It’s the Simple Things: Biking, boating and tipping

THE JOY OF RIDING A BICYCLE  

Spring is in the air and bicycles have reappeared! Recently, while cycling through downtown, City Park and east on the North Idaho Centennial Trail, it hit me that one of the many joys of riding a bicycle is the friendly exchanges that happen with other cyclists, walkers and those working in their yards. Can’t do that from a car! Those “Good mornings!” lift my spirits.  

LOWELL BOAT WORKS OF 1793

I recently visited my brother in his new home of Newburyport, Mass. It’s a historically and geographically rich area, 40 miles north of Boston. One of the stops in our week of exploring was Lowell Boat Works, a company that started building wooden dories in 1793! Seven generations later, they are thriving.  

We enjoyed a tour and as I walked past the classic tools and boats in progress, I imagined the conversations of the employees in the early years of this company. 

Samuel: “Do you think this United States thing is going to work out? Seems a little altruistic. UNITED States?” 

Ebenezer: “Starting a boat building business is risky. I’m hoping this lasts and we have jobs in a year.” 

Thomas: “I heard that it’s going to cost over $230,000 to construct this new president’s house in Washington, D.C. That’s a ridiculous amount of taxpayers’ money!” 

Ephraim: “Rumor is that our wage is jumping to OVER $1 per day starting in 1794!” 

Nathan: “So how do you think George Washington is doing as president? I know he was a great general.” 

Oh, if the walls could talk! 

STREET MUSIC RETURNS

Attention all musicians, seasoned performers and ones who want to risk performing for the first time, you are needed!  

The 24th annual Street Music Fundraiser for the 2nd Harvest Food Bank takes place the week of June 8-12 in downtown Coeur d’Alene, between noon and 1 p.m. each day. 

It’s simple. Want to help? Bring your instruments, your voices and your friends, and show up downtown, grab a 2nd Harvest donation bucket from the parking lot next to The Art Spirit Gallery and have fun adding zest to downtown while making money for a good cause.

Questions? Contact Jenny Wayman at 208-818-6416. She says “Thank you!” 

THE JOY OF TIPPING 

I entered a restaurant in St. Regis, Mont., and the lobby was packed with people waiting for a table. An exhausted-looking server approached us and I joked, “Where’s a good place to eat?”     

The highly stressed server responded, “I don’t know! But it’s not here!”

“Well, please put us on the list,” I said, and we waited for a table.  

The same woman was our server and we watched her scurry around, struggling, with minimal success, to meet the wishes of her guests.  

We ate, eventually, I paid our bill — and added a generous tip for our server.  I thought, “She needs encouragement. I know she’s doing her best.” 

I like the tipping system in the United States. It’s a form of instant review, communication with a person with whom you’ve had a casual connection, someone who has made a difference in your life for a snippet of time. 

It’s fun to say, “I noticed your efforts. Thank you.” 

ONE AMAZING THING ABOUT OUR WORLD

Ivan Getting conceived of using satellites to precisely track moving objects such as airplanes and missiles and patented the first technology for this purpose in 1955! Getting's invention was later refined by innovators Roger Easton and Bradford Parkinson, who ultimately launched the GPS system we use today.

It’s surprising that Easton and Parkinson are not as well-known as Edison and Franklin, considering the incredible effect their invention has had on our daily lives. 

QUOTE ABOUT LIFE

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton

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David Groth retired in 2016 after 37 years in elementary education. His last 17 years, the favorite part of his career, were spent teaching fifth grade and juggling at Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities. He has lived in Coeur d’Alene since 1982 and has always appreciated the people, the geography, the climate, the rivers and lakes, and the simple things that make days special.