Author Archives: brent

Keeping Us In Our Seats

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This past weekend, I took Sloan and Beau to the Eastern Washington University football home opener. They experienced The Inferno for the first time and obviously gave the Eagles a little luck as the good guys defeated the University of Northern Iowa, 34-24.

The kids pose for a photo with me at the EWU vs. Northern Iowa football game at Roos Field on Sept. 5, 2026.

We rode the Spokane Transit Authority (STA) double decker bus to Cheney, went tailgating, purchased concessions, cheered loud, and saw Swoop. However, even with all that fun, I didn’t know how long we would last at the stadium.

Beau and Sloan admire a rainbow at the EWU vs. Northern Iowa game.

The decision to attend the game was a spur of the moment deal and we battled rain multiple times throughout the contest. We were also in the end zone cheap seats and my kids don’t exactly understand the rules of football. So I figured they would probably be ready to bounce at halftime despite all the fun stuff that was transpiring around us.

I was wrong. We stayed until the very end and there was one big reason why…

The McDonald’s McCafe promotion.

Although my kids don’t understand the finer rules of football, they understood one thing very well: If the EWU football team scored at least 28 points and won, everyone in the stadium would receive a coupon for a free medium McDonald’s refresher drink or craft soda.

A look at the coupon that was up for grabs if Eastern scored 28 points and won.

Game on!

Throughout the game, Sloan and Beau kept their eyes fixated on the scoreboard and cheered enthusiastically for the Eagles to score touchdown after touchdown. They asked me countless times what combination of scoring needed to occur for EWU to reach the 28-point benchmark and the likelihood of it happening. As the game entered the second half—and then the fourth quarter—the desired outcome seemed within reach and the kids started to become both excited and antsy.

Sloan and Beau were fired up about the chance of winning a free drink from McDonald’s.

Their enthusiasm and obsession were familiar to me as I traveled down memory lane. I remembered my childhood years serving as a ball boy for Gonzaga and the Wendy’s three-point promotion that was offered at the time. If the Zags nailed 9 three-pointers, everyone left the gym with a coupon for a Wendy’s quarter pounder cheeseburger. The tension and excitement whenever the team reached 8 three-pointers was so much fun as you could always depend on a player throwing up an ill-advised three-pointer in hopes of sending everyone home happy. I remember some very joyful post-game moments stopping at a Wendy’s restaurant with my dad and brother after the benchmark was hit.

Later on in my life, I became even better acquainted with the mania these promotions produce when I worked at the University of Montana. As a marketing staffer in the athletic department, I oversaw the distribution of coupons for our “Wendy’s Chili is free when the Griz score 73” promo. If the men’s basketball team reached 73 points or more, those in attendance at Dahlberg Arena would receive a coupon for a cup of Wendy’s chili on their way out. My interns at the time had some crazy stories of fans making sure they received their chili coupon…it was like we were handing out $100 bills.

These are the Wendy’s chili card we would pass out when I worked for the University of Montana.

So when Sloan and Beau based their well-being off whether EWU reached 28 points on Saturday night, I totally got it. These types of promotions truly engage fans because who doesn’t love getting something free? Even if it is as trivial as a cup of chili or a medium soft drink.

As we left Roos Field, stadium workers handed McDonald’s free drink coupons to my smiling kids. There was no doubt that I would need to make a stop on the way home.

Sloan and Beau proudly hold the coupons they received outside Roos Field.

When we arrived at the McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Spokane, I made sure the kids knew ahead of time what they were going to order. Sloan got the mango pineapple refresher, Beau chose the strawberry watermelon refresher, and I traded in my coupon for a Sprite berry blast soda for Sid. Although the employee took a hard look at our coupons as we were the first people to redeem them at that restaurant, we received our free drinks.

Ahh the sweet taste of victory. We made a stop at McDonald’s after the game so the kids could cash in their coupons for McDonald’s refresher drinks.

As organizations and universities face the age-old challenge of keeping fans in seats for the entirety of a game, the trick of offering an incentive for team performance can do nothing but help. Trust me, I have seen this tactic work to perfection for multiple generations. Don’t Blink.

