Three Beautiful Things 11-15-2023: New Primary Care Giver, I Walked, Scallops for Dinner

1. Physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practioners come and go at the uptown Kellogg medical clinic. This morning, at 7:20, I had an introductory appointment with Michael Watrobka, PA, my fifth primary care giver since moving to Kellogg. Mainly, PA Watrobka and I talked about my medical history and current medical situation and set up an appointment for me to return to him in January for my annual Medicare appointment. He's also in charge of my prescriptions now. 

2. When I check into the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I answer a few questions, including, "Have you exercised since your last visit here?" I like to be able to answer that I have exercised, but on Tuesday I was busy with online communications and the get together at Corby's. Therefore, when I left my 7:20 appointment, I came home, ate a small bowl of oatmeal, and about an hour later took a twenty-five minute walk. 

"Have you exercised since we last saw you?"

"Yes. Just this morning in fact."

3. Debbie and I, until this evening, had never had a meal from HelloFresh featuring scallops. I made mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and pan cooked about ten scallops. I also made a sauce for the scallops and both of us were very pleased with how this meal worked out. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-14-2023: Yakkin' at Corby's, Resurrecting Mose Allison, Superb Headlights

1. Terry Bushnell, from time to time, organizes get togethers at Corby's Bar in Post Falls. We had one today with a great group of guys: Jim Morgan, Dave Macri, Lloyd Bennett, Rob Rossi,  Ray Doty, Byrdman, Chester Larson, Terry Bushnell, and I. I picked up Byrdman, drove to Corby's, and great conversation circulated around the table. I especially enjoyed Ray and Terry's stories about their fathers and the work Terry and Ray did for the Bunker Hill Company in their younger days. 

2. I came across a post from a jazz radio station that exalted the career of jazz pianist and songwriter, Mose Allison. I was suddenly transported back to Eugene in the early 1980s when KLCC's morning music show was called "The Wireless". I don't remember who hosted it, but that person regularly played Mose Allison, introducing me to his music. Back in my early days of graduate school in Eugene, I think I only went to the WOW Hall once -- but that one time was a blast. I heard Mose Allison perform and I loved it. 

3. The Sube is not a terrific vehicle after dark, but the Camry is awesome. I experienced a very positive change in attitude about future after dark trips on I-90 today after driving from Post Falls to Kellogg, in the dark, with great illumination from the Camry's headlights. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-13-2023: Back to the Gym, Bread and Salad, Pot Roast Family Dinner

1. As long as the roads aren't snowy or icy, this routine of blasting over to CdA for pulmonary rehab is working for me. I like having a workout schedule planned for me. I appreciate learning more about breathing techniques and other respiratory tips. I also enjoy the small gym with only a few other people and that I can focus on my exercise, stretching, and light work with weights and the only conversation I have is with the staff, only occasionally. 

2. Christy was this evening's family dinner host and assigned Debbie and me to bring salad and bread. I remembered thinking some of those salads in a bag from Costco were pretty good so I picked up a Mediterranean chopped salad today. While roaming around Costco, I suddenly remembered that I'd given some thought to bringing croissants to family dinner. Even though I had stopped at the Beach Bum Bakery shack in the Runge's parking lot and purchased a baguette, I still bought a container of croissants and figured Debbie and I would enjoy the baguette. 

Sidenote: When we lived in Virginia and Maryland, we spent quite a bit of time with Molly, Hiram, and their family. Molly frequently purchased Costco croissants and every time I purchase a pack and when I eat one, sweet memories return of when we lived with the Diazes and then, once we found our own apartment, visited them often. 

Such warm memories returned today. 

3.  For dinner tonight, we started with one of Christy's favorite cocktails. I don't have the details memorized, but it was a mixture of pear nectar and vodka and, I think, the flavor of vanilla. Carol prepared a pickle and olive tray for an appetizer. Christy slow cooked a Mississippi pot roast and served it with mashed potatoes and roast's gravy. I brought the salad and croissants I mentioned earlier. Christy baked a pear crisp for dessert. 

It was fun yakkin' during and after dinner about the production of Arsenic and Old Lace that Paul is directing and that Carol and Paul appear in as characters. Carol and Paul went to CdA over the weekend and saw a production of A Christmas Story: A Musical and Carol had some strong opinions about A Christmas Story, the movie, and it was fun seeing her get a little worked up and poking some fun at her. 

It was fun, beyond A Christmas Story, talking about other movies, podcasts, and tv shows. 

Between all of us, we watch and listen to a great variety of stuff -- it's interesting the different directions we go. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-12-2023: I Rested, Flannel Sheets, Great Evening

1. And on the seventh day, I rested. Napped. Kept Copper and Luna company. Worked crossword puzzles. 

2. I also laundered a new set of flannel sheets I bought and put them on my bed. It's been many years since I had flannel sheets and I look forward to sleeping under them again.

