Playing tennis in the rain seemed perfectly reasonable at the time—especially since the other three players were women and I was not about to quit first.

By the next morning, however, I was battling a sore throat, sneezing, coughing and the annual question: Is it a cold, allergies or both?

Then a gummy vitamin intended to improve my health removed my dental bridge on a Friday morning.

With soup suddenly serving both medical and dental purposes, I explore old-fashioned cold remedies ranging from honey and onions to goose grease, mustard plasters and Terry’s peroxide gargle—all while awaiting Monday and my dentist.

A new school year begins with fresh lesson plans, clean bulletin boards, unopened gradebooks, and teachers determined not to smile for two weeks.

But the newness soon gives way to missing pencils, tardy students, hallway scuffles, discipline referrals—and the mysteries of school lunch.

Drawing on twenty years in the classroom, Ted remembers the excitement, frustration, and humor of returning to school.

Beneath it all is a deeper truth: teachers plant seeds they may never see grow. Success cannot always be measured by grades, test scores, or immediate results. Sometimes we plant, someone else waters, and God provides the growth.

In part 2 of our conversation about angels Bruce, Harold and I continue to share stories and thoughts about angels. Sometimes they intervene. Sometimes they influence. Sometimes they nudge us. Sometimes they whisper to us.

But they are always there to protect us...usually from ourselves.

Join us as we ponder the angels in our lives...human and nonhuman!

Our conversation about angels lasted nearly an hour and twenty minutes—and apparently some listeners have lives outside of listening to my podcast! After receiving favorable responses to splitting last week’s Notebook into two shorter episodes, I decided to try it again. This special conversation will be presented in two parts, each approximately 30 to 40 minutes long.

In Part 1, Bruce joins Harold and me to share the remarkable story of the motorcycle accident that nearly took his life. Badly injured and in desperate need of help, Bruce believes an angel intervened at exactly the right moment. But surviving the accident was only the beginning of the story. We conclude Part 1 with something of a cliff-hanger, as Bruce’s pastor confronts him with a far more personal concern—not merely about his physical recovery, but about the condition of his soul.

A young rooster found wandering in a Bonners Ferry park has unexpectedly joined Ted’s collection of critters—and the timing seems suspicious.

The park is only a mile from the fairgrounds, where children recently chased pigs and chickens during the fair’s traditional Family Night events. Could the handsome fugitive have been caught by a child whose parents suddenly discovered that roosters are prohibited inside city limits?

Ted has no proof, only a theory—and three unimpressed older hens.

Recalling Trixie, another apparent fair refugee who once appeared in his barnyard, Ted wonders whether frightened animals should remain part of the entertainment.

Without preaching, he considers some alternatives: sack races, drone demolition derbies, mud-pit tug-of-war and even children chasing local officials. Perhaps Family Night can retain all its laughter and chaos while giving the chickens—and unsuspecting parents—a well-earned break.

In Part Two of Ted’s Notebook, we explore two very different stories connected by perseverance, sacrifice, and the determination to keep going.

First, we remember pitcher Tommy John—not only for the revolutionary surgery that bears his name, but for the courage and hard work required to rebuild his career afterward. His comeback changed baseball and opened the door for countless athletes who might otherwise have lost their careers.

Then we head to sea, comparing the hardships endured by sailors across the centuries—from the dangerous voyages of Magellan and Captain Cook, through the brutal conditions faced aboard ships and aircraft carriers during World War II, to the sailors serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln today.

The ships, technology, food, and medical care have changed dramatically, but long separations, isolation, uncertainty, exhaustion, and emotional strain remain very real. These stories remind us that endurance takes many forms—and those who keep going often pay a price the rest of us never fully see.

Today we bring you part 1 of Ted’s Notebook.

In today’s Part 1, Ted puts on his history-teacher hat to explore the remarkable life of David Thompson. One of North America’s greatest mapmakers and explorers, Thompson traveled tens of thousands of miles, surveyed an enormous portion of the continent, and helped reveal the rivers, mountains, and travel routes of the Northwest—often under conditions difficult for us to imagine today.

In Part 2, which will air in a couple days, we'll meet an athlete whose career appeared to be over—until an extraordinary second chance changed not only his future, but the future of countless others. Then we’ll head out to sea, considering the hardships faced by sailors across the centuries, from the age of exploration to the enormous floating cities of the modern Navy.

Together, all three are stories of distance, uncertainty, endurance, and courage. They remind us that we rarely see the entire journey when we first set out—and that sometimes the greatest discoveries, victories, and lessons emerge only after the road becomes difficult.

So, open the Notebook. Let’s see where this two part podcast journey takes us.

A productive North Idaho garden has entered its most dangerous season: zucchini season.

What begins as an innocent plant soon spreads across the garden, hiding vegetables that grow from baby size to baseball bats overnight.

This lighthearted Morning Brew explores the annual zucchini invasion, neighbors attempting to give away surplus, and the remarkable variety of dishes appearing on the table—from Martian cookies and zucchini lasagna to Ted’s favorite, zucchini pancakes.

Beneath the humor is a reminder that growth often happens quietly, good work eventually produces a harvest, and abundance is meant to be preserved, appreciated, and shared with others.