15 Years With An iPhone

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It was the start of an era for sure. On this date 15 years ago, I received my first-ever iPhone. The University of Montana purchased it on my behalf for work purposes but it would double as my personal phone, too.

This was not the first iPhone I received in 2011 but rather the upgraded iPhone 5 I received in Oct. 2012.

I was pretty jacked up on September 7, 2011, when I handled that sleek piece of technology for the initial time. How jacked up was I? Upon getting off work I went straight home and wrote a 1,000-word blog post about my enthusiasm.

And perhaps that is the most cringe-inducing part of this story. Go back and read that blog post and have yourself a good laugh at my poor writing, immaturity, and utter cluelessness. It’s baaaaad.

But I want to move on from that. Rather, I just want to mark the 15th anniversary of my entry into smart phone mania. I was totally blown away by the power I had in my hands back in 2011 and I still marvel at everything my iPhone can do today. It is my clock, camera, calendar, web browser, bill payer, instant messenger, navigator, music player, e-mailer, and newspaper.

And, oh yeah, I make calls on it too.

Holding my iPhone 5 in 2012.

Over the decade and a half, I have owned either three or four iPhones plus a couple work-specific iPhones as well. They have lasted me all 15 years as I have never taken a chance on an Android. Although my record with cell phones was spotty before I received my first iPhone, since then, I haven’t lost, cracked, or damaged any of my smart devices. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back.

I will be the first to say that iPhones have not changed me (or society) completely for the better. They have drastically decreased face-to-face communication, caused device addiction, and promoted laziness. So today, I am not necessarily celebrating this anniversary but rather just marking it. Don’t Blink.

Pre-Labor Day Thursday Rundown

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With September here and school in session, autumn is in the air. So let’s go crazy with pumpkin-everything, okay? 😉 Actually, the weather will still be warm for the next month or so and Labor Day weekend is right around the corner, so by all means don’t give up on summer. But whether you prefer fall or summer, hopefully everyone prefers a Thursday Rundown. Let’s get started with tonight’s five topics…

Wienermobile Part III – This past weekend we saw the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in-person. It traveled to Spokane Valley where it was parked on Sprague Avenue for the Cops & Kids event. It was Beau’s first time seeing it but Sloan experienced the euphoria of the Wienermobile twice before. Once at a Publix parking lot in Myrtle Beach in 2018 and then in a Fred Meyer parking lot in 2021. During the 2018 encounter we actually received free hot dogs. In 2021, Sid and Sloan were given hot dog cutouts to pose with. This past weekend, they were gifted Wienermobile whistles (that drove me absolutely crazy).

Sloan and Beau pose in front of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Sprague in Spokane Valley during the 2026 Cops & Kids event.

Back To School Boards – Earlier this week in my back-to-school post, I shared a lot of photos from the big first day back for Sloan and Beau. However, I didn’t share their back-to-school boards. Well, tonight is the night. Let’s start first with the oldest…

Sloan holding her 2026-27 back-to-school board.

And here is Beau…

Beau holding his 2026-27 back-to-school board.

Burger King Mini Cones – In the past, I have argued that Burger King has surpassed McDonald’s as a better value. There is now yet another reason why that argument holds true. Burger King now gives all kids a free mini cone each visit. After losing his two front teeth, the soft serve was actually just what he needed when we visited our local BK this past weekend.

Beau with his mini cone from Burger King. Every child receives one for free if a purchase is made.

Happy 109th Birthday, Grandma – My maternal grandma, Virginia Fazzari, would have turned 109 today. Dang, that seems so old! But there is the other part of me that says people have lived to 120 years old so it wasn’t impossible (God willing) that my grandma could still be alive today. It is crazy to think of her meeting my wife and kids…they would have loved her. Instead, she died my freshman year of college at the age of 88. Although she was quiet, she still had a terrific sense of humor and served the Lord with complete devotion. On her 100th birthday, I wrote this blog post about her.

My grandma would have been 109 today.

