Monday 21 April 2008

Fire on the Grove


Last week, I got a lot of tweets from people in Boise about something being called "Fire on the Grove". I'm not sure if this was an "official" name for it, but...

As a semi-hermit, I decided to venture out of my cave to see what was going on. It was a beautiful, warm night in Boise, and so after a bite to eat at Pollo Rey and dessert from Cold Stone, I wandered over to the Grove fountain area to do a little people watching while waiting for sunset. Since fire was going to be involved, sunset was the appointed starting time.

There were quite a few "stilt" people, as in the picture above, who were wandering around, working the crowd before the show. It reminded me of the late 60's carnival troupes who busked for money wherever the wind took them.

At 8:30, the appointed hour of sundown, after about 15 min of their band playing pretty good music, the stilters came out to wow the crowd.
Enjoy



Monday 14 April 2008

Good news involving a Teen

With all the complaints about young people today (and the last generation, and the last, and the last) it's good to see someone who got involved, with no thought of personal safety or reward. It's even nicer to see that person recognized on a national level.

The following story was shamelessly taken from the 14 April 2008 Idaho Statesman (link in the title of the video).

byline: By Jerry Manter Idaho Statesman reporter

BOISE - A Caldwell teenager has the U.S. House of Representatives thanking her.
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Bill Sali officially recognized Brooke Garcia, 17, in the U.S. Congressional Record.Last week, police officials say Garcia saved the life of a 3-year-old toddler in an Intestate-84 accident. The toddler's aunt, who was driving the vechile died in the crash.

"Madame Speaker, I rise today in recognition of my constituent Brooke Garcia of Caldwell, Idaho. On Thursday night, April 10, Brooke displayed courage, bravery and maturity well beyond her young 17 years of age."

"While driving down Interstate 84 in Caldwell, Brooke witnessed a car accident. Her quick thinking led her to stop her car and run to the burning wreckage. Brooke then had to break the back window of the smoke-filled car and reach through the broken window to pull out a 3 year-old toddler from his seat. She said she didn't even think about not stopping."

"Police on the scene said if Brooke didn't get to the child as quickly as she did things, would have turned out differently. She saved the toddler's life. I admire Brooke's composure after witnessing such a terrible accident. I am honored to recognize the heroic efforts of my constituent. I am grateful for her example to our fellow Idahoans and all Americans."

"Brooke's valiant action is yet another reminder of why I am proud to be an Idahoan and to represent the Gem State's First Congressional District. Brooke attends Caldwell High School and is the daughter of Amy and Gerald Garcia. They are rightly proud of their wonderful daughter."

"I trust that all my colleagues will join me in recognizing Brooke for her actions and character. She represents the best of Idaho's next generation."