The Slice: A license to teach geography to rest of U.S.

Al Slater lived in Spokane from 1974 until late last year.

Now he and his wife reside in Virginia.

But they haven’t forgotten the city that remains their answer to, “Where are you from?”

“In keeping with that and with the continued effort of Spokane natives to educate the rest of America on the correct pronunciation, when we moved to Virginia we decided to get vanity plates,” said Slater.

Those car tags say “SPOKAN.”

The plates have proven to be conversation starters, especially with people familiar with the Lilac City. One who noticed is a dental assistant who lived here for years and still comes back twice a year to visit family.

Then there was a couple from the Tri-Cities. And so on.

“But, all too often, people think Spokane is somewhere near Seattle,” said Slater. “Another opportunity for a lesson in geography.”

•Pizza in a cup: Here’s how to annoy entertainer Bernadette Peters if you see her around town this weekend.

Say, “Hey, ‘The Jerk’ turns 30 this year. Want to hear my favorite lines?”

Then rattle off bits of dialogue from that 1979 Steve Martin movie, in which Peters played the love interest.

Or ask her to autograph a copy of that 1981 Playboy with her picture on the cover.

•Who deserves a “thank you” T-shirt: Luann Doughty nominated rural people who stop by their neighbor’s place and say, “I’m going in to town, need anything?”

•Readers were challenged to name a Washington product that’s better than the B-17: Apples and the B-52 got most of the votes.

But Mary True mentioned lentils and Tom Boden suggested Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

•Personal holidays: Readers told of celebrating the anniversaries of organ transplants, the first day of sobriety, the conception of a child and permanent contraception, among other things.

•Slice answer: Pamela Stark doesn’t believe dressing up a little bit scores you points in Spokane.

“Any attempt at style is seen as suspect and immediately labeled ‘outsider,’ ” she wrote.

•In the matter of not having an interest in the product or service provided by the place where you work: “I’d really rather not have to utilize the great services that my hospital provides,” wrote nurse Cathy Harris.

•Today’s Slice question: Which Spokane bridge is your favorite?