The Slice: You should hear what Hillyard says about Colville

A reader in Colville told me she was going to discontinue her S-R subscription partly because my column had made fun of Hillyard.

That’s certainly her right.

But I’ve always thought actual Hillyard residents could take a joke.

Am I wrong?

•Slice answers: Gary Hutson got ribbing calls from friends in Florida and California after national news reports on our snow. He assured them he would return the favor next time there was a hurricane or earthquake.

Neal Carpentier’s daughter in South Carolina asked him to send her a box of snow.

JoAnn Gemmrig received e-mails from Ohio, New Hampshire and Michigan.

Kathy Hickman heard from her cousin in super-cold Fairbanks, Alaska. “She was empathetic, but I don’t think it was from the bottom of her heart.”

Walt Lane was asked about the snow by e-mail pals in England and the Netherlands.

Dagni Harkema heard from a friend vacationing in Australia.

Janet Culbertson heard from friends in Hawaii.

Lorri Stonehocker got a call from relatives in Minnesota wanting to make sure she was OK.

Doris Brown’s son also phoned from Minnesota.

Tara Leininger’s daughter in Pocatello, Idaho, called after seeing a TV report on roofs collapsing up here.

The list goes on and on.

But Anne Ashley wins the longest-distance award. Her son phoned after seeing coverage of Spokane’s snow while he was in Antarctica

•Talk shows: May Cotton doesn’t dispute that women might be the worst offenders when it comes to yakking on the phone while driving. “But I have to say that men are far worse when it comes to talking on the phone in restaurants,” she wrote.

•Well versed in the season: Our recent turns of weather brought out the poet in GU history professor Betsy Downey.

“Cabin Fever”

Come away, my dearie, with me

In my four wheel drive CRV.

We’ll head for the South

And refuse to come out

Unless Spokane returns to its drought.

“Flood Watch”

Row, row, row your Honda

Gingerly down the street.

Water and slop are everywhere.

I’m about to admit defeat.

•Today’s Slice question: On the front page of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram, that Texas city is described as “Where The West Begins.”

Fair enough. But where do you think the West begins?