Day 18: Spokane, WA

The People
Katie and her husband Richard are artists
who met at Art Center in LA about 20 years ago.
Richard is an absolute genius, and has
distinguished himself with work on movies (Alladin)
and comuter games (Riven) and much more
than I could list here.

Katie is currently doing work on the TV animation
series Squirrel Boy and has also done Duckman.
One of my most prized possessions is a t-shirt
and a painting of a frisbee flying over the beach,
an original, which she made for me many years ago.

Their daughter Helen, only 15, has her own radio show!

Last night, Richard prepared a fabulous meal,
salmon, mashed potatoes, asparagus,
all done to the highest level of perfection of his artistry.
I think I have never had a tastier meal!

It was a great time, with lots of stories by/about
all the guests and family.
It seems that the planets aligned to bring us together.
Katie's sister Maggie was visiting with her daughter,
and Richard's brother Tom and new bride were here for a visit
on their way to a tour of the USA on his Harley
which he shipped over from his home in Hawai'i.

The Car
This morning it had it's first real personal attention
in 2500 miles, tended to by the guys at
Gentle Touch Hand Wash, just a few blocks from the hotel.
With all the road-schmutz removed, I noticed a few more
of the dings from the debris torrent we suffered in Canada.
The windshield is definitely screwed with pits galore.
But, after a thorough cleaning, it looks WOW!!
I am not going to get tired of that color.
In the sun, it really comes alive with highlights!

The Pool
Checked out the action at McQ's Billiards and Sports Bar,
and the women's qualifier for the WPBA tour.
Watched them for an hour or two,
and I could see them make some of the mistakes I make.
Sure is a lot easier watching than competing!

Then I got into a set with Sean,
the guy who beat me at the Jillian's Seattle tournament.
(He was here with his wife Susie who was in the qualifier.)
I was really looking forward to playing Sean again,
to show him, and me, that I could shoot better than I did.
He started off good, and I was slow to get going,
and soon Sean had me down several games in a race to 7,
but I hung in there and won the set 7-5.
Needless to say, I was feeling great about that.

One of Sean's friends, Dan, was waiting for winners,
so I played him a race to 5 and won that set too.
Fast Mikie rules the day!

But then I started being Mr. Nice Guy,
socializing with Sean and Dan,
and you know what happens when I start talking:
I lose focus, and start missing shots.
By the way, Sean Gray is a tobacco chewing
Ph.D. in biochemistry, working on a cure for AIDS.

But, hey, let's remember the bright spot of the day...
I got even with Sean, in a hard-fought come-from-behind victory,
and then beat his buddy, who is the same speed as Sean,
both A-level players.

I really couldn't ask for more than that!

The temperature at 6:30PM was 103 degrees. Ouch!
The pool hall was the perfect place to be today.

Tonight, when it cools down,
I'll celebrate with another great meal
in the company of friends.
Life is good.