We went to the Hall of Fame Banquet the other night.  Jean, Debbie and Spence were honored for lives of service. We had a great meal, got to sing the Idaho song and the school song with the whole group, and it was good to spend time thinking about all the good that people do.  Along with the inductees I found myself reflecting on the contributions of several in attendance:  Fay and Steve Cottle, Helen Ward, Bobbie Ward and the list goes on.  Beyond those obvious elements of the evening, I also learned a few other things.

While talking to Dick Thomas, Jean’s brother, I learned he had pulled or rather released a three-prong fishhook from my son’s head at a scout camp over thirty years ago.  Now, Dick lives in Blackfoot and wasn’t my son’s leader, but he was “prepared” and was somehow in the right place at the right time with the right knowledge to free my guppy from the hook.  It must not have been too traumatic because I don’t remember a wounded scout returning from camp.

Conversation at our table turned to the subject of gardening.  Scott Alder told of picking gunny sacks full of potatoes for Milt Jones.  Seems he and Arne were the work crew and earned a dime for every bag.  Just two blocks to the east in our neighborhood we were picking up old bricks and moving them off the building site for the new Benson Funeral Home.  We worked all afternoon and earned a nickel.  I’m not sure potatoes were worth that much more money.  Child labor was alive and well for most of us 60’s children and it probably did us more good than our employers.  Scott said they made a beeline for the Mill Stream Grocery with change in their pockets, while we hustled up to Jack’s Snacks to spend our nickels.  Similar experiences, similar outcomes…working hard then enjoying the fruits of our labors.

So, the evening set the stage for us to visit with friends, contemplate service rendered and remember some of our own past that has contributed to the Good Life each of us leads.  Congratulations to the Horsleys and Jean Thomas, who have indeed served us well and here’s to fishhooks, shiny nickels and good people…all a part of the tapestry of a Good Life!