3. Debbie came home after visiting new puppies at Diane's and we enjoyed stuffed squash for dinner and I capped off the night with a couple delicious tequila cocktails and great conversation with Debbie. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-11-2023: Time for Winter Tires, Tequila and Goulash, Back to *Monk* -- and Sharona

1. I sprang out of bed at 7:00 this morning, gulped down a cup of coffee too fast, fought off a resultant coughing spell, moved the Camry out of the garage, backed the Sube up to the garage door, and loaded it up with our eight winter tires. I buzzed the tires down to Silver Valley Tire Center, walked home, leapt into the Camry, rocketed it down to Silver Valley Tire, and walked back home. A couple of hours later, Jeremy called. The guys at Silver Valley Tire had finished putting the winter tires on both cars. I walked down, paid, blasted home in the Sube, put the summer tires back in the garage, and walked back to the shop to pick up the Camry, and I bolted back home, this morning's tire task completed. 

2. I continued getting this and that done around the house and, a little later in the afternoon, I got out two glasses, filled them with ice, and into each I poured some silver tequila, orange juice, limeade, and a splash of 7Up. It was a quasi-margarita, I guess, but whatever it was, Debbie and I agreed, it was a tasty cocktail.

Debbie crushed Great Harvest croutons into crumbs, used them to top our leftover goulash along with chopped green onions, and we enjoyed diving back into Monday night's dinner. Debbie also cooked some veggies in the glaze leftover from Thursday night's HelloFresh pork chop dinner, an ingenious and delicious idea.

3. It had been months, before tonight, since Debbie and I watched Monk, but we returned to the show tonight and watched two episodes -- in one, Monk gets fired by the haughty and arrogant police commissioner and in the other, Monk agrees to work undercover with a local organized crime kingpin. 

Monk was awesome in both episodes, but I thought, in the end, the emotional heart and courageous soul of both stories was Monk's nurse, Sharona.  

Three Beautiful Things 11-10-2023: I Get Going with Rehab, A Little Shopping and Sandwiches, Two Perfect Movies

1. I rocketed over to the Kootenai Health campus today, strolled into the small gym at the Heart Center, and began my pulmonary/cardio rehab program. It was just what I wanted! For starters, only about five of us old coots were in the gym and two staff members were on hand to instruct and guide us -- a superb ratio between therapist and client. I worked out, mildly, on a couple of machines and did some stretching and light weight lifting with hand weights. I wanted direction, support, and education and that's just what the therapists provided today and I REALLY liked being in a gym exercising with other people around my age or older. 

As a bonus, Classic Rock played quietly in the room while we worked out, uplifting me, making time go a bit more quickly while doing tedious exercises on the machines. 

2.  I felt good after my session and blasted straight to Costco to pick up a few items and then I wandered around Pilgrim's for a while and bought some fresh produce and a few other things. 

My plan was to use the produce to make a Thai curry for Debbie and me, but when she arrived home, we decide to have roasted vegetable sandwiches instead. I roasted eggplant, red pepper, and onion, piled it between slices of Great Harvest's Dakota bread and Debbie made herself a wrap. 

Yes, curry would have been awesome, but this simpler dinner worked great, especially because after all those years of cooking eggplant nearly every week in Greenbelt, MD, I have rarely prepared it here in Kellogg and I loved having eggplant as part of tonight's meal.

3. So, Debbie and I were enjoying our cocktails after dinner and were enjoying some low key yakkin' when Debbie suddenly wanted to return to All the President's Men. A while back we watched the movie for the 450,000th time and got as far as Woodward and Bernstein starting to knock on doors, wanting to ask members of CREEP questions about the committee, money, and other details. 

Every time I watch this movie, I marvel at the obscure character actors' exquisite work -- along with the well-known character actors like Jane Alexander, Hal Holbrook, Jack Warden, and the rest. I also marvel at the movie's exquisite plotting, the ingenious way the makers of this movie tell its story.

When it ended, I was in the mood to watch another movie that epitomizes strong character acting, along with superb leads, another movie that is as exquisitely plotted as any movie I've ever seen.

I turned on The Sting.

One of the great pleasures of watching The Sting is that I always forget the countless cons going on in this story and when another one plays out, I always experience the pleasure of getting tricked again and enjoy laughing at how the movie got me again. 

The Sting got me. It entertained me. It delighted me. 

Man, that was fun! 

Three Beautiful Things 11-09-2023: Monthly Blood Draw, The Podcast *Who Killed JFK?*, Dinner and Evening Conversation

1. I'm established at the Shoshone Medical Center. When I walk there, carrying my kit, and check in to have my monthly kidney transplant blood draw performed, the standing order is in place, the phlebotomist recognizes me and knows what to do as far as drawing my blood, filling out the label on the vial, and mailing the sample to Spokane. It all went smoothly today. That is a relief.

2. Back home, I tuned into a podcast I'd read about online called Who Killed JFK? So far, only the first episode in available and I wanted to listen to it and see if I thought Debbie and I would both want to follow this podcast. Even more than the subject matter, this podcast caught my eye because it's hosted by journalist Soledad O'Brien and Rob Reiner, the movie director and sometimes actor. 

Listening to the first episode, I was impressed with the experts they interviewed, the research informing  their script, and the connections they were making. The premise of their podcast is straight forward: The U.S. government's account of the assassination, documented in The Warren Report, missed the mark.

