The Slice: Our elderly pets deserve perks of assisted living

You’ll find yourself feeling warmly about a new next-door neighbor when you see her gently lift her elderly dog into the car as they prepare for an outing.

Let’s move on.

The INW explained, No. 43: People want to matter. And if they believe that they do not — at least in any sort of societal sense, some of them bitterly resent those they view as unjustly enjoying that status.

Just wondering: How do you react when encountering the expression “fun for the whole family”?

Slice answer: “You struck a nerve with this one,” wrote Meg McCoy, after seeing the question about cigarette butts. “I think it’s called fouling your own nest. Along with the brainless ‘flickers’ we must include the general litterers. Nearly every day I pick up the litter in front of my home — on my lawn, the sidewalk and in the street. The other day there was an empty bottle of Bacardi rum on the front lawn.

“Fortunately for me, I have a cooperative flock of neighborhood ravens who stand ready to assist me. I clean up the hard stuff and they clean up the food stuff.”

(I asked Meg if her helpers might actually be crows, but she said she thinks they are ravens. In either case, they are more community-minded than the malformed ciphers who toss trash out of car windows.)

Starting with a bang: OK, here’s one more bike-tire story. This comes from my friend Hank Greer.

“At last year’s Spokefest, right after they counted down to start the riders, my son’s front tire exploded. People nearby thought the organizers fired a starting gun.”

Today’s Slice question: Jim Bartholomew emailed a photo of a cluster of yellow newspaper delivery tubes. He said it is north of Coolin, Idaho, next to Priest Lake. The photo shows a grouping of 17 of the boxy delivery tubes.

That made me wonder. What are the pros and cons of having your paper delivered this way?