Where Are Your Manners?

July 11, 2009
Here I am at the Coeur d’Alene library. It is a lovely building--very airy and spacious. Lots of light. It’s air conditioned J The people seem very helpful. There is art everywhere. And as soon as you come in, there is a used bookstore that benefits the Friends of the Library. I’m sitting by a window and looking out at more public art and a bunch of green space. It’s too much grass, I will grant you that, but there are also trees with picnic tables underneath them in the shade. And best of all, there are people wandering around with armloads of books! This can only be a good thing! I continue to be amazed at how much people have invested in their community. I think that there are about the same number of people living here as in Klamath Falls, but the contrast is striking. I will admit that this place has many advantages--the scenery is beautiful--there is just a natural beauty here that Klamath Falls simply does not possess. And this is a kind of a destination to a larger degree than I imagine Klamath Falls is. Still, people are clearly making an effort to move forward and not just look backwards. Downtown is thriving, not dying. People seem involved.

There is a Farmer’s Market that sets up twice a week and another similar thing that sets up on yet another day. We went to the market this morning and many of the organic produce booths were just about sold out. There is a second Friday art walk. The whole vibe is different and I find it completely refreshing! And the people seem so friendly. Everywhere we go people are just extremely friendly. Lots of smiling faces and happy greetings.
The campground got busy last night as you would expect. Unfortunately one of the new arrivals is a little boy who seems to not understand the idea of manners or polite behavior. Last night he began to hang out a couple of feet from our tent. The creek runs by there. There are “public spaces” where he could have gone to look at the creek, but he had to do it there even though you’re not really supposed to be getting in other people’s space. Bill and I were in our tent and had to finally zip up the screen covering. Then he proceeded to run around with this flashing light thing while yelling. He continued this well after quiet time had begun. It was highly annoying to have this light flashing on the tent walls. Do I sound like an old fuddy-duddy yet? This morning was the clincher, though. He ran around our tent and stood a couple of feet away next to the tall grass on the creek bank. He proceeded to rummage around in his pants and urinate in the grass a few feet from our tent! I could not believe this and I wish now I has said something. Where are this boy’s adults? Has no one ever taught him that he is not the center of the universe and that a bit of consideration fro other people is a good thing?
Of course, I do not enjoy being around children, so I am not inclined to be amused by this kind of thing. And I have noticed that things seem to be way out of control in many cases. This does not hold true for everyone, of course, but I can remember being in the library and having parents tell their kids to place the books they wanted to check out on the counter. When they did this, they were praised as though they had just composed a masterpiece of music or something. “GOOD JOB!” their parents would exclaim. I used to want to ask whether this was really the response that was necessary. If you shout to the heavens every time your kid does the most mundane and basic things, they will get the idea that they must always get this kind of praise. And in he real world, as we all know, it is not forthcoming. That is not to say we shouldn’t tell people when they are doing something we appreciate or when we are impressed by something they have done or whatever. I try to do that on a regular basis. But I never once told an adult library patron, “GOOD JOB” when they handed me their library card! And I grew up on the other side of things where everything I did would be met with criticism. I am not advocating that, either. It simply seems to me that there must be some happy medium. And parents should always remember that their little darlings are not so darling to everyone. The older I get, the more I value consideration of other people and I thing that being polite is a good thing. And being polite does not include wandering into someone’s tent site and urinating!
I must say that being in these campgrounds is an amazing way to observe people and their behavior. I am now pondering all sorts of questions about why people do what they do!

Camping, Not Kamping

July 9, 2009
Well, we have moved to a campground a few miles east of Coeur d’Alene called Wolf Lodge RV Campground. It seems like it will be a nice spot. We have trees around us and I am sitting in the shade as I type! This will be good as it is supposed to be 90ish on Saturday. I will be grateful for the shade then.

