Young speakers' poise inspires

I said “yes” to teacher and friend Daniel Connelly when he extended an invitation to judge Summit Christian Academy’s speech meet last week. Daniel is one of those people who is absolutely doing exactly what he was born to do ... teach young people. Fellow judges, Dustin Ainsworth, Keith Boe, Kay Poland, John Thomas Sinclair and I were awed by the poise and preparation of over 100 speakers in first through sixth grade.

The children selected from several general topics to memorize and present. I’ve judged speech competitions of older students and many of these elementary students would definitely hold their own among them.

Two young men chose topics that I’m quite familiar with ... Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I was moved by third grader Luke Johnson and fifth grader Micah Brumbach. Not only did they recite flawlessly, they seemed to connect with and understand the significance of the iconic words spoken by long-ago presidents.

I was filled with faith and hope for the future.

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Super Bowl Sunday is just a few days away. I enjoy the hoopla of the Super Bowl despite knowing very little about the game of football, but what’s not to love about a day dedicated to consuming a week’s worth of carbs, calories and cholesterol, camaraderie and some of the most outrageous and creative television commercials. Oh, and football.

Parties and potlucks will feature the standbys of buffalo wings, pizza, chips and dip, BBQ ribs, little smokies, chili, tacos, deviled eggs and sliders.

Kandi Johnson is a rarity so I’ll name her the Super Bowl MVP of Sensibility. She’s bringing bottled water and an apple to the game day celebration. Says Kandi, “It’s midday between meals and I don’t snack.”

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Nan Mitchell emailed after reading last week’s Main Street column about unpleasant food aromas. “... if you add a couple small slices (inch or two) of celery to the pan when steaming broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts it greatly reduces the off odors of those foods,” she shared. I’ll definitely have to try that!

Alas, no one offered suggestions on how to lessen the smell of liver or lutefisk.

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Happy birthday today to Amanda Miller, Pat Coffield, Jim Thyssen, Lori Malin, Angel Duthie, Terry Ellis, Shawn Aldrich and Charlette Johnson Smith. Tomorrow, Hagen Peugh, Barb Bradley, Linda Davis, Natalie Forsyth, Pamela Thoms, Lynn Hayes, Henry Hildreth, Rocky Brockhoff and Larry O’Leary blow out the candles. On Friday, Linda Wilhelm, Marc Eberlein, Brandie Shofner, Buddy Le, Marian Crumb, Greg Smith and Alta Steele start celebrating. Kiki Miller, Julia Pierce, Melanie Lambrecht, Judy Riba Nelson and Tate Merry turn the page on another year Saturday. On Sunday, Carole Tabakman, Trevor Smith, Eleanora Capaul, David Clark, James Shepperd, Jarryn Siebers, Jeff Carlson, Sharon Link, Gordon Leigh, Chad Salsbury and Heather Frayer celebrate in Super Bowl style. Faith Valente, Kim Edmondson, Elizabeth Glidden and Laura Wilson start the week with Monday birthdays. Rachel Fehling, Sam Crawford, Ron Vieselmeyer, Jim Prussack, Sherry Adkins, Ken Martin and Toby Flood celebrate birthdays 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.