Topic of the Day – This was the latest riveting “Topic of the Day” posted for the consideration of our University Relations office at EWU. When it comes to whether I would want to be a friend of an alien or ghost, I found myself torn. Of course many factors enter the equation. After much contemplating, I think I would befriend an alien first just because of what I could learn from it and the possible positive ramifications for mankind. I also believe that the chances are better that the alien would be nice (or maybe that’s because I recently watched “Project Hail Mary:”) as opposed to the ghost. Who would be your bestie…an alien or ghost?

This was one of our topics of the day this week. Thanks to senior designer Emily Ausere for thinking up the question and drawing the great display.

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Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone. Make sure to be safe and enjoy. Don’t Blink.

All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth

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Blood makes me queasy so the scene made my stomach turn.

While at Silverwood, Beau and I were waiting in line for the bumper cars. To corral the line, they have a metal railing that keeps order. Although adept at crowd control, the railing can be tough on teeth. Not that any sensible person should ever find out firsthand.

But there was my son, jolted with the copious amount of caffeine he had consumed thanks to the re-fillable soda cup we purchased, swinging like Tarzan on the railing. As you can probably guess, his hands slipped while swinging and his mouth met the metal.

This photo of Beau was pre-accident. This was not the bumper car ride (rather it is the bumper boat ride) but it shows what the metal railings look like at Silverwood.

There was one second of silence and then he started wailing.

I didn’t want to look. But dang it, I am a dad, and that is what dads do. I had him open his mouth and was relieved to see that his teeth were still there…or at least from what I could tell. Yep, he was bleeding pretty bad.

I took him out of the line and tried to find a rest room nearby or perhaps a park worker who had access to a first aid kit. No luck. So I did what I thought was best given the situation. Remember the re-fillable souvenir soda cup I mentioned? By that time it was filled with the very much non-caffeinated Starry. I had him guzzle it and swish it around his mouth until we got control of the bleeding. It actually worked.

However, it was apparent that his two front teeth—although still there—were not as secure as before. I eventually met back up with Sid and Sloan who were waiting in their own line for a separate ride. Sid wanted to see if she could pull the teeth right at that moment. I asked her to hold off.

And thankfully she did. But that restraint wouldn’t last too long as within seven days of the theme park visit, both of Beau’s loose front teeth were gone (Sid is the teeth puller in our family). Not a bad look for the first day of school, right?

Beau lost his two front teeth in the same week thanks to an accident at Silverwood.

Beau has taken it all in stride. Not having two front teeth really hasn’t seemed to bother him that much. He can eat just fine, there is no impact on his speech, and the Tooth Fairy paid up.

With that said, I don’t think he will be using the metal railing method to lose any additional teeth. The natural method works just fine. Don’t Blink.

2026-27 School Year: Effective to Exceptional

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Watch a “First Day of School” video of Sloan and Beau

The calendar was still stuck on August this morning but that didn’t stop the kickoff of the 2026-27 school year. The first day of school arrived before the Labor Day weekend but I don’t know if Sloan and Beau knew any better…they were ready to rock and roll.

Beau and Sloan on the first day of school before leaving our house.

No surprise there. This is our family’s seventh year at St. Mary Catholic School so you would expect some familiarity with first day of school procedures.

Sloan and Beau are no strangers to the first day of school at St. Mary Catholic School (nor this display) but there is still nothing like it.

Then again, no matter how many times you have done it, the first day of school usually packs some butterflies. Sloan even admitted to some “first day jitters.”

Even though the kids are very comfortable at St. Mary, Sloan admitted she had some first day jitters this morning.

But I am happy to report that both Reser kids made it through day #1. Sloan had her fourth grade debut in Mrs. Shannon Pearson’s class and her close-knit classmates are ready for another year together. All children who finished last year’s third grade campaign are back plus two new students.

Sloan flashes me a smile on her first day of school as a fourth grader at St. Mary Catholic School (Spokane Valley).

Beau is now a first grader and his teacher this year is Mrs. Marcy Dodd. Although new as a teacher to St. Mary, our family is familiar with Mrs. Dodd as she was a St. Mary parent before her staff appointment. We are looking forward to Beau’s reading skills progressing and crossing our fingers that he finally learns the difference between his “left” and “right” this year.

