The Slice: Upraised bird returns the gesture

This story of life on the streets of Spokane comes from Carol J. Hunter, attorney at law.

She stands by it. And lawyers are sworn to tell the truth. “My brother is the Forrest Gump of Spokane,” she wrote. “This stuff really happens to him.”

Hunter’s brother, Amos, was driving up the South Hill when traffic stopped for a light. The stretch of road was on an incline.

Amos thought he had given the car ahead of him plenty of room. But when the light turned green, that car started to roll back and almost banged into the vehicle Amos was driving.

Sounds like sloppy clutch engagement. But the driver ahead of Amos apparently felt crowded. So he gave Amos the finger.

Now Amos could have simply returned the compliment. But as it happened, he was prepared to do the other motorist one better.

A moment later, when he was certain the other driver would see, Amos lowered a window and held up a just-purchased live chicken that happened to be in the car with him.

And thus, some guy in Spokane learned what it really means to have another driver flip (or at least show) you the bird.

That ended the low-key road rage incident, which could be referred to in this case as a game of chicken.

It might have escalated, but someone had to cross to the other side of the road.

Kidspeak that sounds X-rated: When Gail Groth’s daughter, Cheyenne, was quite young, the way she pronounced the name of the movie “The Fox and the Hound” made it sound as if she was talking about a particularly unsavory pornographic film.

Today’s sunburn story: You can get a pretty bad one on the Oregon Coast even on an overcast day, said the aptly named Judith Burns. The one she remembers happened about 50 years ago.

“Later that week, I attended my cousin’s wedding wearing a bright pink skirt with a sheer-back blouse. My back and legs looked like a reflection of that pink skirt.”

Today’s Slice question: What single act or gesture changed your mind about someone you had previously regarded with antipathy?