The Slice: And the readers killed it with ‘Mockingbird’ offerings

Let’s start with the “Mockingbird” variations.

“The summer that had begun so long ago had ended, and another summer had taken its place. And a fall. And the Mariners had lost again. I was to think of these days many times, of Ichiro and Jaso and Vargas and Ackley. And King Felix. He would be in the clubhouse all night, and he would be there when the rest of the team arrived in the morning.” — Sue Peterson

“The summer that had begun so long ago had ended, and another summer had taken its place. And a fall. And the lake had frozen over. I was to think of these days many times, of swimming and water skiing and over-indulging. And my drunken Uncle Hal. He would be in jail all night, and he would be there when we bailed him out in the morning.” — John Yancey

“The summer that had begun so long ago had ended, and another summer had taken its place. And a fall. And the Republican candidates had become creepy. I was to think of those days many times, of Spokane and Matt Shea and Republicans and legitimate rape. And KHQ’s janitor. He would be in Spokane’s elections results headquarters all night, and he would be there when Spokane stayed conservative in the morning.” — Rich Williams

Nicknames for the Monday S-R: “Leaflet.” — Christie Anderson

“Pamphlet.” — Annie Shiffer

“Weekly Reader.” — Dale Anderson, Dick Dodd

“Newslet.” — Hayley Murdock

There were other answers, though many didn’t qualify as nicknames. Several were nakedly hostile. You can see a selection on The Slice Blog.

A few readers, such as Doris Woodward, noted that the Monday edition includes some of their favorite features.

But Joan Matlack summed up the prevailing mood by quoting a line from a classic Peggy Lee song: Is that all there is?

“Ombudsman” anagrams: Darlyne Lamb said “sodumbman” might reflect a lack of voice.

Jon Etherton offered “Nomad Bums.”

James Dodds suggested “A bonus dam.”

And Dana Freeborn took the liberty of including an apostrophe in “D’bumsmoan.”

Today’s Slice question: Do you have any superstitions related to being a sports fan?