Bonus points for creative promotion
On Monday afternoon I made a trip to the post office in Post Falls with a couple of packages and letters to mail. Coming down Greensferry I could see the parking lot was crowded. Then as I turned into the driveway off Coeur d’Alene Avenue I saw something that made me laugh out loud: A pickup truck was parked on the street immediately past the entrance. On the tailgate was a banner with the following message: “WHY WAIT IN LINE? Turn right at stop light, across from Rancho Viejo. Fast, friendly service.”
The advertisement for Upscale Mail worked. I turned around and drove a couple of blocks, parked right in front of the store and within less time than it would have taken me to find a parking space at the post office I was done.
Owner Mike Cook was behind the counter and I told him that I’d seen his sign and decreed that he wins the Clever Promoter of the Year award. Two women standing in line behind me said they seconded the designation. I asked if they’d come from the post office after seeing his sign and they had.
Small business owners are my heroes. Well played, Upscale Mail!
I went to school Friday, not as a student but a guest judge for the North Idaho College speech competition. Brenda Johns, assistant professor of the Communications and Fine Arts Division and Teresa Runge, instructor of English and communications, were my hosts.
Although I wasn’t a student, I learned about recycled toilet paper and the environment, how doing one thing made a huge difference in Honduras and the value of emergency medical training. Finalists Robin Kostour, Naomi Fisher and Melissa Holbrook, respectively, spoke on those topics.
Any day we can meet interesting new people and learn new things is a very good day, indeed.
Inspired by the Christmas cookie-baking stories in last week’s Main Street column, when my daughter flew home for the weekend we decided to bake for old time’s sake. Using a tube of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, Sarah rolled it out and cut out cookies from the cutters we’ve used since our girls were little. We were decked out in matching flannel jammies and enjoying some mother-daughter time.
First batch went into the oven, and when the buzzer went off I reached in to take the cookie pan out and cracked up laughing. The dough had “melted” and it was one big “cookie,” no candy cane or Christmas tree shapes to be seen. I called Sarah in and then we were both laughing.
We did eventually succeed in making a couple dozen cookies to decorate, but I realized it’s the togetherness and shared experience that’s the best part of our holiday baking traditions. And sharing a belly laugh is a wonderful gift.
Post Script: “'What if Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn’t come from a store ... What if Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.'” — The Grinch
Happy birthday today to Josef Dreps, Nellie Armstrong, Kerri Wilfong, Susan Schneidmiller, Cat Troy, Jann Kinnard, Brenda Young, Janelle Stimson, Anne Marie Toothaker, Travis Gardner and Austin Wuest. Tomorrow longtime Press and Main Street reader Walt McClain, Marci Clark, Pam Pereira, Mimi Eismann, Lori Dawson, Harmony Taylor, Dot Neirinckx and Tim Kastning take another trip around the sun. Celebrating on Friday are Holly Kincaid, Lori Stanea and Cheyenne Peugh. Jingle bell birthday wishes to Randy Shaver, Tami Banker, Catherine Witham, Kris Wold, Krista Vandermark, Mike McDowell and our grandson Jared Gonzalez (25!) on Saturday. Mary Williams, Celeste Mitten, Terry Cooper, Carol Prosser, Rene Darby, Ray Potter, Judy Cronin and Rick Monroe blow out the candles on Sunday. Will Kennedy, Jim Sharp, Jayson Frank, Dean Swanson, Holly Miller, Lisa Turpin and Rick Blaski will open their presents on Monday. Dec. 21 birthdays belong to Jeremiah Hazard, Angela Wilson, Brad Miles, Lily Ann Carpenter, Debbie Tull, Jann Chatters, Rayna Solberg and Muni Kumar.
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 mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.