Tearful reunion tops birthday bash

In case you wondered who "Arlene" was last Friday in the Bee in the "Arlene's 40, Oh Lordy" ad, that little beauty was Arlene Mitton.

She received a handful of calls on the sympathy hotline in the ad. The 265-3305 hotline is still in effect, I'm told.

Husband Brad, who is the fire chief at Northside Fire Department, was responsible for the ad…and for a surprise party Saturday that most will never forget.

Brad notified all friends and relatives and scurried Arlene and their son, Jarrett, to the Heffalump movie Saturday morning while it seemed everyone in Ponderay put together the Mexican themed party.

As Arlene entered the party and was greeted with a hearty "surprise" her eyes were immediately drawn to a smallish woman who was leaning against a cane.

Anna Meyer and Arlene Mitton were best friends at Bonners Ferry High School. They share the same birthday and birth date: Valentine's Day, 1965. They both have had highs and lows during those four decades. Friends still laugh about the girls' nights out way back when. Anna introduced Brad and Arlene.

Anna left Bonners Ferry years ago and went into advertising sales at the Coeur d'Alene Press. She was good and consistently won the annual contest as the paper and the Hagadone Corporation's best salesperson.

For the past 10 years, Anna has earned the respect of everyone who knows her. She and her husband, Marshall, gave birth to a son with serious developmental disabilities. Jacob will most likely always be in a wheelchair and will need constant attention, according to the doctors.

A few years ago Anna was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat back cancer for a time and was back at work at the Press between treatments. She struggled to find balance in her life and seemed to be on top of things.

Cancer struck again. And then she had a stroke. She was bedridden. Most thought she would die. Who would blame her if she didn't smile at you? Who would blame her if she was a little bitter about the hand life has dealt her?

Not Anna.

That's why her surprise appearance at her lifelong friend's birthday party brought just about everyone to tears when they embraced.

While Arlene received many gifts on Saturday, it's my guess the present of Anna's friendship and her surprise appearance, was the topper. Brad earned some serious points for putting it all together.

The year of low snow continues for Schweitzer. Even though everybody who is actually skiing and boarding right now say they are having a good time, it has to be hard to attract people up the mountain when the grass is starting to green in the valley.

Give GM Ron Nova credit. He is calling season pass holders and reminding them that the skiing isn't that bad and that they might want to pick up their passes. I have a pass sitting up there gathering dust and I hope to pick it up and make a few runs this year. I was reminded there are no refunds by a postcard and I doubt too many people are thinking about refunds anyway.

A lot of businesses have felt the sting of this low snow year. Just think, Easter is only six weeks away.

The Cancer Care Challenge lived up to its name this year. It's challenging.

Co-organizers Jennifer Merwin and Patty Hutchens decided last night to move the Feb. 26 event from Schweitzer to downtown Sandpoint after it was determined ski conditions wouldn't be good enough for the challenge to co-exist with normal operations at Schweitzer.

Instead, the event will take place at DiLuna's Friday night, Feb. 25. The Challenge has already raised $22,071 in sponsors and pledges. Look for the complete scoop on today's Sports page.

Talk radio is alive in Sandpoint. Bill Litsinger and Barbara Carpenter are doing a great job at noon on 1400 KSPT with their local talk shows. Both talk with newsmakers and make the most out of a terrible time slot on AM radio.

I have started listening to KSPT again, although 920 AM from Spokane is pretty good. I still can't bring myself to listen to more than a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage, though.

RUMORS…Look for Sandpoint Satellite to move across Fifth Avenue to the old Alpine Designs shop soon. Also, look for the announcement of a major grocery store landing in Sandpoint or Ponderay by the end of the year. That was not really my mom at the chamber of commerce meeting last week but that was Chris Watkins, Bee circulation guy, winning the grand prize raffle basket worth $400, including a nice Lyman print. I bought him the ticket, though.

Look for the DSBA to take a more activist role in downtown Sandpoint with the departure of founder and president of the DSBA, Nancy Hadley. Also look for City Hall to hold its breath to see what is in store for the group now that Pierre Bordenave (an arch foe of the Sand Creek Byway) controls the reins of the $100,000 annual budget derived from the Business Improvement District.

Pierre did a great job with Mardi Gras and has spent many volunteer hours on DSBA projects. Maybe the DSBA will decide downtown Sandpoint needs its attention with or without a Sand Creek Byway and will keep politics out of the mix.

Happy Day After Valentine's Day to my wife, Marlisa; daughter, Olivia; son, Austin; and mother-in-law, Nancy. My father in law, Blaine, is too tough to say such sappy things to but I love you all. I also saved $15 in Hallmark cards by doing it this way.

Joe Wythe sent me the following Email, I hope you enjoy:

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN 2005 WHEN …

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 16 phone numbers to reach your family of four.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they

don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You go home after a long day at work you still answer the phone in a

business manner.

7. You make phone calls from home, you accidentally dial "9" to get an

outside line.

8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.

10. You learn about your redundancy on the 11 o'clock news.

11. Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job.

12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if

anyone is home.

13. Every commercial on television has a website at the bottom of the

screen.

14. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the

first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you

turn around to go and get it.

15. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)

17. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

18. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this

message.

19. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

20. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

? David Keyes is publisher of the Bee. His column runs Tuesdays.