Three Beautiful Things 10/28/17: Bernie's Funeral, The Reception, Dinner with Jake and Carol Lee

1. I spiffed up late this morning and vaulted into the Sube and lit out for the Wallace Elks.  I climbed upstairs for the Elks Funeral Service in celebration of the life of Bernard (Bernie) Mattern.  I never met Bernie, but Bernie is Byrdman's father-in-law and I went in support of Byrdman and Stephanie and in gratitude for the Mattern cabin up the North Fork of the CdA River where I have spent and will continue to spend blissful afternoons and evenings with Byrdman and the extended Mattern family. The family has always received me openly and generously and Bernie was the Mattern patriarch.

2. As grow older, I have also learned that funerals afford all of us the opportunity to see longtime acquaintances and friends -- and sometimes I haven't seen some of these people for decades. Such was the case today. Now, I've seen Mary Lynn in recent years and we are Facebook friends, but it had been forty-five years since I'd seen her husband, John, as well as Wallace High grads Rob Gillies and Jerry Keane. I've seen Dan Carrico up the river, and it was fun to talk to him and to see his and Byrdman's brother-in-law, Tim.  Diane Hogan (KHS Class of '72) tends bar at the Wallace Elks and during a lull in the action, Diane and I slipped in a stellar conversation.  I ended my stay at the reception sitting with Byrdman, Stephanie, members of both of their families, and Rob Gillies. I learned a whole lot from Rob about his son's business in Eugene and a group of guys he hangs out with at different Silver Valley watering holes on Fridays.  I hope to catch them one afternoon at the Inland Lounge.

3. Once I returned home, the Deke and I piled into the Sube and glided out to Rose Lake for dinner with Jake and Carol Lee at their home on the lake. Carol Lee poured us each a Dark and Stormy made with black cherry rum -- that was fun -- and we gabbed for a while and then sat down to an epic dinner.

Carol Lee served rotisserie pork roast and cooked apples, a potato casserole, roasted butternut squash, cauliflower, and delicious bread rolls. It was a superb meal, paired perfectly with a blended red wine from Columbia Crest. A slow glass of Kahlua and half and half on ice topped it off perfectly.

We did a little more yakkin' and kept an eye on the World Series. We relaxed like this until about 8 o'clock when the Deke and I hit the road and returned to Kellogg.

We had a great evening for which we are most grateful.