The Slice They Come From Near And Far To Experience Visitors Bureau
In recognition of Tourist Appreciation Week, here are a couple of informative lists.
First let’s see which states - at last count - are home to the greatest number of people checking out the Spokane Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s downtown Visitor Information Center at 201 W. Main. (Not including the Northwest.)
1. California. 2. Texas. 3. Florida. 4. Minnesota. 5. Colorado. 6. Arizona. 7. New York. 8. Michigan. 9. Illinois. 10. Utah. 11. Wisconsin. 12. (tie) Pennsylvania, Virginia.
Now the states sending the fewest visitors. 1. (tie) Delaware, Rhode Island. 2. Vermont. 3. Kentucky. 4. West Virginia. 5. Mississippi. 6. South Dakota. 7. Alabama. 8. New Hampshire. 9. Arkansas. 10. South Carolina. 11. (tie) Maine, Nebraska, Tennessee. 12. Kansas.
And finally…in 1996, 404 German tourists checked out the downtown Visitors Center.
More readers’ nominations for the title “Least arrogant doctor in the Inland Northwest”: William Greene, Hal Bailey, Daniel Dionne, Mary Noble, Steven Richards, Roger Woodruff, John Sonneland, Allyson Roby, Eric Orme, Kevin Kavanaugh, Carol Wysham, Doug Wysham, Ralph Kunkel, Michael Ring, William Pochis, Michael Hinnen and John Pennock.
Pay up, or else: The Washington Employment Security Department is on Charles Moffitt’s case. The Spokane man recently received a stern letter reminding him that he owes the department nothing. Yes, that’s right. “Therefore, you are liable for the .00 overpayment assessed,” the notice informed him.
Reach out and interrupt someone: Yes, a reader actually has overheard a person in a restroom stall answer a cell phone call. Coeur d’Alene’s Anne Reading witnessed just such a thing. “I wondered if the person she was talking to had any idea.”
Same names: “When I was growing up in Boise, my family’s best friends were the Carothers family that lived across the street,” wrote Carolyn Ogden. “The Crons and Carothers each had five children. Among the two families, we had three Jims, two Johns, three Caroline/Carolyns, and two Als…My mom thought it useless to go to the door and call our names since we had so many multiples. So she bought a whistle and whenever the whistle blew, ALL the Crons ran home.”
Today’s Slice question: What’s the secret to wearing a cowboy hat right?
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: The Slice appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. Nine out of 10 Spokane area yard sales include at least one awful souvenir from some cheesy Nevada casino.