The Slice: How’s view from the Jeep’s seats?

Just outside a downtown cafe with a big window, a young woman driving a Jeep was having trouble pulling away from the curb because of the snow.

She was probably going a tad heavy on the accelerator.

At a table inside, a group of guys monitored her progress. One gave the driver some guidance she couldn’t hear.

“Rock it,” he said softly. “Rock it.”

Driving on snow and ice has been called a lot of things. But this winter we can add “spectator sport.”

•Firing up the rig on frigid mornings: “I remember as a kid back in 1953 my dad trying to start his old pickup truck so he could go to work,” wrote Dennis Schneider.

It was 20 below. But Schneider’s father, a mechanic by trade, wasn’t giving up.

“He solved the problem by pouring gasoline into a pan, lighting it, and pushing it below the engine oil pan.”

Schneider’s mom yelled out the door, “Jack, you’re going to burn up the truck doing that!”

Schneider’s dad fired back that he hoped the blankety-blank thing would catch on fire. “Maybe it’ll start then!”

Mr. Schneider died in the ’90s. But in his family, that story lives on.

•Slice answers: Jan Stone, Lisa Huff, Larry Seabolt and others said they drive with their lights on during the day so their vehicles are easier to see.

•Failure to grasp the concept: Slice reader Ken Martin wonders if the hygiene benefit of having restaurant food-handlers wear gloves is compromised when they also handle money while wearing those gloves.

•In the matter of setting faucets to drip: Apparently some thirsty felines insist on this all year, not just during pipe-bursting season.

•The wedding photos game: A friend had the experience recently of seeing two women he had dated show up in the marriage announcements on the same day.

Feel free to suggest a wisecrack I can use next time I see him.

•Slice answer: Pet sitter Gabi Tilley reported that she did indeed stick with her 2008 New Year’s resolution.

She just won’t say what it was.

•Seasonal grammar: “Which is correct: ‘I snowblowed all day yesterday,’ or ‘I snowblew all day yesterday’?” wrote Jessica Petrofski. “It doesn’t really matter, I’ll just go with ‘I am always snowblowing.’ ”

•Let’s see a show of hands: All those who have had snow shovels stolen.

•Today’s Slice question (finish this sentence): “For me, 2009 is going to be The Year of ________.”