Arrow-right Camera
Subscribe now

This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

The Slice: Grimy conditions seem to really take the shine off

I’m not trying to put a crimp in anybody’s business.

But why would people get their cars washed at this time of year?

It just doesn’t seem like that shine is apt to last long.

•Looking for lists: In terms of the buildings themselves, what are the Inland Northwest’s three most appealing libraries?

•Pickup lines: Maybe it’s a reflection of Spokane’s domesticated vibe. But Karen Mobley suspects that more pickup lines get said to cats around here — as in, “Do you want to be picked up?” — than are employed by single people hoping to hook up with a stranger.

•Slice answer: Margie and Dean Yongue said there are several assumptions people make about them because they live in North Idaho.

One is that they put blue tarps on everything.

•You can’t get there from here 2: Many years ago, Larry Parker drove a truck and delivered building materials to job sites. Once, when he was taking a load to a location near Colville, he found the salesman’s directions mystifying.

They instructed him to take a turn one mile before he got to where the old Grange hall used to be.

•Just wondering: When did you begin to suspect that at least some of your childhood heroes were unworthy of your admiration?

•For the record: There’s a good chance that the Taft Drive referred to in Sunday’s column about streets that share names with presidents is actually named after a long-ago Spokane city official. Of course, this sort of thing had occurred to me and it is precisely why I employed such weaselly wording in alluding to the street/president connections.

•Speaking of presidents: Here’s a ’60s flashback.

“When I was in fourth grade at Opportunity grade school out in the valley, our teacher taught us to name all the presidents in order,” wrote Penny Simonson, coordinator for the WSU/Spokane County master gardener program.

She can pretty much still recite the list.

“I would probably have room in my brain for other useful information if I weren’t still carrying this around, but it has won me a lot of beer through the years.”

•One last thing about street names: City of Spokane employee Herb Waite noted that Hillyard once had a War Street. “I’m not sure I would like to live on War Street,” he wrote.

•Today’s Slice question: What happened after you made a competitive weight-loss bet with a friend or co-worker?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098; e-mail pault@spokesman.com. For previous Slice columns, see www.spokesman.com/columnists. Chances are, you didn’t actually have the flu.

More from this author