This podcast works to hit the mark in determining who killed John F. Kennedy.

3. For the first time since we started our subscription to HelloFresh, the company sent us the wrong directions for one of our meals. Luckily, the directions for their meals are posted online, so I found out how to prepare the sweet chili and lime glazed pork chops for tonight's dinner. 

All I had to do was chop up sweet potatoes, carrots, and an onion, drizzle them with oil, season them with salt and pepper, and roast them for close to twenty minutes.

Then I salted and peppered the two boneless pork chops and cooked them, removed them from the pan, and put them in foil to keep them warm.

I then cooked the whites of green onions in the pork chop pan and soon added sweet chili paste, hoisin sauce, fresh squeezed lime juice, and water to the pan and made the glaze.

Once the vegetables were roasted, I divided them between our bowls, topped them with sesame seeds and then I cut the pork chops into bite size pieces, put them in our bowls, and topped them with the glaze. 

The dinner was simple to prepare and very delicious. 

Before long, Debbie and I were discussing the podcast, commenting on our experiences the day JFK was assassinated, talking about seeing Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald on live television, and sorting out what we learned from the podcast about JFK's tensions with the CIA and his military advisors along with his complicated relationship with Nikita Khrushchev.  

We had another evening of good food and fascinating conversation and story telling.

Three Beautiful Things 11-08-2023: Getting Things Done, A New Dinner, Cognac and Deep Conversation

1. After I wrote this month's bills and registered the Sube online, I ventured out into the hustle and bustle of Kellogg and completed tasks. Debbie read her third graders a children's book about Senator Tammy Duckworth. Her students, moved by Senator Duckworth's story, were blown away that the person in the book was not only a real person but was alive. They each wrote Sen. Duckworth a letter. I went to the Post Office and mailed the packet of letters to Washington, D.C. today. 

I also took care of some business at Kellogg Insurance and emptied the garage of recyclables with a trip to the recycle station up the street and drove out to the transfer station.

2. Back home, I prepared a HelloFresh dinner we'd never had before: Old Bay Panko-Crusted Cobia with Roasted Asparagus and Lemon Parsley Rice.

I had never heard of cobia before this bag came in our HelloFresh box. It's a solid, mild, saltwater fish. How did HelloFresh have me prepare it? I made a sour cream and Old Bay Seasoning sauce and a panko with Old Bay and butter mixture. First, I put a layer of the sauce on the fish and then applied the panko-Old Bay crust. I baked it, along with asparagus spears that I merely oiled, salted, and peppered, for about fifteen minutes. Once baked, I applied another layer of the sauce to it. It was delicious.

So was the rice. Once cooked, I added the juice of a small lemon, a half a handful of chopped parsley, and a small chunk of butter to the rice and it paired really well with the asparagus and cobia.

We loved this dinner. 

3. After dinner, I poured myself a little cognac and drank it along with a couple of Trader Joe's chocolate dunkers, a very tasty combination. Debbie and I fell into a long conversation about things currently happening in the world, and, as we always do, talked about history, too. The subject matter of our discussion was unpleasant, beyond our ability to even try to think of solutions, but it was very satisfying to talk so intelligently and earnestly together about these subjects. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-07-2023: Rehab Intake, Back to the Breakfast Nook, I Voted and Slept Hard

1. I hurtled over the 4th of July Pass and descended into the Kootenai Health campus, parked in the hospital's south parking lot, entered the Heart Center door,  and ascended to Cardio Pulmonary Rehab on the third floor. Before long, I was in Lance's office filling out questionnaires, answering Lance's questions, and clarifying why I was seeking rehabilitation and what to do to meet my objectives. We decided that on Friday I'll come back to the facility at 11 and begin a working out program in a class setting. Perfect. Lance also had me perform a six minute walk, repeating what I did at Sacred Heart a couple of weeks ago, and, once again, I was able to complete this test without getting winded. My oxygen readings and blood pressure were solid. 

I'm looking forward to getting this program underway. 

2. I won't do this after every appointment at the rehab center, but today, since I hadn't eaten all morning, I went to the Breakfast Nook and enjoyed a sausage, eggs, hash browns, and toast breakfast and spent time contemplating my current medical situation, feeling like, all things considered, I'm doing all right. 

3. I returned to Kellogg and voted. I only had two items to vote on, a school levy and a race for a seat on the Kellogg City Council. I supported the levy and voted for the more moderate of the two candidates. Back home, spent from talking to Lance, eating all that breakfast, and voting, I joined Luna and Copper on the bed and fell into a deep coma nap, an exquisite one. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-06-2023: Preparing the House, Cooking for Family Dinner, Lots to Discuss

 1. After picking up a few things at Yoke's, I spent much of the day preparing our house for family dinner: clearing the dining table, running the dishwasher a couple of times, vacuuming, sweeping, and clearing off surfaces in the living room.

