The Slice: They were lucky to live and tell about it

Several dozen readers told about near-drowning experiences.

In a nutshell, these folks learned that it’s wise to wear a life jacket, it is a mistake to dive into water you aren’t familiar with (there could be big rocks right below the surface), and canoeing, rafting, tubing and kayaking can go from fun to frightening in an instant.

Plus, added Cordella Roberts, “Your whole life doesn’t flash before you.”

Spokamnesia: “That’s when you’re out of town and you sing the praises of Spokane because you’ve forgotten how many things you hate about it when you’re home.” — Karyn Christner

Well, in that case … : Lurene Pirello said immediately assigning kids a long list of household chores is an effective way to cut down on their complaints about being bored and having nothing to do.

Slice answer: Over the course of his childhood, Erv Koller’s son Brad had all five of his bikes stolen.

Long-haul dessert: “When my brother and I were much, much younger, we would spot trucks with the identification PIE (Pacific Intermountain Express) passing through town and think that because of the smoke coming from the pipes behind the truck cab (diesel exhausts) that there must have been a kitchen inside the trailer cooking up some fresh pies for delivery,” wrote Pete Haggart.

Name the song that includes this line: “Come Monday morning, I’m right back with the crew.”

Generation gap: It’s not all that unusual for twentysomethings to go to concerts with a parent these days. Once upon a time, that was unheard of.

Today’s Slice question: To what extent did preparing for a certain event give your fitness regimen a sustained focus?