The Slice Winter Is For The Birds
People make a fuss about the birds that arrive as harbingers of spring.
But let’s not forget the ones that share the winters with us here in the Inland Northwest. We’ve all got a lot in common with them. And it’s not just that certain chirping can sound a bit like “Cold enough for ya?”
The origin of Sliceman: A reader noted that while a certain computer spell-check program couldn’t find Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Pontiac or Buick it could identify Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi.
“It won’t find Sliceman either,” the note continued.
Well, there’s a simple explanation for that last one. In addition to his primary super-power - the uncanny ability to whine about one thing after another - Sliceman, in order to protect his secret identity, is able to erase any memory of his exploits from both people and computers.
For those of you who just joined us, here’s a little background. Sliceman is a cartoon character who rants about truth and justice in Spokane, Wash. Some readers might recall when IN Life devoted a page to kids’ artistic depictions of him in costume.
But one thing we’ve never dealt with is Sliceman’s amazing origin. You know how Spiderman got his powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and the Flash gained his super speed after a bizarre lab accident? Well, no one has ever explained just how Sliceman went from being a mild-mannered newspaper reporter to um, well, whatever. So maybe you can help.
Send us a few sentences succinctly telling the story of Sliceman’s origin. Get your letter or fax here by 6 p.m. on Halloween and you might win a Swell Paper coffee mug.
Speaking of contests: There’s still time to enter a leaf in The Slice’s Best Leaves of Autumn Contest. The deadline is 6 p.m. Wednesday.
And now, The Poetry Corner:
“Waiting for the 5:55”
Saw a cotton contrail
lit up by the morning moon
I wish the bus would get here
I hope it gets here soon
Saw a cotton contrail
strung across the blue black sky
but down here I’m still waiting
I can’t imagine why
Saw a cotton contrail
someone’s high and far away
I hope my watch is running fast
this just has to be a better day
Saw a cotton contrail
a wispy memory of the past
now the silence is pushed aside
my bus has come at last
Today’s Slice question: Who around here would you like to see while he or she is inebriated?
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
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