My handsome little boy is a first grader this year in Mrs. Dodd’s class at St. Mary Catholic School (Spokane Valley).

We are once again blessed that Mr. Stephen Hart is back as principal. This will be his fourth year in charge as he continues to challenge all students, staff, and parents to journey toward sainthood. This year his goal is to go from effective to exceptional. I love an educator who aims high, especially one who does it in a devotedly Catholic fashion.

Mr. Hart was a good sport and posed for this photo as I exited the school this morning. Stephen Hart is an incredible principal and we are so happy to have him leading St. Mary Catholic School.

And a new wrinkle this year is that there is a new pastor overseeing the school. Fr. Curtis Siedel succeeded Fr. Jeff Lewis this summer. Known for his prowess when it comes to both administering and teaching at Catholic schools, I am excited to see how abundantly Fr. Seidel blesses the St. Mary School community.

We love this school! Please pray for a great 2026-27 school year for St. Mary Catholic School (Spokane Valley) and for all other schools.

Please pray for not just the students returning to St. Mary Catholic School but all students. May all young people find joy, opportunity, and Christ as they pursue their education. Don’t Blink.

Summer 2026

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It was a summer for the Reser record books. We covered many miles over the past 2.5 months while also taking time to enjoy the season here at home. Because after all, no one does summer better than the Inland Northwest.

Summer 2026 was incredible! We traveled a lot while still having plenty of fun in Spokane.

In the past, I have gone back-and-forth between recapping our summers in chronological form and summarizing them according to themes. However, this year I thought I would do a hybrid approach. I will do a brief rundown of what we did followed by a condensed smattering of themes (just five) that defined our summer.

Our summer got started right away with a trip to Mexico to celebrate our 10th anniversary. My parents gave Sloan and Beau a terrific start to their summer as well by letting them stay with them.

Sound good? Let’s go…

Our summer started once Sloan and Beau finished the school year on June 12. From there, things started off with a bang. Sid and I traveled to Cancun to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The next week the kids attended Catholic Summer Camp. June then concluded with Hoopfest weekend as I served as a court monitor for the 10th time while Sid and the kids volunteered with me once again.

For the third straight year, my family worked together to volunteer at one of the 425 Hoopfest courts. The scorecard depicts the year (2026).

July was busy from the beginning as we opened the month by watching an outdoor movie under the Pavilion at Riverfront Park. Our Fourth of July weekend kicked off with a screening of “Independence Day” in my childhood best friend’s backyard. On the actual holiday we attended the American Heroes Parade in Coeur d’Alene followed by a cookout at my parents’ house and then capped with a fireworks show. A trip to Seattle then ensued that allowed me to mix work with pleasure. I presented at EWU’s Alumni Board meeting and once that concluded our family explored the city, took a ferry to Bellevue, gawked at the gum wall, and attended a Seattle Mariners game.

Happy 250th birthday, America! My family posed for this photo on July 4…it was a great day!

The month of August started in Atlanta for us. Sid and I attended the Engaged Encounter National Convention while my in-laws joined us at the conference hotel and watched the kids. When the convention concluded, we caught more Major League Baseball as we visited Truist Stadium to watch the Atlanta Braves play. We then drove to Myrtle Beach where we spent an incredible week with Sid’s family. Back in Spokane, we celebrated all the wedding anniversaries in my family with a special dinner, spent a day at Q’emlin Park, and had loads of fun during a Sunday at Silverwood.

Sidney and the kids pose for a photo inside The Battery in Atlanta prior to the Braves game.

Wow, I just recapped our summer in three measly paragraphs. That’s pretty good for me, right? But that just covered the major trips and events of the past few months. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the little things that really made Summer 2026 special. These five themes will help put it in perspective…

Neighborhood Fun – I was delighted that Sloan and Beau found neighborhood friends this year and spent the long summer nights outside with them. The neighborhood basketball court was a safe and engaging congregating place for the youth of Elk Meadows as my two kids routinely joined the fun. Because Sloan and Beau go to a different school than most children in the neighborhood, it can be natural to not reach out. I was heartened to see them make new friendships and go outside their comfort zone.

