My nephew, Derek Scharf, CHS '12, took this semester off from his freshman year at college to travel to Changzhou, China, with his sister, Kristen, to teach English for four months. What an incredible adventure that both are blogging about, making for interesting journals. One of the entries from Derek's trip over not only caught my eye but caused a lump in the throat.

There was a delay in picking up the group of American students from the airport when they landed in China, so Derek struck up a conversation with two Korean businessmen to pass the time. At one point one of the businessmen showed Derek a photo of his son and said he was in the Korean Army, asking Derek if any of his family has ever been in the Army. Derek replied that his brother was in the Army and that his grandfather was a Marine during the Korean War.

The man stood up, shook Derek's hand, hugged him and said, "Tell your grandfather thank you. Because of him we are who we are today. I owe everything to your grandfather."

My father (Derek's grandfather), the late Ron Rankin, was in the 1st Marine Division landing at Inchon and in combat at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir against North Korean and Chinese forces. It was a pivotal and epic battle of the Korean War, which profoundly affected my father's lifelong passion for freedom and liberty.

Four of his children, including me and Derek's mother, Janna, were born after my father came home from war. I wonder about the Korean man who expressed his gratitude to Derek. Perhaps his grandparents were among those liberated from Communism by the actions of the Marines during that time.

Now six decades later and two generations removed, a chance encounter in a Chinese airport, a world away, a handshake and a hug between two strangers. Semper Fi.

The second Minnow Madness, a middle school take-off of Coeur d'Alene's cross-town rivalry between CHS and LCHS, Fight for the Fish, is tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Lakes.

Faculty from Lakes Magnet Middle School and Canfield Middle School play a bragging rights basketball game while the students light up the place and rock the rafters with their enthusiastic cheering. Lakes Principal Jeff Bengtson and Canfield Principal Nick Lilyquist are looking forward to the rematch. Canfield took home the traveling minnow spirit trophy and won the game last year but this is definitely an event where everyone wins. It's a fun family night out that gives these middle schoolers some solid experience in being great fans.

If you're celebrating the wearing o' the green for St. Patrick's Day, the annual parade in downtown Coeur d'Alene is a great place to start on Saturday afternoon. Kudos to this year's Irish royalty ... Grand Marshal Bill Reagan, Irishman of the Year Doug Kearns and Irishwoman of the Year Marianne Buley.

St. Paddy's Day or St. Patty's Day? I'm in the camp of the first spelling. As the luck o'the Irish would have it, my Facebook friend Jessica Walter Woods, a correspondent for the Post Falls Tribune back in my era when she was a student at Lakeland High School, has for the past several years has made her home in Monasterboice, Louth, Ireland. She says that in Ireland it's simply called Paddy's Day, dropping the saint altogether so they can be sinners while celebrating.

Friday marks my 27th wedding anniversary to one of the nicest guys on the planet. Bert and I share the day (month and year, too) with one of my favorite couples, Michael and Anna Pearce. Anna, aka Patty Duke, and I like to joke that we just kept doing it until we got it right. 1986 was a banner year for us both.

Happy birthday today to Paula Sharp. Tomorrow Tom Capone, Wayne Cofield, Bud Evans, David Cehr, Candace McEnespy, Teri Rouse, Adam Graves, Fabian Medina and Sheila Kemmis will raise a glass to celebrate. On March 15 John McGruder turns 70, sharing a birthday with Todd Christensen, Len Crosby, Rick Noordam, Barry Rubin and Zack Yost. Look for John Bujosa, Cindy Marcella, Cathy Riorden, Kelly Moore, Ken Kress, LauraLee Johnson and Dotty Pichard to blow out their candles on Saturday. Combining a little luck o' the Irish with their birthday celebration on March 17 are Cody Peugh, Keith Hutcheson, Patty Conkle, Mike Gump and Nichelle Price. Next week starts with another trip around the sun for Chris Englebrecht (30!), Dawn Johnston, Julie Bjornson and Bret Merry on Monday and Lance Bridges, Taryn Nichols, Kristen Storey, Megan Merry, Troy Jones, Judey Brown, Patsy Andres and Taryn Molter on Tuesday.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2012 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri is on the air Mondays and Wednesdays on 1080 ESPN AM (KVNI). Find her on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com.