Auld Lang Syne to old friends

Bon vivant. According to Merrium -Webster, it’s a noun meaning a sociable person who has cultivated and refined tastes especially with regard to food and drink ... think International Man of Mystery. As I start to write the words, “my friend Robert Cliff” I realized that many hundreds, perhaps thousands of people from all walks of life would consider him as such. Finding a single word or phrase to describe Robert is impossible, like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. He was educated, articulate, irreverent and funny as all get-out.

I met Robert not too many years after he and his wife, Susan, moved to Coeur d’Alene in 2004. They owned the “Taylor House,” a beautiful 1905 Tudor on East Lakeshore Drive on Sanders Beach. Robert was bigger than life, handsome and always impeccably turned out. While his collection of monogrammed everyday dress shirts was impressive, I’m not sure he owned a single pair of socks. His best feature was his smile, perhaps because it was displayed often and paired with a mischievous twinkle of the eye.

Robert was an encourager who embraced life. He loved Coeur d’Alene, the NIC Cardinals, parades and downtown and midtown, every part of his adopted home town. When Ironman came to town and the run course included East Lakeshore Drive, Robert and Susan would position lifeguard chairs on the sidewalk to shout encouragement and offer to spray water from the garden hose on the athletes.

But it was another iconic annual event Robert relished, the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge. It’s a popular public event, but on the beach in front of the Cliffs' home, he’d have a big bonfire and even a DJ on the upper lawn. He was an enthusiastic and generous host to his friends and especially those who shared the fun of jumping into an ice-cold lake to celebrate the new year.

The era of the Cliff’s epic Polar Bear Plunge parties lasted a decade ... 2005 through 2015, when they sold the Taylor House and moved to a beautiful Foster Avenue home. Susan passed away in 2021 and Robert embraced his family of friends and neighbors to deal with the loneliness. He stayed engaged in the community, although his eyes didn’t twinkle so much.

The first week of December, Robert died in his sleep on Foster Avenue. I’ve been thinking of him and his local legacy all month.

On New Year’s Day 2026, I will continue my tradition of not jumping in the lake. The temperature of Lake Coeur d’Alene is just a few degrees above the water turning to ice, so while I won’t be plunging, dipping, splashing or frolicking in the icy waters, I applaud the insanity of those of you who seem to enjoy it. I’ll also be remembering my friend, Robert, and his wonderful life.

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Here’s to all of the public safety first responders, dispatchers, retail clerks, hospitality workers, delivery people, medical care providers and everyone who will be on duty through New Year's weekend and who have spent the last week dealing with shoppers, revelors and the public in general. Take a bow, you’re the unsung heroes of the holidays.

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Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

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Happy Main Street New Year’s Eve birthdays to Cheryl Freeman, Shaun Leary, Sarah Chase, George Holcomb, Sandy Thompson and Crystal Dean. Happy New Year’s Day birthdays to Ron Jacobson, Ron Mills, Theresa Wild, Billy Newman, Jan Leaf, Kathy Edinger Dingman, Linda Jordan, Kevin Johnson, Steve Schiller, Johanna Johnson, Jessica Hammond, David Attridge, Dianna Owens, Holly Childers, Katrina Boyer, Johanna Johnson, Declan Jones, Cheryl Shepherd, sisters Shaun Williams and Shana Crimp, all celebrating the first Main Street birthdays of 2026. Bob McIlvenna, Cindy Warren, Nicole Barnes, Jerry Roth and Dion Unruh blow out the candles Friday. On Saturday, Rob Eachon, Brandon Sutich (21!), Katie Soy, Jeff Block and Erika Umphenour celebrate. On Monday, Marty Hayes, Jamie Lynn Morgan, Sherri Patton, Phil Eager, Thad Bolek, Timothy Barrett, Andrew Hansen, Dirk Darrow, Rick Gunther, Shaina Nomee and Debbie Raeon take another trip around the sun. On Jan. 6, Colton Peugh, Bobby Wilhelm, Gary (GA) Allen, Kris Cederburg, Kim Dennison, Griffin McAndrew, Christina Sedgwick, Will Moore, Robert Green, Dale Kreager, Judi Caceres and Kellie McCracken will put on their party hats.

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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 [email protected].