Perhaps not the best photo to share with the kid on top of the basketball hoop, but the general scene is what a lot of summer nights looked like this year. Beau would play at the basketball court with his neighbor friends (Beau is to the direct right of the red bush in the photo).

Camp! – Another way Beau and Sloan went outside their comfort zone this summer was by attending camp. In addition to Catholic Summer Camp, the kids spent three weeks at day camp presented by Spokane Valley Parks & Rec. They went on field trips, played at parks, and swam in pools. One of the “opportunities” they cherished the most was riding in a school bus—something they don’t do as Catholic school students. While enjoying all of this excitement, they met lots of new friends and were surrounded by camp counselors who were positive and terrific role models.

This year the theme at St. Mary’s (Spokane Valley) Catholic Summer Camp was “Cool Kingdom Party: Mary Leads Me Closer to Jesus.” I promise Beau was more excited for camp than how he looked in this photo 😂. Beyond Vacation Bible School, the kids also went for three weeks at Spokane Valley Parks & Rec day camp.

Pools – The summer was hot so thank goodness for water! I think Sloan and Beau spent more time in the pool this year than any previous summer. From the hotel pools to the county pools to the camp pools to the private pools, it was a good thing that our kids had more than one swimsuit. The culmination of all this swimming came during our theme park trip when we hit up Silverwood’s water park, Boulder Beach. It was here that Beau swam like a fish and showed what the summer in the pool did for his once-weak swimming skills.

Sidney, Sloan, Beau, and cousins splash in the pool during a humid afternoon during our Myrtle Beach trip.

Faith – Fr. Mike Kwiatkowski once told my kids that “We can’t take a vacation from God during summer because he doesn’t take one from us.” We tried our best to follow this guidance. While on the road this summer we attended mass at two different parishes (St. Cecilia – Bainbridge Island, St. John the Evangelist – Atlanta) and one that we used to call our own (St. Andrew – Myrtle Beach). We also spent plenty of time at our home parish but things looked just a little different. After worshipping at a sunrise mass he presided over and attending a special going-away party in his honor, Fr. Jeff Lewis left for his next assignment at the end of June. Fr. Curtis Seidel then took over pastorship of St. Mary on July 1. The transition has been seamless and we are encouraged and impressed by the talents that Fr. Seidel has brought to the table (or perhaps altar? 😂). 

Members of our Young Adult/Young Family group gather around Fr. Jeff Lewis during a going-away party for him in June.

Events – We tried to venture out into the community as much as possible this summer. Our family attended events such as Unity in the Community, Millwood Daze, Summer on the Ave., Cops & Kids, and YMCA Healthy Kids Day. What became plainly obvious is that Spokane is an awesome place to live and raise a family. Speaking of Spokane, I must mention the four Spokane Indians games we attended throughout the summer as another way that we got to connect with this awesome community.

Beau, Sloan, and I pose in a photo booth at the 2026 Spokane YMCA Healthy Kids Day. The “Get the party started” sign was appropriate as this event kicked off our summer in mid-June.

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What can I say? It was another amazing summer. Thanks to Sidney, Sloan, and Beau for packing it to the brim and creating memories that I will always cherish. Although it is always sad to say goodbye to summer, there is comfort in the fact that autumn in the Inland Northwest is just as spectacular. Stay tuned. Don’t Blink.

High Moon Thursday Rundown

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Although I didn’t write a Thursday Rundown on the first Thursday of August (darn vacation), I am here to write a Thursday Rundown on the last Thursday of August. Dang, I just wrote the word “Thursday” a lot for one sentence. So as we all get in back-to-school mode, let me offer five non-academic topics…

Silverwood Trip – This past Sunday, my family took our annual excursion to Silverwood Theme Park in north Idaho. The end-of-summer tradition allows us to reward Sloan and Beau for meeting reading goals during the previous school year. Let me summarize how much fun we had by saying this: We arrived at the park before it officially opened and left after it closed. We hit up both the theme park and water park as Sloan rode the roller coasters and Beau showed off the swimming skills he has developed over the summer in the wave pool. The highlight was when the four of us piled onto a raft and went down Avalanche Mountain, the largest water slide at Silverwood. Tap here for more pictures.

