The Slice: Hearing it worse than seeing it

Let’s start with a high-five.

1. After The Slice asked about a dress code for Spokane, a note arrived from a reader who said she would ban flip-flops. She hates the slap-slap-slap sound. Hates it.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Her boss wears flip-flops.

2. Val Brown wonders what you are supposed to do when you are ready to take your boat out of the water but a group of nonboaters has appropriated the launch area for some interminable baptisms. And they have decided to ignore your presence.

Perhaps you could pray that they hear a voice from on high urging them to show a little consideration.

3. Doug Burr has seen so many motorcyclists with long, flowing beards recently that he wonders if there is some sort of wizards convention being held here.

No, those guys are early arrivals for the square-dance gathering.

4. A friend refers to certain contemporary parenting practices as “Molding one brat at a time.”

5. Another friend said that, when he receives a phone call that turns out to be an automated political message, he sometimes processes his feelings about the interruption by unleashing a vitriolic rant into the phone. Sure, nobody can actually hear it. But he feels better.

Sandwich building: Several readers said the stacking sequence does, in fact, matter.

Britta Conner noted that it’s important to have the pickles next to the cheese, so they don’t slide around. And she said you wouldn’t want to have tomatoes right next to the bread as that would soon create a gooey mess.

Barbara Clark echoed that tomatoes-near-the-middle sentiment.

But apparently the order of ingredients can make a difference even when the sandwich does not include tomatoes.

Kay Stoltz shared this: “I have a nephew who, as a small boy, insisted that the jelly be put on the peanut butter and he knew the difference.”

Favorite Olympic physiques: “I like the fencer body type – lean and quick, but not over-muscled like most of the others,” wrote Gary Smith.

Bill Shugg said he admires the Dara Torres body type. The swimmer also gets his vote for “Athlete you’d most like to live next-door to.”

Slice answer: “In our household, 25 percent of my family has not gone swimming this summer,” wrote Vicki Barnes. “The odd thing is we have a pool.”

Her 19-year-old daughter reportedly still remembers acquiring green hair from pool water years ago.

Today’s Slice question: What magazines that no longer exist did your family subscribe to way back when?