A question for people of any age
Kerri Thoreson
“Ask yourself how old you would be if you didn’t know the day you were born.” This line from Toby Keith’s song, "Don’t Let the Old Man In," was inspired by Clint Eastwood and caused me to pause. Some days, I absolutely feel every one of my 71 years, but for the most part, I think as I did in my 30s and 40s. I’m smarter than I was in my 20s, but believe me, that fearless hippie dreamer I once was still lives within.
It’s an interesting question to ponder.
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Woody McEvers was first elected to the Coeur d’Alene City Council in 2001 and took the oath of office in January 2002. Ron Edinger was council president, a role he continued to hold until his retirement in 2019. Woody was elected council president in January 2020.
In Idaho every two years, when newly elected councilors are sworn in, the council will elect a president. The council president serves as the mayor pro tempore in the absence of the mayor to preside over meetings or sign council-approved documents.
Two-term mayor Steve Widmyer didn’t run for re-election in 2021 and I recall reading a quote from Woody saying that Steve had perfect attendance for eight years so council president Woody had never had occasion to serve in his absence.
On Jan. 4, 2022, I was elected City Council president in Post Falls and at the very next meeting served as mayor pro tempore due to Ron Jacobson’s scheduled attendance at a conference. I teased long-time friend Woody about how the experience of wielding the gavel was pretty awesome and I hoped that sometime he’d have that opportunity in Coeur d’Alene.
Well, lo and behold, Oct. 3, there was council President McEvers, gavel and all, sitting in for Mayor Jim Hammond for their regular council meeting. The agenda included an appeal of a planning commission denial being heard in a public hearing which caused the meeting to last three and half hours.
A few days later, I called Woody to congratulate him on his inaugural turn at the helm and he joked that Jim must have chosen what would for sure be a meeting with passionate public comment to be absent.
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Autumn has always had a melancholy effect on my mood, and more so since the 12th day of October in 2004, when my world shifted and changed forever.
The 19 years that my father has been gone have blessedly been filled with more joy than sadness, although we’ve experienced many family milestones in which his presence was missed mightily. There will never come a time that I don’t catch myself reaching for the phone to call to share something with my dad, a laugh or an indignation or a headshaking current event.
When I find myself missing him the most is when I’m the most grateful. Grateful to have been blessed with a father for 52 years of my life who loved me unconditionally and who made each of his five children absolutely certain that we were his favorite. What better gift than that could there be?
Ronald D. Rankin, April 19, 1929 — Oct. 12, 2004.
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Happy birthday today to Michael Pereira, Chris Pasquale, Greg Worley, Chad Anderson, Cindy Odd and Warren Anglin. Tomorrow, Tom Elliott, Jeff Yates, Donnie Murrell, Alan Brown, Kathy Getchius, Kirk Hjeltness and McKade Brown blow out the birthday candles. On Friday, our nephew, Derek Scharf (30!), Jeff Johnson, Margaret Eddings, Serena Pratt, Kathy Pierce and Judy Bennett turn the page on another year. Saturday, Randy Bohach, Leslie Lien, Jeff Elder, Dave Chambers, Karen Hammond, Linda Polley, Gary Ghramm and Suzanne Metzger eat cake. Cheers on Sunday to Braxton Kurtz, Dee Jameson, Beth Peters, Katie Smith, Wayne Hammond, Elizabeth McGregor, Laurie Dixon, Beth Myles, Greg Cossette, Dave Smith, Peyton Brown and Patty Cheesman. On Monday, Jordan Hudson, Misti Flood, Kathie Lyon, Pam Nygaard, Brad Perry and Mike Farquhar put on their party hats. Faith Tonna, Laurie Cook, Dana Albanese, Rosemary Fuller and Karen Deering will celebrate Tuesday.
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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.