243. Potlatch Days

I love Potlatch Days. That’s the community celebration of Potlatch, Idaho, the town where I have lived for the past thirty years. Little towns all over the country have their similar celebrations that welcome everyone to come celebrate their existence, but none are more fun than the towns where you live. And I live in Potlatch, Idaho. For me it’s like a big family reunion. I taught school high school English here for 27 years and I’ve been coaching here for all 30. I know nearly everyone and I have loved being here with all of them.

This year I started the celebration by running the beer mile relay. In years past I have done the beer mile, but that is just miserable. You chug a beer, run a quarter mile and repeat until you have run a mile. Chugging four beers in less than fifteen minutes (yes, it really slows you down) is sickening, but one beer and one lap is doable. I was able to talk three other people into joining me and we had a competitive team, even though we got second out of two teams…

On Saturday morning I ran the fun run where I met some new people. I actually won the 5K with a time of thirty-three minutes! I was slow because I took an uphill walk break. Clearly there was little competition, though I probably would have been beaten by the woman who was pushing her baby in a stroller if she hadn’t refused to run the last part of the hill. At ten I marched in the parade with the Latah County Democrats promoting our candidates and saying hi to all kinds of people I know and love. At lunch time the whole family ate German Sausages while listening to a concert of marimba players and then fiddlers. Later I had several plunges in a dunk tank to raise money for a skate park. For the rest of the afternoon I walked around the park perusing the various vendors and observing the logging sports such as the cross cut and axe throw. A former student bought my wife and I a couple of beers and we sat in the shade drinking beer and talking with former students and making further connections. That pretty much wrapped it up for me because I was beat, but the celebrations continued. I had a great time and I always do. I think Potlatch Days is one of the best celebrations of the year.