A family photo from our Summer 2026 Silverwood visit. We had a lot of fun!

Now That’s A Corn Dog – Please allow me to add one final anecdote regarding Silverwood. In between the theme park and water park, we ate lunch. Sidney scouted out a restaurant near the park’s main entrance called the High Moon Saloon. It serves exclusively hot dogs and corn dogs while offering a quirky dinner show of taxidermy animal heads talking to each other. Anyway, I ordered a corn dog that was drizzled in honey and covered in crushed Cheetos. It was a flavorful experience to say the least. By the way, I have written a lot about corn dogs.

This was the High Moon corn dog I ordered at the High Moon Saloon in Silverwood. It was really good.

Last Indians Game of Summer – We attended our fourth and last Spokane Indians game of the summer on Friday. This final game was significant for a few reasons: My brother and niece joined us, the kids got to go down on the field to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” we made the video board, there was a post-game fireworks show, and Beau got to play plenty of wiffle ball on the mini field right outside of the stadium’s concourse. The Spokane Indians organization does an excellent job at making these games ultra family friendly.

We attended our last Spokane Indians game of the summer this past Friday. The kids sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, we watched fireworks, and we made the video board! Best of all, we welcomed special guest…my brother and niece!

College Tips – It was 14 years ago this week that I was feeling old. It had been 7 years since my freshman year at the University of Montana and I felt the need to impart my elderly wisdom on students going off to college. Although my reasoning was beyond corny, I thought the tips I provided were relevant. If you have a son or daughter heading off to college, you might want to send them this post I wrote in 2012 about how to make the most of their freshman year. From embracing school spirit to eating right to getting involved to taking class seriously (and lots more), I tried to offer a pretty comprehensive guide.

This was me on my first day of college at The University of Montana (August 2005).

Picture of the Week – This past Saturday, Beau and I attended an event called Millwood Daze (yep, “Daze” not “Days”). Millwood is a small community in Spokane County and the event is spirited and fun. Not too long after strolling down the residential street that serves as the focal point of Millwood Daze, Beau encountered a lady “wearing” a snake. He proceeded to touch it. That a boy, Beau!

Beau approaches a lady with a snake at the 2026 Millwood Daze event.

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It is the last weekend of the summer for Sloan and Beau before they head back to school on Monday. Verdict is out on whether it will be used to go out on a bang or to rest up. Don’t Blink.

Dolly Memories

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It was a sad day yesterday when news broke that Dolly Parton had passed away at 80. From the coverage I have watched, she is being remembered not just for her talent but her generosity.

I have a few brief Dolly stories…

We were a Dolly Parton Imagination Library family that appreciated each month when a book arrived in our mailbox. Back in 2018 I praised the program and mentioned that the books we received from Dolly were some of Sloan’s favorites in her own personal library. We still have many of those books today.

Sloan “reading” the Dolly Parton Imagination book she received in the mail back in 2018 titled “Let’s Count.”

When Sidney and I visited Las Vegas in 2021, there was no doubt about it—the Dolly Parton slot machines were a highlight of our trip. Sid sought them out at whatever casino we entered and if she found a vacant Dolly machine I knew she was going to be there for a while. When Dolly was singing, Sidney was winning…I wish I heard just a little more singing.

Sid playing a Dolly Parton slot machine in Las Vegas in 2021. It was always a good sign when Dolly was singing!

And finally my favorite story came on Jan. 8, 2025. On this evening, I read Beau a biographical book titled “Dolly.” The pages were filled with kid-appropriate cartoonish illustrations but at the end of the book was an actual photo of Dolly Parton when she was a young child. The image was black and white and a little grainy. When Beau saw the old photo and used his reasoning skills, he asked a very sweet and innocent question.

“Is she in Heaven, daddy?”

Back in January 2025, Beau and I read “Dolly” (and “Everybody Tree” obviously 😂) and when we arrived at the end he asked a very cute question.

I told him “not yet” and explained that Dolly Parton was still alive.