2. I also cooked dinner and mixed tonight's cocktail. I made goulash and, for the first time, I used equal parts of Italian sausage and ground beef for the meat and added fennel seeds to the sausage. I made way too much! Oh well. It'll freeze. It turned out to be delicious as was the Costco baguette I thawed.

For our cocktail, I mixed each of us a Vieux Carré. It's a classic New Orleans cocktail featuring equal parts of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and cognac, and a splash of Benedictine liqueur -- I subbed Cointreau for the Benedictine -- with a dash or two of bitters and a Maraschino cherry. 

It worked, too! 

3. Carol brought bread pieces and a spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer and Christy brought eight small pies from Birdie's pie shop -- two each of pecan, key lime, apple, and berry. It was fun sampling the different types of pie and we all agreed that Birdie's bakes tasty pies.

Molly wasn't feeling well tonight and stayed home. Debbie, Christy, Paul, Carol, and I sat around the kitchen table and talked about a lot of things before, during, and after dinner: medical stuff, our local elections, dealing with life when it all seems to either go in totally unforeseen directions or, maybe even worse, fall apart, and other things. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-06-2023: Wide Ranging Session on ZOOM, Slow Sunday Afternoon, I Return to Hal Hartley: *Henry's Fool*

1. When I signed off from ZOOMing with Bill, Diane, and Bridgit, my head was spinning a bit from having talked about so many different subjects and I found myself marveling at how we slide out of one subject into another, the next subject often seeming to have little to do with the former one. Today we talked about naturopathy and allopathy, Indian food, where and when we have Thanksgiving dinner, radiation treatment for cancer, eyelid surgery, books by David Lodge, record albums and turntables, the fractured bone in Bill's foot, Italian food and pizza, the poet Louise Gluck, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and more. Whew! Lots on our minds! 

2. I had as slow and relaxing an afternoon as I've ever had after Zooming. I completed the Sunday NYTimes crossword puzzle and then, for fun, went back to February of 2023 and completed puzzles I hadn't worked on at that time. Debbie and I decided to each take care of ourselves for dinner and that  pasta salad made from lentil pasta Debbie made Friday evening tasted even better this afternoon. 

3. Debbie retired early tonight and I decided I'd return to the movie making of Hal Hartley this evening. I've watched what's known as his Long Island Trilogy and tonight I watched about an hour of Henry Fool, the first movie of his Henry Fool Trilogy. 

That one hour was wild. Henry Fool is an ex-con and a pretend intellectual (played brilliantly by Thomas Jay Ryan) who rents a basement apartment in a broken home featuring a manic depressive mother, her disaffected daughter (played brilliantly by Parker Posey), and an asocial introvert (played brilliantly by James Urbaniak) who works as a garbage man and, under Henry Fool's guidance, starts to write poetry. 

I'm about half way through the movie. The characters are broken people. Their Long Island world is without glamor, possibly without real purpose or meaning. I have no idea where the story is going, but as is always the case with Hal Hartley, it's a funny movie for anyone into dark comedy, and it's a story that teeters on the fine line between realism and absurdity, forever keeping a viewer like me off balance, not knowing what kind of violence, tenderness, insight, or con game might emerge next. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-04-2023: Lunch at Meltz with the Fellas, Chillin' at The Lounge, A Robust Moroccan Dinner

1. Mike Stafford was visiting family in Kellogg and Coeur d'Alene. Ed, Stu, and I met up with him in Coeur d'Alene at Meltz, a cozy melted cheese sandwich spot in a strip mall near the corner of Kathleen and Ramsey Road. Meltz has an extensive menu of grilled cheese sandwiches with all kinds of combinations of cheeses, meats, vegetables, and other condiments and sauces along with homemade potato chips, dips, and different soups and salads.  They sell a big cookie, too. 

This was my first visit to Meltz and decided to try the Simpleton, a grilled sandwich blending pepper jack cheese, garlic grilled chicken, bacon, diced tomato, green onion, and avocado ranch dressing. I also enjoyed a cup of tomato basil bisque. 

The soup and sandwich worked for me. 

So did spending about an hour yakkin' with three lifelong friends about any number of subjects, all in good humor and mutual enjoyment. 

2. I arrived home, joined Copper and Luna on the bed and took a luxurious post-Meltz coma nap. Not long after I woke up, Ed texted me that he was going to The Lounge and wondered if I'd like to go up.

Yes I did.

I rocketed uptown, plopped down next to Ed, said hi to and talked a bit to Abby and Kate, ordered a 7 & 7, and settled in for a superb session.

Ed and I yakked. Tracy joined in a couple of times. Ed left after a couple of beers, but Charlie was playing blues on the wireless jukebox and I wanted to hear more of the fantastic music he was playing, enjoy another cocktail or two, and yak some more with Bob. Charlie's music kept getting better and better and Charlie told me about growing up in Texas where his dad ran a blues bar next to an auto repair shop and how, as a result, he came by his love of the blues. 

I cut myself off before long, hung around for nearly another hour, drinking water.

I didn't want to leave. It was a mellow night at The Lounge. The music was awesome. Bob had time to yak about music and his upcoming trip to Vegas and San Diego.

