The Slice: We have seen better days

Retired college professor Bill Mahaney believes that, if you are willing to take a few liberties with the original meaning, there is a line from Shakespeare for every occasion.

How about for the snow-socked Spokane area? Maybe you’ve already guessed.

“NOW is the winter of our discontent.”

“ Walt Jakubowski’s idea for a T-shirt slogan: “I got plowed in Spokane.”

“Downtown buildings readers like: “There is only a single building in Spokane that rises above all others in terms of unique style,” wrote Carlos Alden. “I hated it for years, but now see it as a symbol of Spokane’s regional identity: An ambitious striving for something great that sometimes isn’t successful but nonetheless represents terrific hopes and dreams.

“That structure is, of course, The Parkade parking building.

“The thing soars above all else with the clean lines of a seventh grade drafting class, sending curving concrete high above the early 20th-century architecture below. One can easily imagine George Jetson zipping toward the top level, coming home from his workday (at The Spokesman-Review, perhaps?) to greet ‘Jane, his wife’ as the theme song cheerily told us.”

“When Store A recommends that you try Store B: Les Graham and his wife were looking for a certain kind of wall calendar in Barnes & Noble. A clerk there said they didn’t have exactly what the Grahams wanted but added that she was sure a nearby Staples did.

Patsy Wood was looking for postcards in the Pullman ShopKo. “The lady at the service desk told me they didn’t sell postcards but I could find some very nice ones of WSU and the Palouse at Crimson and Gray, down the road.”

Sue Hille said she has experienced this sort of thing in Spokane quite often. “Most recently a young woman at Office Depot suggested I try Washington Photo to have a single picture made into a mouse pad as a gift for my husband.”

And on and on.

Diane Duranti of Republic said these sorts of referrals are standard procedure in small towns.

But no matter what the size of the town, sometimes acknowledging the offerings of competitors still seems special.

“While dining at The Onion on North Division, it came time to order dessert,” wrote Sandy Barratt. “When the waitress asked me what I would like, I said, ‘I didn’t see anything I wanted.’

“She said, ‘What do you want?’

“I replied that my favorite dessert was the bread pudding at Tomato Street.”

A few minutes later, the Onion waitress arrived at her table with bread pudding from the nearby Tomato Street.

“Slice answers: Several readers said the only way schools can help kids whose families don’t care about academic achievement is through one-on-one personal relationships with caring teachers and staff.

“Today’s Slice question: Why did you stop hosting Super Bowl parties?