The Slice Support Spokane Monthly

Don’t forget to boycott “Washington” or “Northwest” wall calendars that are nothing but 12 months of Seattle area scenes.

Buying and displaying those things is like saying that you don’t exist.

What level of Eastern Washington or Inland Northwest representation is enough to satisfy us, you ask? OK, we’ll tell you. Four months. And that’s really bending over backward to be fair.

Holiday leftovers: “When my son was 5 years old, he trotted off confidently to spend his $2 to buy gifts for the entire family,” wrote Jo Russell of Post Falls. “Now, 45 years later, I still remember my most treasured Christmas present - a cork!”

And Spokane’s Elmo Thies told us about how he was standing back and admiring his elaborate outdoor Christmas lights display when a little boy walked by. Thies proudly asked the kid what he thought. “Aw,” said the boy, “I saw that LAST year.”

Spokane’s best smells: Lee Knouse was nice about it. But he made it clear that he was not especially impressed with most of the nominations we’ve printed so far. “Roasting coffee, you can encounter that anywhere,” he said. “What about things that are part of what makes Spokane different?

He mentioned the whiff-of-wheat smell the Palouse produces during harvest season, which he said could be detected in south Spokane. And also the scent of pines in places such as Riverside State Park.

The service revolution: A colleague who had cashed a check at a local bank got a little surprise in the mail. It seems that after it left his hands, the check got mutilated. So the bank returned it to him, with a note explaining that the amount of the check had been deducted from his account. Oh, and there was an extra $2 service charge.

Have a nice day.

Choose your Mary: Tonight on AMC, it’s Katharine Hepburn in “Mary of Scotland.” And over on the History Channel, it’s “Mary, Queen of Scots,” with Vanessa Redgrave. Check listings.

A friend wonders: Where can you get snow globes that portray scenes of Spokane?

Today’s Slice question: Is Cheney America’s most boring college town?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

MEMO: The Slice appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098.