Fan Mail (3/31/04):
The cards & e-mails keep coming. Thanx for helping me grow this blog (and keep reading the other letters on the jump):
I never took the time to thank you for the free advertizing I got from one of your columns in the mid 90's! Your presence in the the paper will be missed but your blog is even better. To refresh your memory, I am the owner of Beagle Heating & my slogan of "Good ol boy quality at a redneck price" caught your eye on I 90 back then! And yes, I am the person with the then controversial license plates in 1991 of "nwrednk"!
Good luck to you,
Your friend, Northwest Redneck (aka Red!)
DFO: Red, keep your eyes open for good blog stuff. And, remember, Huckleberries continues on ... and needs to be fed, too.
Farewell
Smarter than a legislator,
Testy as an old head waiter,
Unsurpassed as agitator,
We will miss our Common-tater.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
DFO: The Bard wrote three rhymes when I left the Hot Potatoes biz. I was a little embarrassed by this one. But I probably enjoyed it the most. BTW, the guesses to The Bard's identity have stopped. And that's good. We decided you guys would get it someday, and we'd have to 'fess up. So I'm imposing a moratorium for a bit to give The Bard some breathing room. And, yes, Virginia, there really is a Bard. And s/he ain't me.
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Hi Dave,
Is it too late for some enlightenment on what the difference was between hot potatoes and huckleberries? I never did figure that one out. Also I'm enjoying your blog, but for some reason the first couple of paragraphs always show up overwritten with the stuff on the left side of the screen making them unreadable. At least that is the case on my six year old computer here at work.
Rick Price
Sandpoint
DFO: Nah, it's never too late to learn the distinction between Idaho's two major food groups. Huckleberries involves slices of life, bumpersnickers and funny things that happen to people. Hot Potatoes was suppose to be strictly opinion. But sometimes I strayed in one column or the other. So, I can't blame you for the confusion. As far as that shadow on the blog goes, it's a result of an old server. I get it at my old computer at home, too. You should be able to upgrade easily and free on the Internet (unless you're computer illiterate like I am).
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One wonders why John Kerry, or any of his ilk should be distressed by high gasoline prices. This is what true green environmentalists have long pined for, claiming this would lead to less motoring, less gasoline consumption, cleaner air, et cetera, et cetera.
Ah, but there's a catch. They wanted higher gas prices to be driven not by supply and demand, nor by the costs of production and distribution, but instead by higher federal motor fuel taxes, providing more money for high-minded liberals to spend on our behalf. Dang!!
Leonard C. Johnson
MOSCOW
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Dave:
I enjoy your writing but your support for "taking" Sanders Beach is out of character for a self imposed conservative who normally supports private property rights.
Don Sausser
iamdons@adelphia.net
DFO: Good point, Don. "Private" Sanders Beach is different for two reasons. CDA residents have been using the beach since the 19th century. And no one can say absolutely, positively that the East Lakeshore homeowners and Hagadone Hospitality own their part of the beach, even though they're paying taxes on it. Why? No one has ever established the high-water mark for the lake. It's possible that those homeowners are trying to squat on public property. Meanwhile, the homeowners can't build within 40 feet of the beach, so they're helpless to keep someone off their portion unless they want to go to the Supreme Court to establish their legal right to the property. They'd be wise to grant an easement to the city and let the city take care of policing and cleanup.
