Anecdotal Why I love Idaho Tidbit (Sandpoint, Shelley: sale, home, live in)

[norcalmom101]

Did I mention somewhere here already our little story about my daughters bicycle?

Where we lived in California, in a very expensive smaller community, if my daughter had left her bike unsecured in the front yard, it would have been stolen within 12 hours, guaranteed.

Here in Shelley, she left her bike unsecured in the front yard. When I got home from work, a neighbor had taken her bike. He replaced a broken foot pedal, and fixed her tires, installing puncture resistant tubes. Then he put it back.

I love Idaho!

[cleosmom]

That is way cool I'm guessing the same neighbor who must have run out of snow to shovel?

[norcalmom101]

Originally Posted by cleosmom

That is way cool I'm guessing the same neighbor who must have run out of snow to shovel?

Yep! But it hasn't stopped him from disappearing piles of shingles as I rake them up...

[Trace_Rinaldi]

That rocks!! Its the way people SHOULD be, but these days its a strange story outside of places like Idaho.. Thanks for sharing NM with all the doom and gloom a little story like this restores some faith in humanity. At least to me

[sav]

We came home last night from a weekend away and went to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take my son biking. My husband was like, where is his bike? and i said, oh no, maybe it was stolen (we just leave it in the front yard). of COURSE it was not stolen. we had just moved it inside the house.

[pimit2]

Stories about neighbors helping neighbors are an important part of life in Idaho. It's all about Idaho and no longer found in many parts of our country. Stuck in the snow along a country road? In minutes, help will stop to aid in getting you out and on your way. Moving in? Folks will drop by to welcome you to the area. Examples of people relating to others. It's Idaho.

I've told this story before, but it amazed me. I have a post office box in the small post office in Ponderay, even though I live in nearby Sandpoint. I had a small, plastic box full of trout flies to mail to a friend. Worried that the plastic box might be crushed, I asked the clerk (he was actually the postmaster) for a bubble-pack mailer. They were out of them. The postmaster rummaged around in the trash can and found some light-weight cardboard. He spent several minutes fashioning a protective box with the cardboard and scotch tape, then placed it in a regular envelope, no charge.

If you live outside of Idaho, can you imagine this happening at your local post office?


pimit2 (Bob)

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Originally Posted by pimit2

Stories about neighbors helping neighbors are an important part of life in Idaho. It's all about Idaho and no longer found in many parts of our country. Stuck in the snow along a country road? In minutes, help will stop to aid in getting you out and on your way. Moving in? Folks will drop by to welcome you to the area. Examples of people relating to others. It's Idaho.

I've told this story before, but it amazed me. I have a post office box in the small post office in Ponderay, even though I live in nearby Sandpoint. I had a small, plastic box full of trout flies to mail to a friend. Worried that the plastic box might be crushed, I asked the clerk (he was actually the postmaster) for a bubble-pack mailer. They were out of them. The postmaster rummaged around in the trash can and found some light-weight cardboard. He spent several minutes fashioning a protective box with the cardboard and scotch tape, then placed it in a regular envelope, no charge.

If you live outside of Idaho, can you imagine this happening at your local post office?


pimit2 (Bob)

Uuuh NO! At my post office they charged me for a roll of tape once because I ran out and hadnt wrapped it well enough to suit them Bob..


Another Idaho Post office story.. Last time we were up there I was working on getting my mailbox setup on the property. I called the post office and the VERY nice young lady who delivers the mail came out and showed me where the best place to put the mailbox would be.
She stood there and talked for a good half hour just welcoming us, and asking if we needed anything special. She said if we wanted she could store the mail at the office so it doesnt sit in the box until we are there full time.. I thought that was VERY cool, and quite the departure from the post office and mail carriers here.. On many occasions my mail carrier here has left boxes with expensive items out ON TOP of the mail box, and even one time I had a piece of original artwork in a tube delivered and it was left out in the rain!!!!!! Its a good thing the tube was waxed and fairly waterproof cause I was about to lose it..

ANYWAY I dont meaan to dampen the very cool mood of this thread, and it is refreshing to hear some good stories for a change..

[cleosmom]

These stories take me back to when we had first moved here. Both my husband and I drove truck cross country and had everything in storage, so we had a post office box.

I was getting ready to pull out of the truck yard, which is located on the edge of town and near a c-store, not an isolated area. When I attempted to pull out the car stalled and wouldn't restart. I was alone and the husband was int he truck fiddling around. At the same instance he noticed me, two young men (teens) stopped to push me back into the yard. Timing belt went and as said I wasn't in an isolated area nor totally alone, yet they stopped to see what they could do, right down to finding out what was wrong

[Sage of Sagle]

Reminds me of when we first moved here. I had done a late night shopping trip to Wal-Mart for some things we really needed. As I was heading out to my car, a group of older teen boys were there goofing around. They looked like hooligans. Sort of the "skater trash/tagger" look that was common in SoCal.

As I bumped over an uneven concrete seam, about 15 DVD's (I'm a sucker for the $5 sale rack) fell out of my cart onto the ground. Suddenly ALL these young men were rushing to pick up the DVD's saying "let me help you sir!". I found myself a bit chagrined for having assumed that just because they looked like teens from SoCal, that they would have acted like teens from SoCal. It wasn't just that they were picking up what fell on the floor, it was that they were so POLITE. I swear, every one of them called me "sir". I'm a big scary looking guy, so generally I get very little help from anyone since folks assume I can do for myself obviously. But these boys were obviously raised to do for others and be neighborly, and it showed. I thanked them all and told them I appreciated them stopping and helping me, and went on my merry way, thinking to myself that "I wasn't in Kansas any more, Dorothy!".

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Originally Posted by Sage of Sagle

Reminds me of when we first moved here. I had done a late night shopping trip to Wal-Mart for some things we really needed. As I was heading out to my car, a group of older teen boys were there goofing around. They looked like hooligans. Sort of the "skater trash/tagger" look that was common in SoCal.

As I bumped over an uneven concrete seam, about 15 DVD's (I'm a sucker for the $5 sale rack) fell out of my cart onto the ground. Suddenly ALL these young men were rushing to pick up the DVD's saying "let me help you sir!". I found myself a bit chagrined for having assumed that just because they looked like teens from SoCal, that they would have acted like teens from SoCal. It wasn't just that they were picking up what fell on the floor, it was that they were so POLITE. I swear, every one of them called me "sir". I'm a big scary looking guy, so generally I get very little help from anyone since folks assume I can do for myself obviously. But these boys were obviously raised to do for others and be neighborly, and it showed. I thanked them all and told them I appreciated them stopping and helping me, and went on my merry way, thinking to myself that "I wasn't in Kansas any more, Dorothy!".

Now THATS a great story! In So Cal that would have been let me help you dude, and then they would have ran off with the DVD's..Ha!!!