It's been a few years since we packed up everything we owned and drove from South Florida to live in North Idaho.

I grew up in the Northeast, so the four seasons were no mystery to me. I'd seen my share of falling leaves and snow, and the first flowery spring blooms. But I hadn't spent any real time with my old friends - fall, winter and spring - in quite a while.

We pulled into Coeur d'Alene on Feb. 1.

About two weeks later, I remember looking at the outdoor temperature gauge, and being flabbergasted at the 2-degree reading. The days seemed long and dark after my years in the Sunshine State.

I would stand on the deck of the home where we were staying, and stare out across Lake Coeur d'Alene, overwhelmed by the vast, freezing grayness of it all.

I had forgotten how gloomy winter can be.

Then, as the months passed, something started to happen.

The snow began to disappear from the tops of the mountains.

Suddenly, the cool air seemed to be filled with the most delicious moistness.

It smelled like fresh soil and grass seeds. I could taste it as I inhaled.

The backyard began to come to life, and the days became longer and brighter.

This, I thought, is spring.

For more than three decades of living in the Northeast, I had totally taken it for granted.

I felt like an old married woman who had forgotten why she fell in love with her husband, and then suddenly remembered.

It was like the first time I had ever experienced the glorious shift from winter to summer.

That got me writing. That feeling, that joy. I wrote poems. I wrote prose, all of it describing my newfound appreciation for spring.

Look at me, I'm still writing about it.

That's the kind of thing that gets me going at the keyboard.

Some of you have shared why you write, and I hope more of you do the same. I'll include some of that information in future editions of the Writers Corner.

Send your submissions to me, Maureen Dolan, [email protected].

We prefer e-mail submissions, and ask that you limit your stories and poems to 500 to 1,000 words.

You can send hard-copies by mail to Maureen Dolan at The Press, 201 Second St., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814.

And now, more from our local writers.

SUMMER VACATION IDEAS

By Tommie Lewis, Kellogg

Well, we may not quite be done with winter yet but right now may be the best time to begin thinking about your summer plans. I have a few ideas as to what you can do this summer that I have taken from my own family's experiences and past summer vacations.

There is the obvious: the family camping trips. I have such fond memories of my time in the summer with my grandparents, camping on Lake Koocanusa in Montana. My grandparents gathered all the grandkids, all eight of us. They hooked up the 16-foot camper and the boat to the old International pickup - pretty redneck in itself, and piled in a few kids and grandma drove it to the lake. Then my grandfather, a logging truck driver, hooked up the vacant 12-by-70-foot mobile home and brought it for us kids to stay in. See, you can camp in style! Another summer, Grandpa bought pack mules and three weeks of supplies and we headed out to the Bob Marshall Wilderness for three weeks with the oldest of us five kids all between 12 and six years. We didn't take a tent; that would have violated the goal of living off the land and learning survival techniques (most of which I have yet to use but you never know!). Ropes and tarps are even a bit too luxurious but grandma talked grandpa into it. Plastic bags replace our lack of boots and socks doubled for gloves. Thank God Grandpa loved bacon and we can't catch it ourselves in the wilderness.

These camping trips are especially enjoyable when you can set up tents in the dark. The high protein mosquitoes in every bite of your chicken noodle soup that was made on the cook stove that ran out of propane before what you were making was done. Always use your sleeping bag to soak up the rainwater that leaked through every night it rained. But remember the time around the campfire roasting marshmallows and telling stories or singing with the guitar, super hits such as "On Top of Spaghetti" and "Kumbaya". One hasn't experienced the best of life until you have the experience of camping with your family. So if you live in this great northwest, make sure you include the traditional family summer camping trip.

If it has been a while since you have made a cross-country trip, you may want to include this in your plans this year. When traveling across the continent one really doesn't have to plan all his stops. This country has so many places that are handy and cost-free. The country road off the highway is a perfect late-night stop. Just pull out a blanket, recline the seat as far back as you can without squishing a sleeping child, and you and your spouse will enjoy the bonding of the romantic glow of the dash lights as the kids lay across each other in the back - what a sight! The farmer's field is always handy when crossing the great plains of Canada or the United States. There is never a shortage, and the availability is nearly instant. One thing that you should always know when sleeping in the farmer's field under the stars is that in the middle of the night, should a porcupine stroll between you and your mate, it is of utmost importance to act like you are sleeping and to lay very, very still!

Family visits and reunions are a must at least once or twice in a lifetime. If you have not yet given your children the opportunity to get to know the very distant and not sure how you're related family, it may be time. Don't be concerned about finances. Remember that now more than ever, family comes first and you can't get this time back, so don't wait. If you come from a family that has managed to scatter themselves across America and Canada, then it is a great way of bonding and connecting with your third cousin once removed, or getting to know your third cousin's sister's new husband's sister-in-law's parents. It's just part of strengthening that family bond!

My husband is the youngest of four with a father that could proudly say he never changed a diaper! If you find yourself traveling with a baby and the messy diaper gets to be too much, just stop at a farmhouse. Farmers are always so kind and hospitable, and their wives are always happy to lend a helping hand with the children! They'll more than likely offer a meal and a cool drink for the worn out dad also! Don't deprive yourself of the joyous sound of the children asking, "Are we there yet?" one after another. And, don't forget the always precious child with gas.

To travel by plane or train is to miss out on the miles of scenery and the potential for disasters that will materialize. It's not a question of "if" but "when", and nothing gets a family closer than these trials and tribulations and overcoming them! After all, the flat tires and car problems are nothing compared to the almost sure loss of luggage experienced with flight travel. It's so much more enjoyable to sweat your brains out in a car with no air conditioning; listen to the constant serenading of fighting children; the ability to stretch your legs often with the frequent bathroom stops, or in our case, roadside trees. There could also be the time the fuel pump goes on the Suburban in the worst snowstorm in recent memory, and after you hitch-hike to the next town, there's so much snow, the tow truck has to get a snowplow in to get the vehicle out and tow it back to the shop for repairs! Ah yes, good times! How about the time you found yourself in a late-night search for an open restaurant to feed your wife and six hungry kids, only to find you missed closing time by 15 minutes and that they had already turned off the grill! They would only be able to stay late for you and you would be forced to eat the most amazing beer-battered halibut and fries you have ever tasted!

These vacations are not only affordable but provide the material for years of laughs and crisis bonding. Don't let these times be wasted. You must talk about them often and take out the pictures to prove it. I have to warn you, though, that you must try your hardest to laugh your way through these vacations. If you can't, then at least become good at saying, "Someday we will laugh about this," and enjoy many years of making your own memories and great stories with the all important family summer vacation.

Notes from a paper trumpet

Begin a silent symphony,

Which bothers no nosy, pesky neighbors,

But stroke both cord and discord,

Whispering through dusty mind hallways

And long-locked thought closets.

Meaning arrows in on shafts of moonlight,

Brilliantly illuminating secret places between

Here and There, wherever that is,

Transfixing previously unknown and unknowable

Thought motes like a roe's eyes in my Buick's headlights.

Poems puddle at my feet,

Leaking slowly into spongy soil,

Perhaps feeding Earth Mother's soul.

If she accepts my offerings,

She may send new words

For me to play with,

Rhythmic sound toys,

Dripping saccharin sarcasm,

Floating languidly along a bubble's flight path.

- Ken Thruston, Osburn