The Slice: We’re gonna need a bigger fridge

If you have watched grocery shoppers in summery attire provisioning for a day at the lake, you know there is one constant.

If more than one person is involved in gathering chips and beverages, someone in the foraging party is certain to say “We’re probably going to need more.”

More ice. More hamburger buns. More soft drinks.

It’s hard to say exactly what goes into that calculation. But there is a good chance it is often based on the recognition that there will teenage boys at the lake place.

You see, the presence of teenage boys changes everything when it comes to food supplies.

I have a friend with two sons. One is already in college. The other starts this fall.

He was talking about this transition the other day. What is it going to be like, he wondered with theatrical awe, to open the fridge and discover that something he wants is still there?

He will miss the boys, of course. But being able to count on there being some milk left, that will be pretty sweet.

Multiple choice for parents: Which describes how you were viewed during back-to-school shopping excursions? A) Trusted adviser. B) The money. C) Embarrassing, unwelcome presence. D) Constant source of your child’s exasperation. E) Fountain of irrelevant observations. F) Censor. G) Mentor/friend. H) Other.

Casting my net: Even before the end of World War II, people here started thinking about how to keep Spokane in the aluminum business after the needs of the military changed. There are brief news accounts, one from 1944, about meetings here in Spokane in which metal baseball bats were touted as one possible answer.

Another story indicated prototype bats were produced in Pullman. But apparently this fizzled out. Spokane did not become the metal bat capital. We did not become Ping City.

Do any Slice readers know what happened? I realize most of the hands-on participants would be gone now. Perhaps, though, your grandfather told stories.

Warm-up question: Do kids still go outside with a flashlight and hunt for night crawlers?

Today’s Slice question: Have you ever been glad that you answered the phone or went to the front door after you heard a knock?