Now that she has indeed passed, I don’t think Heaven is too far away for the lifelong Christian who made it her mission to serve others. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dolly Parton. Don’t Blink.

Road (Mind) Construction

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I thought it would take a week at most.

A construction project I thought would take a week on the road (32nd Ave.) that my family depends on to get place-to-place has lasted all summer.

As the 2025-26 school year concluded, one of those temporary digital signs showed up on the west end of 32nd Ave. in Spokane Valley. The sign read “road closure” with a June date. This particular street leads into the main entrance of our neighborhood and is heavily traveled by us on a daily basis.

I kept the road closure date in mind, knowing that it would add time to my commute and that I would have to utilize a detour. But I could handle the inconvenience for a week.

Well, on the eve of classes starting for many school districts, including the high school that is literally on 32nd Ave., the road project still isn’t complete. It has been two months.

Portions of 32nd Ave. in Spokane Valley are still blocked off as road construction continues.

What a messy, unpredictable ordeal. It seemed like the detour that ushered us through a random residential street (oh, those neighbors must have been so thrilled!) was annoying enough but when the bulk of the road construction literally took up residence right at the main entrance of our neighborhood, things got especially hectic. We couldn’t even access the established detour anymore as we were relegated to using the back entrance of our neighborhood just to reach pavement that was not blocked by traffic cones and heavy machinery.

You know what the most infuriating thing is? Before the construction started, I couldn’t tab a single thing that was wrong about 32nd Ave. And guess what? Now that the project is nearing completion and I can actually drive on a portion of the street, I can’t really tell what was done during the two months that it was closed.

The main entrance to our neighborhood is still closed due to road construction.

But perhaps this summer’s road construction is a metaphor. In life, we can sometimes go about our daily routine with an outward appearance that everything is okay when inwardly things are not. It is sometimes necessary to “get off the road” and work on yourself for a period of time. Once personal maintenance has been done, the motivation to get back on the road is present again. However, it is very possible that others sharing the road might not recognize the internal improvements made.

So I am going to trust that the work done on 32nd Ave. this summer was not in vain. I am not a transportation engineer much in the same way that I am not an expert at reading others. Perhaps it is wise to always give the benefit of the doubt. Don’t Blink.

Google Review Clout

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Even though my marketing career has focused strongly on social media, it doesn’t mean my personal social channels are anything special. I have under 800 Instagram followers and my TikTok account never goes viral. But there is a platform of mine (besides brentreser.com, of course) that packs some social clout.

Five years ago this summer I wrote about my newfound motivation to write Google Reviews. I noted that I was already writing online reviews via my blog and that I might as well repurpose some of that work for Google Reviews. At the time, I had written just 10 reviews.

This month I surpassed 200.

Over these past five years, I have made a conscientious effort to write detailed, thoughtful Google Reviews of the restaurants, hotels, coffee stands, and attractions I have visited. I exert a lot of energy, add numerous photos, and write with decency. My plan is to never tear a business to pieces, thus the reason why probably 90% of my reviews are positive with ratings of three stars or above given out to most. I just assume skip writing a Google Review about a lackluster experience rather than torching the restaurant or hotel responsible for it.

Okay, back to that somewhat arrogant claim I made about clout. Because I have written so many reviews with such thorough analysis, my entries are prioritized by Google. The best way to explain this is that if I have written a review about “Business A,” that review will show up at the top on “Business A’s” Google business profile when Most relevant is selected.

I receive text messages from people who say they were researching certain restaurants only to see my review show up at the top. When my family went to 1898 Public House for our anniversary dinner, we all got a good laugh when my mom, sister-in-law, and even my wife had to admit that when they did their routine online restaurant scan, my review was the first one they saw. It even informed their ordering decisions that night!

I am part of the Google Review local guide program and currently hold Level 7 status (Level 10 is the highest). So even though I can’t create a TikTok that anyone cares about, at least I am doing okay with Google. 😂

I am currently a Level 7 local guide our of 10 levels.

Who knows what my standing will be with Google in another five years but I have no plans of ceasing my reviews. For community businesses that depend on honest Google Reviews, hopefully that is a good thing. Don’t Blink.