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The Slice: Spokane See ’n Say has merits
Let’s start with pronunciation peeves.
Hearing people say “Gon-zah-ga” bugs a fair number of locals, including Slice readers who note that this practice is inexplicable given that we definitely do not say “Go Zahgs!”
I had suspected that might get the most mentions. But there were others, too.
“It makes me nuts when I hear Nordstrom called ‘Nordstroms,’ ” said Betsy Lawrence.
“Rosauers – of course!” wrote Charlotte Thacker. “I’ve been in Spokane 13 years and I still am not sure how to pronounce it. And, in order to send this message to you, I even had to refer to the most recent Spokesman ad to be sure of the spelling.”
“I nominate the old Schade brewery at what is now the Riverpoint campus,” wrote Sam Taschereau. “I knew two members of that family years ago. They pronounce their name as ‘shade,’ as in the shade of a tree. Most often I hear it pronounced ‘shoddy.’ ”
It irks Nancy Kiehn to hear Mirabeau pronounced Mir-a-boo.
Deborah Lawrence Hale cringes when she hears Key Tronic pronounced “Keytronics.”
Same goes for Tom McArthur when he hears Realtor pronounced “Real-a-tor.”
In the matter of putting notes in lunches: A second-grade teacher I know pointed out that you can buy printed messages to include in sack lunches. “Isn’t that sad?” she wrote.
Yeah, why not just have someone in India give your kid a call and offer midday encouragement.
“Hello, Serrah. This is Sanjay. Remember to study hard and never forget that we all love you. Enjoy your cup o’ pudding.”
Names as destiny: S-R reader Chris Hall thought there was something fitting when he saw in the public records that someone named Dodge was involved in a lawsuit with someone named Ford as a result of a car crash.
Today’s Slice question: The Slice is always interested in peculiarities newcomers observe. Tammy Everts moved here from Yakima and this past summer she noticed that a surprisingly significant number of men in Spokane who are not at a beach or pool spend a lot of time going about shirtless. Does it seem that way to you?