But, alas, I wanted to see how Debbie was doing, have some dinner, and continue to relax at home. 

3. During the day, Debbie fixed a Moroccan chicken dish -- I'd call it a stew -- with orzo and chickpeas and vegetables and a superb spice blend she'd purchased. I topped my bowl of this awesome stew with croutons from Great Harvest and loved relaxing, yakking with Debbie, and warming myself with Debbie's great dinner dish.  

Three Beautiful Things 11-03-2023: When Jeff and I Were Stopped Cold by a SWAT Team, "Morning Dew" and Communion, Trader Joe's Dinner

1. Today I went to the kepw.org archives and listened to the Nov. 2nd airing of Jeff Harrison's Thursday night radio show, Deadish. He told me in advance that he had a "special note" for me in the show, so I listened in, eager to know what the note was.

Well.

Jeff was playing Zero, reaching back to shows from November, 1994 at Eugene's WOW Hall.  He asked me, on the show, if he and I were on our way to one of these November shows when a SWAT team confronted us in a vacant lot near the WOW Hall, the SWAT team leader outfitted in camo, pointing a gun at us, screaming like a drill sergeant, telling us to STOP!

We had been strolling through alleyways from my house on our way to the corner of 8th and Lincoln and one of us casually noted that there sure were a lot of police cars around.

Here's why: an armed criminal had stolen a car at Valley River Center, rocketed into our neighborhood, and accosted a person in their home and was now on foot. 

The criminal was wearing black jeans and a black Levi jacket and had a ponytail.

Just our luck.

That's exactly what Jeff was wearing and Jeff wears his hair in a long ponytail.

I might note here that Jeff and I might have been the two most harmless men in Eugene -- peace seekers, rarely confrontational, laid back devotees to the Grateful Dead and jam bands like Zero.

Luckily, we didn't get shot.

But the police cuffed Jeff, incapacitated him, and all Jeff could do (as did I) was show the cops that we had tickets to that evening's Zero show at WOW Hall -- less than a block from where we were surrounded by uniformed police, camo SWAT team guy, and a phalanx of police cars.

The police weren't interested in me. No one reported the perpetrator being in the company of a long-haired stocky guy dressed in purple, possibly wearing a purple fanny pack. 

It turned out that one of the police officer's father worked at LCC, so I yakked with him.

A security guy at Valley River Center was with the person whose car had been stolen and the police told the security guy to bring the victim to 8th and Lincoln so the victim could tell them whether Jeff was the car jacker. 

Well, there was a delay.

The security guy got lost between Valley River Center and our location near WOW Hall.

Finally, though, he arrived and the victim, from the street, about sixty feet from where Jeff was standing, was emphatic that Jeff WAS NOT the man who had robbed him.

So, the police removed the cuffs from Jeff's wrists, and, without apology, let us go. 

Let me repeat: Jeff asked me, on the air, if this happened before one of the early November shows of 1994. 

I wrote Jeff back and informed him that our being detained by the SWAT team happened in the spring of 1994. I knew this because the whole incident occurred in the sunshine and mild weather of spring. 

Jeff looked back at Zero archives and confirmed that sure enough, Zero played a three night run at the end of April, 1994.

We went to all three shows.

But we were a little late for the Thursday show. 

2. So, I enjoy the Grateful Dead a lot, but unlike many others who love the Grateful Dead, I don't have different performances of different songs locked in my memory. Some one like Jeff can tell you when and where the Grateful Dead played a knockout "Truckin'" or an epic "Dark Star". This fact came to mind during the second hour of Jeff's show when he played what I was experiencing as a gorgeous "Morning Dew". But then I wondered -- is this performance of "Morning Dew" considered a GREAT "Morning Dew" by those who keep track of these things? 

But, I set that concern aside and just luxuriated in what I was hearing. 

Jeff came back on the air and mused that he had wondered, when assembling this show, what on earth he could play next coming out of that beautiful "Morning Dew". 

I liked that he said that. 

I liked knowing that the warmth and joy I felt listening to this "Morning Dew" was a shared experience.

It made me think of how much I enjoy the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church, knowing I am in communion with other Anglicans around the world sharing in the communion's bread and wine. 

"Morning Dew". 

Communion. 

I experienced a connection. 

3. When we went to Trader Joe's last Saturday, Debbie bought some packages of pasta and noodles and containers of sauce.

Tonight, she fixed us a Trader Joe's dinner. She boiled a packet of lentil pasta, combined it with some leftover Trader Joe's salad in a bag, and created a very delicious and satisfying pasta salad. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-02-2023: College Basketball After John Wooden, Exercising, Intro to Agnolotti

1. I had fun today texting back and forth with Byrdman and Roger about college basketball between about 1975-1978. Our conversation was inspired by two titans from that era having just died: Coach Bob Knight and North Carolina's All-American Walter "The Greyhound" Davis. Bob Knight's 1974-75 and 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers were remarkable. In the 74-75 season they went undefeated until losing to Kentucky in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament, a loss that was almost certainly attributable to one of their best players, Scott May,  breaking his arm toward the end of the season. Knight's 1975-76 team was undefeated, won the national championship, and is widely regarded as one of college basketball's best teams ever. 