Right now I am actually slightly chilly--something I am not at all used to in July!! We got here and got out of the truck to decide where to put the tent when this guy rode up on his golf cart to greet us and ask us whether we needed anything. He said he wanted to make sure we had the tent site we wanted and that if there was anything at all we needed to let them know at the office. What a totally different experience than the last place! We are in a spot that is in a little bowl shaped area and we set up the tent next to the creek. I think we won’t be able to hear the water go by because the freeway is right there, but maybe there won’t be so much traffic at night. In any case, there is no train! And the view we have is beautiful. We have some tall grass and small trees that block our view of the freeway and across the street there is a big forested hill. It all seems so green! There’s something else I’m not really used to seeing in July--green.
We both decided we didn’t feel like going out again yesterday, so we will go to the Farmers’ Market on Saturday. It’s not downtown, but I think it was the original one in the area. It was nice to just get some work done, have some supper and relax. We are rested and recharged now and figure the couple of nights in the motel did us all some good. I will say, though, that I was finding it to be a little bit stuffy indoors and was kind of looking forward to getting back outside.
We’ve been noticing how much people seem to care about this community. It’s pretty evident in how they have clearly poured resources into downtown. And in yesterday’s paper there was a little blurb about how they are soliciting ideas for projects that will benefit low income people and neighborhoods. I guess they’re giving grants to individuals or groups who can present a good plan. It seems like a community that really works well, though I say that from my perspective as an outsider. It may be different if you live here. And in today’s paper there was an article about this guy who is running for mayor and has declared that the current constitution of the United States does not apply to him. He is a believer in the 1787 and 1791 versions. I do not know whether this means he would take away women’s right to vote or reinstate slavery--the article really didn‘t say. So there’s an element of the absurd here as well. I guess it’s not too alarming that someone like this would run for mayor--people have strange ideas everywhere. What would be alarming is if the guy actually won the election. My guess is that he won’t. There just seems like too much good stuff is happening here for a majority of the citizens of this town to vote for someone like that. But what do I know? I’m just passing through!

It's a Whole Other World!

July 8, 2009
I am awake!!! YIPPEE!! We caved in to exhaustion and got ourselves a motel room for a couple of nights. The other afternoon in the library I was looking up different places to stay in Coeur d’Alene. I had the vague thought that it would be awfully nice to be able to sleep in a quiet and comfortable place and to just be able to regroup a little bit after several almost sleepless nights and time spent chasing shade. I was rather shocked at how expensive motel rooms have gotten to be. But I found one that was only a couple of dollars more than the cheapest room I could come up with and it offered far more--free wifi, free breakfast, a microwave, a fridge, and a coffeemaker. Most of all, it has given us a chance to rest and catch up. Bill spent several hours last night processing photos. I got caught up on all of my notes, and we all slept through the night. There were thunderstorms and rain showers in the forecast for last night and tonight. It was so quiet in here that I have no idea whether they actually happened. But I do know that I am full of gratitude for a good night of uninterrupted sleep. I rather frightened myself yesterday when I saw the bags and circles under my eyes! This morning we went out to a campground that I had found in my search Monday. It’s quite a bit cheaper than the KOA in Spokane was and it seems to offer the same amenities and to be much nicer. The woman in the office heard our story and said that we were welcome to look around and even choose our campsite if we would like! She gave us a map and told us which ones were available. We picked a nice spot that is between a creek and a tree (a tree--hurray!) and is located in this little bowl-shaped area a little bit farther back than the other sites. Since it’s supposed to get hot again this weekend, I am sure I will appreciate that beautiful tree! We are going there tomorrow and will stay until next Tuesday morning.
I must say that I have had the thought cross my mind that maybe I’ll just stop right here and settle in Coeur d’Alene! I have never been here before, but it is a beautiful place. I am amazed at the huge difference between Spokane and here. Part of it is simply that I found the landscape in Spokane to be rather yucky. I felt the city exuded an air of decay. It was not pleasant at all. It was not a place that I would want to spend any time in, but the kind of place that had me looking around and wondering how quickly I could leave. Not good. This is completely different. Since we had to leave the kampground by 11 yesterday morning , we couldn’t check in at the motel until 3, and it took us ½ an hour to get here, we had time to spend.

We found ourselves downtown at this incredible park in the heart of the city on the edge of the lake. There’s even a little beach! There are many different areas for kids to play in--the beach, a big playground with castle-like structures, basketball court, and lots of room to run around. I was impressed. We parked and started walking around.

We sat by the beach and watched the float planes take off and the people playing. We went further into the park--trees everywhere--big, big trees--and ate our lunches. Then we walked around for a couple of hours.


We walked on the world’s largest floating boardwalk in search of the next in the series of Mudgy and Millie statues. There are 5 of them, based on a story in a children’s book. Mudgy is a moose and Millie is a mouse.


We found the library. I went into the Visitor’s Center and asked a couple of questions about the effects of the economy on tourism. The ladies in there were incredibly friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to help me and gave me some really useful information. The area around our motel seems like the usual chain store strip kind of thing, but downtown really seems vibrant and alive. It is clear that they have invested significant resources into the area and it shows. We went back this morning to walk around and felt the same vibe. Bill and I both agreed that this seemed like the best place we’d been since we left Alaska. We’re going back out later because the Farmer’s Market is happening between 4 and 7.
So after several strange days in eastern Washington, we find ourselves in what seems like a completely different world. Relaxed, functional, getting things done, rested, and enjoying the surrounding area. It’s a welcome change!