The Slice: Do you hear what I hear?

Paul and Marjie Wiersma live out in the country and for about half the year they sleep outside on their covered porch.

Here’s a partial list of what they hear at night: trains, distant thunder, coyotes, crickets, owls and all manner of chirping birds.

What would you hear? Nothing? Sirens? “Excuse me, you got any spare change?”

Today is Bing Crosby Birthday Eve: Identify which of the following were characters he played in movies.

A) Father Chuck O’Malley. B) Stan Mikita. C) Bob Wallace. D) Cuthbert Twillie. E) Frank Elgin. F) Booth Lusteg. G) Allen A. Dale. H) Lenny Davidson. I) Harry Turner. J) Cheyenne Bodie. K) Jim Hardy. L) Carl Spackler. M) Harvey Howard. N) Virgil Tibbs. O) John Milner. P) Hamilton Burger. Q) Vada Pinson.

Find the answers right above today’s question.

Slice answer: “Am not certain if children of former Lilac princesses think of themselves as ‘royalty,’ but perhaps destiny plays into it,” wrote Michael Kirschbaum. “Our daughter was queen in 1994 and our granddaughter was chosen by raffle to be a ‘junior princess’ at the recent Lilac tea and will get a float ride in the upcoming junior parade.”

Kidspeak: When Jewel Baccarella’s daughter was 2, she referred to a butterfly as a “flutterby.”

Slice answers: In the powerboat division, Marie and Steve Hall’s Cairn terrier, Toby, might have logged the most hours on the water. “Truth be told, he prefers jet ski rides over boat rides,” Marie said.

And in the sailboat division, Paddy the Sailor Dog – a Brussels Griffon belonging to Kerry Lynch and Jack Geraghty – has racked up hundreds of hours on the lake and a few minutes in it. “Thank God for her neon green life jacket,” said Lynch.

Bing’s roles: A, C, E, G, I, K and M.

Today’s Slice question: How did you acquire your most epic blister?