, and the whole restaurant heard everything. He was crying, but she said that he cheated on her, and he deserved it.”

Yikes!

Did they stay for dessert?

MEANWHILE, I’ve received a couple of questions from readers that need answering — plus I have to toss out a long-overdue nod of thanks.

Perhaps you saw our two-part series last week on how to understand the validity of things you hear and read.

Our excellent source for those pieces was Josh Misner, a communications professor at North Idaho College.

Several people wrote to ask what courses Misner teaches (not just at NIC, but for Gonzaga and also Lewis-Clark State College).

“For NIC, I teach: public speaking, intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, and dynamic of social media,” Misner said. “For LCSC, I teach professional communication and persuasion theory. For Gonzaga, I teach communication theory and research methods.”

WE ALSO heard from some folks who were wondering if Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo was a major recipient of cash from lobbyists in the controversial payday lending industry — since its business practices have been in the news recently.

Crapo is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

There are at least 18 short-term, high-interest lending offices in Kootenai County, depending on your precise definition.

Crapo received $22,400 from the payday loan industry during the 2016 accounting cycle (fifth-most in the Senate), and has banked $12,500 so far in the 2018 cycle (second-highest).

So, the answer: It’s certainly not a ton of money by Congressional standards.

But Crapo definitely picked up some handy dinner change.

•••

Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press who has waited too long to thank Stephanie Garganos for those neat antlers that were supposed to show up in Steve’s Christmas season mug shot. Unfortunately, the timing was wrong – so the antlers will appear next Christmas.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com.

Facebook: BrandNewDayCDAPress.

Twitter: @BrandNewDayCDA