Walter Davis played on the North Carolina team that played Marquette for the national title in 1977. That game was remarkable for many reasons, but especially for the fact that Marquette head coach, Al McGuire had announced his retirement. Marquette won that championship game, 67-59. Walter Davis led North Carolina with 20 points. 

It was a fascinating period in the history of NCAA men's basketball. John Wooden retired from UCLA after the 1975 season (and ten national titles) and things felt more wide open to me. Granted, I loved those great UCLA teams, but that 1976 Indiana team, having perfected Bob Knight's motion offense, played a style of basketball I loved to watch. I loved the grittiness of Marquette's teams. I especially enjoyed the 1977 underdog team from U North Carolina Charlotte, featuring future Celtic Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell. UNLV also broke into the national scene that year, with many great seasons to come. 

My mind  swirled much of the day with memories of those college teams and performances from that era and of players like Walter Davis when they played in the NBA. 

(By the way, I was traveling in England from Jan through early April of 1979 and didn't get to see the Michigan State/Indiana State match up featuring Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.)

2. I've been feeling sluggish lately and today I pretty much snapped out of it by rolling out my exercise mat and doing exercises targeted to help strengthen my knees, hips, and core. 

3. For dinner tonight, I fried a couple of chicken cutlets seasoned with Italian seasoning. When they were cooked, I dropped a package of butternut squash agnolotti (very similar to ravioli or tortellini) into a pot of boiling salt water, put the chicken in a foil tent to rest, and then cooked sliced shallot and added a couple handfuls of spinach and finely chopped garlic. Once the spinach was good and wilted, I added a packet of cheese roux concentrate and some pasta water and when it had thickened a bit, I added cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and butter to this mixture. 

I dropped the cooked agnolotti into the pan along with half of the chicken pieces I'd just sliced up and after it cooked briefly, I served the contents of the pan into two bowls and topped it with the rest of the chicken pieces and some more Parmesan cheese. 

I especially enjoyed the butternut squash agnolotti. 

This dinner capped off a good week of solid HelloFresh meals, the two we ordered and the one bonus meal we had last night. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-01-2023: Bob Knight's Influence on Me, A Lucky Steak Dinner, Copper and Luna Express Contentment

1. Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight died today, on November 1, 2023, and his impact on my life over the last 45 years or so is on my mind. His bullying personality, often inflexible demands for loyalty, thin skin, profane disrespect for women, pugnacious persona, and his reliance, as a coach, on demeaning players, subjecting them to domineering temper tantrums, and tearing them down (as a way to build them back up) all became for me, in my twenties and for the rest of my life, the model for exactly how I didn't want to be as a person and as a man.

I've tried (not always successfully) to live by one of my favorite lines from Shakespeare: "Let gentleness my strong enforcement be". It's a line from As You Like It. 

Especially as a college instructor for about thirty-five years, I always hoped my students would learn and improve and perform well as a result of my encouragement, positive approach to their work, and my jolliness. I was not a tough guy in the classroom. Occasionally, I slipped, especially when I was a younger teacher, but overall I was not a taskmaster. As I aged as a teacher, I became increasingly lenient, even soft.

Since the announcement of his death, I've read two long pieces about Bob Knight. The first, by Frank Deford, appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1981. The second, by Seth Davis,  appeared today in The Athletic. I've saved both articles as PDF files on my desktop and, if asked, am happy to share them.

Both writers try to sort out the contradictory fact that Bob Knight was at once cruel and virtuous, a coach who humiliated his players while also pushing them to be the best they could be on and off the basketball court.

I always have known this about Bob Knight -- that he went out of his way to help players in their lives after they finished playing for him, that he saw to it that his players completed degrees, that Bob Knight was strict about following NCAA rules and was never accused at any of his jobs of cheating, of violating NCAA rules and standards.

But, let's face it.

As an English instructor, I didn't have the kind of focused, intense relationship with my many student every quarter that Bob Knight had every year with the about fifteen or so players he worked with. 

I know many of my students from years ago have gone on to live good lives. Some are raising children with love. Many of them are employed in jobs helping others, whether as teachers, social workers, counselors, employees in non-profits, or, in one case, as the owner of a catering company. 

I like to think that along with other encouraging teachers, other kind teachers, that we had a positive impact on our students and helped them grow into adulthood, helped them arrive at a deeper sense of themselves and their worlds, without humiliating them, pushing them to the edge of cracking, without verbal abuse, and without crude and profane demonstrations of wielding power with intimidation.

Any one in my life who demeaned me, intimidated me, tried to push me to improve by yelling at me or physically punishing me, thwarted my growth, eroded my confidence, and ruined any trust that might have developed between us. 

Bob Knight was for me a role model of exactly the sort of person I never wanted to be. When my behavior as a teacher or a step-parent or a husband or a friend in any way was like Knight's, those moments of weakness have haunted me, no matter how long ago they happened, no matter how unformed and insecure I was when I acted that way.

