It's the simple things

OUTDOOR PLAY  

Canfield Mountain is the 4,162-foot peak to the east of Dalton Gardens, one that most of us glance at almost every day. There are miles of trails, separated for mountain bikers, hikers and drivers of motorcycles and four-wheelers. I’ve hiked and cycled there a fair amount, and last Sunday I had a treat. I hiked to the top from the west entrance, off East Mountain Vista Drive, for my first time. One and a half hours up and more than two hours to get down, as I wandered enjoyably in the dark. I recommend it for the exercise and for the view of the lights in the valley to the west.

“AMERICAN SYMPHONY,” ALL ABOUT PASSION IN LIFE  

This movie, full of human beauty, is the story of 2022 in the life of musician Jon Batiste and his wife, Suleika, who undergoes her second stem cell transplant on her 30th birthday. It is a year of great contrast: Jon writes his “American Symphony,” performs it at Carnegie Hall, and receives six Grammys! He grew up in a musical New Orleans family, attended the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, served as the music director on "The Stephen Colbert Show" and plays regularly with his band, Stay Human.

MASTERS SWIMMING  

For about 15 years, I have swam with the Masters group at The Kroc Center. The group was fortunate to have Mike Hamm as the coach until 2024, and now we have Kerry O’Brien, who relocated to Coeur d’Alene from Walnut Creek, Calif., where he coached Masters swimming for 40 years. These talented coaches push us to work harder and more efficiently than we do on our own. Good coaches, good teachers, good mentors, help us discover higher levels of accomplishment! 

FOR OUR CHILDREN  

Want to experience some of what is going on in our local public schools? Consider attending a music program or theater performance at a school of your choice — elementary, middle or high school. Let them know you’re coming, and I bet you’ll be moved by the work that is going on and those bright, confident, talented, and often funny, students. 

OPENING DOORS  

I’m a regular at The Kroc Center. Often, as I enter the cabana area, someone holds the door for me. Isn’t that a sweet little thing, that moment of connection with another human being? 

QUOTES ON LIFE 

“One of the functions one of the gifts — of aging is to become comfortable with the self we are, rather than to mourn what we are not.” — Joan Chittister, The Gift of Years

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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.