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Last summer, I did a story on the great job a group of GVEA workers did when they removed some nasty cottonwoods from our yard. In order to get one of them to agree to be interviewed, I had to promise to do another story on our Alex.

Alex is our 9-year-old granddaughter with Down syndrome. Everything in our lives can be moving and changing and evolving, but Alex is the wonderful constant that is always the same. She is witty and charming and delightful.

Alex is mainstreamed in an elementary school in Meridian, Idaho, and she loves to dance, play the drums, sing, jump on her trampoline and chat with strangers — especially female types with purses that might have a bit of lip gloss or lipstick she can borrow. She used to love Barney and pray for him nightly, but now she’s into Hannah Montana. She has watched the Hannah reruns so many times she knows the lines by heart.

While she has always been a papa’s girl, and she and her papa have a special bond, she also likes to paint with me and she likes the fact that when I come to visit I have with me a bulging bag of makeup and a box of jewelry.

She loves to share and hug, laugh and tease, and she has her three older brothers wrapped around her cute little finger.

Last week was a special time in Alex’s life, as she took part in the preliminary Special Olympics World International Winter Games in Boise. Next year, the worldwide event will be held in Boise and last week’s session, with 1,700 volunteers and teams from 10 countries and a half dozen states, was to work out the kinks.

Alex plays floor hockey, and her dad and brother coach two of the teams that were competing, including Alex’s team.

Floor hockey, the only team sport in Special Olympics winter games, is a bit like the real thing except there is no ice, sneakers are worn instead of skates, and the “puck” is actually a big felt disk with a hole in the middle that is moved by inserting a pole into the hole.

Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.

Alex was the youngest, and smallest, on her team. She was dwarfed by bigger players, some even in their thirties, but they quickly took her into their fold. During the first practices they held her hand and coddled her and pretty much played the game for her but eventually Alex got the hang of things.   During the Olympic Winter games, she and another child, Andrew, who was four months younger and on an opposing hockey team, were often chosen to face off. Amid the cheers from a stadium full of people, Alex and Andrew would face off and then, while their teammates were scrambling for the puck, turn to each other and hug.

Alex quickly became a favorite of the referees and announcers. During one event, a referee stopped the action mid-game, took off Alex’s helmet, pulled the hair out of her eyes, replaced the helmet and then resumed the game.

She was interviewed by the media and they asked her name. “Alex,” she said, which prompted them to ask her last name. “A.L.E.X.” she spelled. The reporter asked if she liked floor hockey. She thought about it a bit and then declared, “I like Hannah Montana.”

When she and her mother walked into the volunteer lounge one afternoon, a table full of people remarked, “There’s Alex,” as they walked by. She turned to them, grinned, and said, “That’s what they call me!”

In the meantime, Andrew was getting his own share of notoriety. He wanted so badly to make a goal and he tried his darndest but he just couldn’t pull it off. Then at the end of one of the final games, it was as if a silent message was passed from player to player and team to team. Andrew’s teammates did everything they could to help him score — including picking him up and swinging him around to snag the puck. And then it happened. The coach on the opposing team pulled his goalie and the members on both teams gave way and cleared the floor for this tiny player. The entire place roared with excitement as Andrew made his goal.  Alex’s final game was noteworthy when a player on her team named Jeff started frantically making the timeout sign. It was obvious that Jeff really needed a bathroom break. Now. The coach, my son-in-law Rick, called timeout and Jeff quickly loped off the floor — accompanied by cheers from the stadium. When it was obvious that Jeff was going to exceed the time limit and the team would be penalized, the coach on the other team called a timeout, too. When Jeff finally came back to the game, there was a pandemonious roar as he crossed the floor.

My daughter said everyone cried through the closing ceremonies honoring the skaters, skiers and other competitors. In the floor hockey division, Andrew’s team took gold and Alex’s team took silver. After the ceremony, Andrew took Alex’s medal in his hand and compared it to his and said, “Look Alex! They’re exactly the same.”

All of us who know Alex are terribly proud of our little Olympian and her silver medal. The Monday after the games, she returned to her school and discovered a huge “Congratulations Alex” sign and a gift. That afternoon, her coach/dad visited the school and showed her classmates her medal, uniform, hockey gear and answered dozens of questions. And Alex? Well, she probably would just as soon been home watching Hannah Montana. To her, it was just another day.  There is so much to be learned from Alex and Andrew and the others — that hugs and helping another person reach his goal are more important than winning, that someone else’s treasures are as priceless as another’s and that sometimes it’s vitally necessary to take a break from the game.

Wanted

Tips, hints and story ideas are greatly appreciated. Recently, I seem to hear about things happening in North Pole after the fact. Remember, this is your column, North Pole, to showcase your news.  Also, it doesn’t have to be an event. Let me know about anything funny or crazy or of interest that is happening in your life. If you collect something unusual or have a strange pet, like a bat or alligator, let me know. A column that is full of all sorts of news, like the item below, is one that makes for fun reading.

The letter

Wily Splain, one of my coworkers, left a couple of days ago to fly to Pennsylvania to attend his grandmother’s funeral. She was 97. He said I could tell this story about his wonderful grandmother who was full of life until the very end.

One of her goals, as she settled into her 90s, was to live to be 100 because when you reach that milestone you get a letter that is personally signed by the president.

Bless her heart, when this grand old lady learned who the three contenders for the president were, she was truly dismayed. She declared that if she lived that long she really didn’t want any of their names on her 100th birthday letter.

Library fun

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-5 p.m. are Drop-in Craft days at the North Pole Library. Here are other events for children at the library:

Wednesday, 11:15 a.m. — Preschool Storytime: stories, fingerplays and songs for 3- to 5-year-olds. Registration is not required.

Friday, 11:15 a.m. — Parents & Twos: a storytime for 2-year-olds and a parent or caregiver. Registration required. Call the library at 488-6101.  Marriage wisdom

If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.