2. When our HelloFresh box came on Monday, it included the meals we ordered and most of the ingredients for a meal we didn't order. We did not order a meal of Steak and Garlic Pan Sauce with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli, but our box had everything to make this meal, except the steaks! So, today I bought a pack of petit sirloins and made this dinner. It was very easy. All I had to do was boil potatoes, mash them, and work in sour cream and some water along with roasting the broccoli and a clove of garlic, pan fry the steaks, and make a sauce out of a packet of concentrate in the bag.

It was a terrific meal -- someone's error at HelloFresh turned into good fortune for Debbie and me.

3. After dinner, I joined Copper and Luna on the bed and worked the Thursday NYTimes crossword puzzle.  Luna always wants to be near me, either on my chest or close at my side and she is quick, maybe even eager, to purr.

This evening, Copper moved in close to me, level with abdomen. I could easily put my hand on his back and later his underside. Merely placing my hand on Copper moved him to purr, a sound I don't get to hear very often. It was a relaxing and peaceful time together for all three of us -- and, if I were prone to purring, I would have joined their chorus. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-31-2023: Happy Halloween, Post-Transplant Meds, Perfect Halloween Dinner

1. Gibbs frantic scream barked every time a trick or treater came to our door. Debbie leashed him so he didn't panic run to the door and hop on his pogo stick as I greeted our trick or treaters. Not many trick or treaters came to our house, but it was fun handing out candy to the ones who came. 

One welcome change: in Eugene, people put off fireworks on Halloween. I never really knew if they set them off in their yards or in Monroe Park, a block away. 

I didn't hear any fireworks tonight -- a huge relief.

2. Earlier in the day, I went to Yoke's for a flu shot and I handed Karli, the pharmacist,  the list of medicines I'll take post-transplant, if I get transplanted. The list had cost estimates from Sacred Heart's pharmacy and I want to know what my costs will be at Yoke's. I also wanted to be sure all of these medications will be available at our Yoke's pharmacy. 

Ever since Mom was able to do less and less and Yoke's filled her prescription box and delivered it, I've wanted to keep my pharmacy business at Yoke's. Since moving to Kellogg, both Debbie and I have had the need for a favor. For example, once I mistakenly bought a more expensive medicine when a less expensive one was available and every single time we've need help or a favor, Yoke's pharmacy has helped us out, given us superb service. 

So, my medicine situation will be a bit complicated if I have a kidney transplant. I understand (that is, I'm pretty sure) that the first thirty days of pills will come from Sacred Heart, but, after that, I'm hoping I can secure my pills from Yoke's pharmacy. I want to keep my business with this pharmacy here in Kellogg. 

3. Since I took on handing out candy and Debbie took on the task of trying to keep Gibbs from being a total maniac, Debbie also got Gibbs out of the living room by cooking us a delicious dinner of roasted sweet potatoes, yellow pepper, and onion over rice. It was simple, very tasty, and a perfect way to prepare food in the midst of the occasional pandemonium Gibbs engendered in his faithful commitment to keep us safe from anyone who might walk in front of our house or, OMG!, come up on the front porch. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-30-2023: Rehab Around the Corner, Recycling, Penne and Ground Beef

1. I got a call I was expecting from the Pulmonary Rehab clinic at Kootenai Health and I will blast over there next Tuesday for an initial consultation and intake appointment. I'm looking forward to the exercise and the instruction.

2. I admit it, I get more satisfaction out of getting cans, plastic bottles, and cardboard out of our garage and recycled than a sane person ought to, but it's true. Loading up the Sube with recyclables, keeping the garage tidy, and dropping off those items had me feeling stoked today.

3. Customarily, we order vegetarian dinners to prepare from HelloFresh, but Debbie changed it up this week and tonight I made a penne dish with ground beef that featured a delicious cream sauce, onion, peas, and truffle zest. It was simple and delicious. Debbie had had dental work done today and, for her, especially, this meal was comforting.  

Three Beautiful Things 10-29-2023: Quiet, Beer Tasting, Family Dinner

 1. Quiet. Debbie went to school to get some work done. I relaxed with The NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle. I made one quick trip to Yoke's. I would have welcomed another outing, another fun day with Debbie, but the quiet inactivity today was enjoyable.

2. Debbie returned. She'd volunteered to make the salad for tonight's family dinner. I wanted to try the fresh hopped Fluffy Puffy Sunshine I'd purchased at Ya Ya Brewing on Saturday, so I popped open a can to split with Debbie. I enjoyed this beer, but it didn't work as well for Debbie. I understand why. The fresh hopped version of this beer isn't as soft as the original Fluffy Puffy Sunshine. We have six cans of the fresh hopped Fluffy Puffy Sunshine left and it looks like it'll be up to me to drink them on my own. I'd love to pop open any one or all of these cans and split them with someone, but the fact of the matter is that I don't know anyone well here in Kellogg who enjoys IPAs (West Coast or New England). 

It's no problem -- but, I do enjoy beer sharing sessions and would love to share this beer. 

