Thursday, November 14, 2019

Three Beautiful Things 11/13/19: Walking Again, Trivia at Northern Quest, Brief KHS Reunion

1. I sat here this morning and tried to think of an errand I might take care of or a task that needed done to give added purpose to going on a walk today. I remembered that I needed to mail a check to the lawn care man, so I strolled down to the mailbox by the now shuttered old Steins' store and when I came back I extended my walk about as far as Sam's, sauntered by the old S & R, and walked up Riverside, up Utah, and back home on Cameron. I've been too inactive over the last week -- not much walking since hiking with Byrdman near Spokane last week. It doesn't take long for my leg muscles to feel a bit of atrophy and for my wind to diminish. I walked for about 20-25 minutes today, a good start to getting back into daily movement. It felt good.

2. I sprang into the Sube around 4:15 or so this afternoon. My destination? The Riverbank Taphouse at the Northern Quest Casino where I met Kathy and Mary and their pal, Dan, to team up for night of trivia. I ordered a classic gin martini and a Caprese flatbread and, a little later, a glass of Pinot Noir wine.

A sweet series of memories sprung forward when my flatbread arrived. Back in 2015, upon signing up to move into our apartment home in Greenbelt, MD, the Lakeside North employee who showed  Debbie and me our apartment recommended that we try the Old Line Bistro, in Beltsville, when we asked him about where, locally, we could go to find a good selection of craft beers.

In those early days of dining and drinking beer at the Old Line Bistro, we often ordered flatbread with different toppings. I hadn't thought a lot about how much I enjoyed those flatbread meals until today and suddenly, for a few minutes, I was back at Old Line, getting familiar with East coast beers, having fun conversations with the youngsters who were our servers, having casual conversation with different people at the bar, enjoying occasional get togethers with people who worked in the Prince Georges school district, and being happy to have found a place to eat and drink that became, for me, a comfortable and relaxing neighborhood bar.

I snapped out of my brief reverie and returned to the Riverbank where I also feel relaxed and comfortable with Kathy and Mary -- with the added bonus of having a lot of fun conferring with each other, and with other teammates, as to how we are going to answer each trivia question.

Linda couldn't join us tonight and we missed her. Linda, Kathy, Mary, and I have decades of history with each other and this getting together to play trivia has been a blast.

Tonight we finished second. We lost by a slim margin to a team of youngsters who were really sharp and answered all sixty questions correctly. We did leave with loot though. A local panel of naming experts determined that our team name, Shite Creek, was the best team name of the night (all team names had to include the letters "ite") and so I came home with my second Red Hook False Start cheater pint beer glass.

3. We experienced an added Kellogg/Silver Valley delight as we waited for valet employees to bring us our cars.

Terry and Jane Lennon, who'd come out out to Northern Quest to gamble for a little while, were also waiting for their car to be delivered. Terry, Mary, and Kathy hadn't seen each other in about 100 years. Mary's brother, Rob, was the KHS student body president in 1971-12 and Terry was his vice-president. We didn't have long to talk. Terry and Jane's car popped up out front within a few minutes. But, the short time we did have was electrifying, with enthusiastic greetings, some quick conversation, and a steady stream of laughter.

It's kind of amazing how it seems like people connected to Kellogg or the Silver Valley pop up everywhere. Those of us who grew up in the Silver Valley never seem very far from each other, no matter where we go.

I had an easy drive back home. The Drive-By Truckers rocked me through Coeur d'Alene and over the 4th of July Pass and on into Kellogg. I was home before 10:00. The Truckers' Southern country/rock sound and the stories their songs tell, as always, felt very familiar to me and added much enjoyment to my drive.

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