Making Flippy Floppy

She was truly one of the beautiful people, a rare wonderful creature whose positive outlook transcended the bullshit and set forth an attitude of acceptance and humanity. The absence of her outrageous, fabulous spirit leaves a giant hole in the fabric of our culture. There will never be another quite like her... Update: Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog has stopped obsessing over Condi's hairdo long enough to post some fantastic Tammy Faye MP3's to download. Tammy may be long gone, but that delightfully grating caterwaul of a voice will reverberate forever.

Labels: Links, Memorial, MP3, Retro Fun, Tammy Faye

News Flash: One of the last bastions of old-school Coeur d'Alene is soon to be no more. The cashier at Sherman IGA told me this morning that they are no longer going to be an IGA. They are going fully independent and are renaming the store "Peterson Family Foods." A modernization and redecoration is in the works. I suppose this is a good thing, but it has been an IGA since the dawn of time, and it will be a little disturbing when the signs come down. As long as the Chester Fried chicken remains intact it'll be OK, I suppose... When I was growing up, my grandmother lived directly behind the store , which was "Spencer's IGA" at the time, I do believe. I spent a lot of time there, annoying cashiers, buying 5 cent candy and getting mucky little fingerprints all over fresh comic books. One of my first memories (I must have been 4...5...6..?) is unintentionally walking out with an unpaid-for pack of gum in my hand, and my mother discovering it and freaking out! Boy, I was in trouble. It was my first lesson about stealing, and she made me march back in that store, tell them what I did, and pay for the gum. I've never even thought about pocketing gum since. Even back then, IGA seemed pretty run down. I have a polaroid snapshot of myself when I was about 4 sitting in some kind of funny-car parked in front of IGA, flanked by two men wearing extremely ghetto big bird and cookie monster costumes. The moment is gone from my actual memory, but the look on my face in the photo says it all: WTF? Who are these wannabes? And that is the appeal of the IGA in a nutshell. It was never a big-shot deal like Albertsons or Safeway. The selection is rather minimal, the prices aren't great, there's no "club cards" or 10 for 10 sales. However, they have basically what you need, and you can get in and out fast with a minimum of drama. Basically it's like a quickie-mart that wants to be a big-box grocery. I'm actually glad to hear they're going fully indie. I think the IGA brand name was starting to bring them down. The place is way past due for a facelift, and I think it will be nice to see what they do with the remodel. The cashier who broke the news to me this morning was also excited to reveal that they were now going to be carrying the full line of "Western Family" products. Ooh, la la! I do think the name "Peterson Family Foods" is maybe a little wordy - it just doesn't roll off the tongue like "IGA" does. I guess we can call it "Peterson's" for short. Or "Pete's." "Honey, I'm going to Pete's for some cheese." In reality, they could paint the place black and silver, hang disco balls and name it "Studio 55", but to me it will always be IGA, and that's how I'll continue to refer to it.

Labels: Food, IGA, Memorial, Random Thoughts, Retro Fun

Living in this town for so long, there are just certain things one takes for granted. Local places and people that just seem like they've always been here and always will be. One of these was dear old Kenny the Shoe Shine Man at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. Moments ago, I found out poor Kenny was dead. I'm at a loss, as if the very foundation of this town has been turned upside down and shaken. When the news broke yesterday afternoon that some kids hiking Tubbs Hill has spotted a body floating in the lake near the city docks, it was disturbing enough. However, when police announced it was a black man in his 60's, the thought of Kenny went through my head immediately. After all, there honestly aren't a whole lot of black men in their 60's wandering about in this town. But I thought, no - couldn't be him, that'd never happen - he was much too cautious. Sadly, it was just announced this morning to his family and co-workers that it was indeed him, although no details about the exact circumstances of his death have come forth. I remember climbing on Kenny's shoe shine stand as a bratty kid, when the CDA Resort was still the North Shore, and the thing to do was play on the elevator, run in the halls, and climb up on anything and everything until management kicked you out. I had seen Kenny around town, and at the time he was kind of like a novelty act: you just simply did not see a black man in North Idaho. However, anyone who knew Kenny knows that he didn't think that way at all - he was never degraded or put out one bit by the narrowmindedness of others. He just smiled and spread good vibes. He was a man who was proud of his work and he was darn good at it. Anyone who any spent any time at the Resort, both locals and guests, knew about Kenny - he was actually one of the area's most famous and loveable characters. Years later, when I worked at the Resort, I would frequently buy a copy of the New York Times to read and kill some time up in the parking garage booth where I sat for many long hours. When I was done reading it, I always made sure to drop it off with Kenny, because I knew he enjoyed it, too. I think maybe we both had dreams of bigger and better places, but had resigned ourselves to making do here in this town. I could relate to Kenny as an outsider, that feeling that you seem to belong here but not really. He was kind of a loner, and at the time, so was I. After I quit the Resort, I would still see Kenny walking by my house to and from work every day, always carrying 3 or 4 bags, occasionally stopping to pet the cats, or update me on the latest resort gossip (although he would never say anything mean about anyone.) After I moved from that house a few years back, I missed Kenny - I had been meaning to pop in and catch up with him, but sadly never did. I didn't know Kenny the shoe shine man very well, but his positive spirit gave me a little bit of a lift every time I encountered him. I'm sure there are thousands of folks who've had "Kenny moments" over the years who are beside themselves with the news of his mysterious passing. He was a quiet, kind, and peaceful soul and was so built into the landscape of this town, it simply will not be the same without his presence. I've heard there is a memorial already being set up on his shoe shine stand in the CDA Resort lobby, so if Kenny touched your life at all, please drop in and pay your respects to a true Coeur d'Alene old-school original. RIP. Let's hope his longtime boss, Duane Hagadone, has the good sense to name a memorial garden or at least a conference room after one of his longest and most honorable employees. His warm smile will be missed, but not easily forgotten.

Labels: Memorial