3. For family dinner tonight, Carol made a robust and deeply flavorful Minestrone soup and Debbie assembled an awesome green salad. Molly brought dinner rolls. To start we ate Carol's appetizer,  ambitious and delicious slices of roasted sourdough bread topped with pear slices and pecorino cheese accented with a balsamic glaze and drank the Aperol Spritz that Paul mixed. Christy baked an Italian Apple Cake, gracing our meal with a light and tasty dessert. 

We also had a guest tonight. Kellogg High School student Sofi Broaddus joined us. Her mother was visiting other daughters back east and Molly has been helping keep her company and brought her to dinner tonight. Sofi is lively -- bubbling really -- and has a lot on her mind. She added spirited monologues and good natured excitement to our dinner. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-28-2023: Brief Trip to Kendall Yards, Trader Joe's and Great Harvest, Ya Ya Brewing and More

1. Debbie and I often say to each other, "One of these days, we ought to just go to Spokane" -- do some shopping, visit a brewery, maybe have a meal, but just bounce around and have some fun. 

But, we never do it.

Until today! 

Debbie wanted to buy better shoes to teach in and so we went to this place in Kendall Yards, but once we got into the store, we realized it wasn't the right place. Neither of us wanted to be served by an outfitter, have our feet scanned, or be a part of the upscale vibe of this place. The store had a coffee shop, though, and I bought a Cafe Mocha and we left the store and departed from Kendall Yard.

2. Our next move was up in the air. We decided to buzz up on the South Hill and go to Trader Joe's and to buy some bread products at Great Harvest. For me, it's fun going to Trader Joe's with Debbie -- not only does it bring back some fun memories of visiting the Eugene store, but Debbie thinks of buying products that don't cross my mind. So I bought dried fruit and some cookies and Debbie loaded up on sauces and other products that we will use to make rice and pasta dinners with. 

At Great Harvest (another place I enjoyed in Eugene), we were happy to see that today the store sold cinnamon bread as well as Dakota bread so we bought a loaf of each and a couple other items. 

3. I wanted to take Debbie to Ya Ya Brewing in Spokane Valley.  Back in September, I had brought home a couple of cans of their Fluffy Puffy Sunshine, a New England style IPA we both enjoyed. Today, Fluffy Puffy Sunshine was on tap, but it was not the same beer we had drunk at home. As breweries will do, Ya Ya brewed an experimental Fluffy Puffy Sunshine as more of a West Coast IPA, more hop forward, less, well, fluffy. 

We agreed that as we got deeper into our 13 oz pour, we enjoyed the experimental Fluffy Puffy Sunshine more and more. Ya Ya also had another variation of Fluffy Puffy Sunshine in cans: a fresh hop Fluffy Puffy Sunshine. I bought a couple of four packs and I hope we enjoy this variation. 

Sometime, though, I want to return to Spokane and whether it's at Huckleberries or a bottle shop or back at the Ya Ya tasting room, I'd like to buy cans of the original Fluffy Puffy Sunshine we enjoyed back in September.

Not far from Ya Ya sits Homestead Birkenstock and we stopped in at this shop so Debbie could continue her search for better shoes to wear at work.

Success! Debbie found a couple of pairs she liked and we rode this wave of success on into Coeur d'Alene and made a quick stop at Costco for fuel and Debbie bought a box of popcorn packets to give her students on Halloween.

We decided to have dinner at home, so we blasted back to Kellogg and Debbie fixed a pot of jasmine rice, cooked us each a salmon patty, opened a Trader Joe's bag of salad, and opened a jar of Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce, a sauce with a unique blend of potent flavors that perfectly enhanced the rice and fish.

I don't remember the last time Debbie and I spent an afternoon just bouncing around like this, going wherever we decided on the spot to go, and it made for a fun day of shopping, drinking a beer, and getting in some superb yakkin'.  

Three Beautiful Things 10-27-2023: No Appointments!, All Steve Miller All Afternoon, Delicious Pasta Dinner

1. I was happier, maybe happier than a sane person should be, not to have any appointments today. I stayed home, relaxed with puzzles and blogging, and exercised on the floor for about ninety minutes, trying to further strengthen muscles in my legs, stretch them, and strengthen my core, gradually. 

2. Until today, I've exercised in silence. It just seemed right to do go through my routine in a quiet house. That changed today. When I was driving to CdA or Spokane the other day, I was listening to 70s on 7 and Lisa Evans played the Steve Miller Band's 1977 hit, "Jungle Love". It got to me, in a good way, and so, this afternoon, I played all Steve Miller Band music while I exercised, including the only Steve Miller Band album I bought in high school: Steve Miller Band Number 5. I don't think that album had any hits on it (please correct me if I'm wrong), but it works for me with its variety and originality. I might even like it a bit more than his later hits -- hard to say -- but I do know that I enjoyed exercising to the sounds of the Steve Miller Band. It was a good session.

3. I've prepared HelloFresh's Silky Sicilian Penne tossed with Zucchini, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes before and was kind of stoked that our last bag of the week meant a return to this dish. It was an easy one pan, one pot meal, with sauce enriched by crema and mushroom stock concentrate. Debbie and I were very happy diners tonight.