The Slice: You can’t go wrong giving to Our Place

Want to feel good about yourself?

Make a donation of one kind or another to Our Place Community Ministries. This longtime West Central neighborhood program, sponsored by seven local churches, helps people in need with everything from food and clothes to hygiene supplies and bus passes.

Check it out at www.ourplacespokane.org or phone (509) 326-7267.

•In the matter of elderly women’s handwriting: A friend wrote, “I have found that letters sent to Spokane by my grandmother take longer to get here than letters or packages sent by other family members.”

Her theory? Grandma’s penmanship gets her letters kicked into a pile of mail that has to be sorted by hand.

•The sacred rite of going for coffee: Dog trainer Annie Zeck and truck driver Ken Stout noted that people who work in offices aren’t the only ones who can make a ritual out of caffeine infusion.

•The West begins … : “In the hearts and dreams of all who have ever read the novels of prolific authors like Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey,” wrote Timothy Finneran.

Mike Gilmore said the answer is St. Louis.

Susan Knight said it’s St. Charles, Mo.

But John Nugent and Charlie Lee suggested the West begins at Division Street.

•Economic indicator: John Williamson knows times are tough because he received no unsolicited calendars.

•Rear view: During the Spokane Bicycle Club’s annual dinner Monday night at the Woman’s Club, a silent slide show featuring photos of group outings was projected in the background.

One member noted that, almost inevitably, snapshots taken during bike rides tend to feature lots of backsides.

Yes, but framed by some nice scenery.

•For the record: I managed to misspell “Fort Worth” in Monday’s column. I had it “Forth Worth.”

What makes that typo especially ridiculous is the fact I was born in that Texas city. That was back when my father, an Air Force officer at the time, was transitioning from B-36s to B-52s.

I must have been thinking about “Sally Forth.”

•Warm-up question: Who around here owns the most vintage autos from the same model year?

•Today’s Slice question: What local resident has lived in the greatest number of places that have greater average annual snowfalls than Spokane? I’ll open the bidding with three.