The Slice: We like to think of it as being a little above Seattle

Lynda Housden was in Portland on business when a cab driver asked her where she lived.

“Spokane,” she answered.

The cabbie then asked if that was north or south of Seattle.

How would you have answered?

A) “Just slightly north.” B) “You must be thinking of Humptulips.” C) “East.” D) “What?” E) “As the crow flies?” F) Other.

For the record, Housden told him Spokane was in the “four seasons” part of the state, over next to Idaho.

Speaking of Washington geography: The PBS national parks marathon featured a delightful example of how ludicrous it can be to tack on the “state” identifier

The program alluded to Mount Rainier. There on the screen was a photo of the iconic landmark. And the narrator noted that it was in “Washington state.”

Good to clarify that for all those poorly educated public television viewers who might otherwise have assumed that the mammoth mountain was nestled in the District of Columbia.

Thanks to the S-R’s “Are We There Yet?” blog: For reminding us that “Flesh” used to be a Crayola crayon color.

Courtesy call: Andrea Merritt saw the item on the survey showing that drivers in Western Washington think of themselves as more polite than those over here.

“From Spokane, where most of the drivers are fiercely scowling and have long since forgotten where the turn signal is, that might seem apparent,” she wrote. “But much of the rest of us East Siders are more well-behaved.

“I live in Pullman and drivers here are friendly and courteous, rarely hang out their windows cursing at everyone, and are generally understanding of the generally lost students of WSU. Well, aside from my mother, but she’s from Spokane.”

Today’s Slice question: What do you say when political candidates show up at your door?