The Slice: Squashing the stigma of screaming like a girl

Let me ask you something.

You can answer this just based on your own experience.

When it comes to the act of carving pumpkins, do gender stereotypes have a certain validity as far as the carvers’ need to make horror-movie sound effects when knifing the gourd?

How about when the jack-o’-lantern’s insides are being scraped out?

An evening on the town: The problem with eating out before going to see a show is that there might be in your party a get-there-early person.

These are the same people who like to arrive at the airport before Boeing is finished building the plane.

They can be some of the best, most lovable people in the world. But they are phobic about getting somewhere late.

Oh, get-there-early people try to control themselves. They try not to start glancing at their watch or phone before the waitress has even taken the order.

They cannot help themselves, though. They have to watch the clock.

If you have dined with one of these folks before a movie, concert or play, you know his or her tick-tock stress can make the whole experience feel like the ref just whistled the two-minute warning and your team is down seven points with 80 yards to go.

Of course, the opposite behavior has its own problem. It’s called getting there late.

And it’s not unheard of to be dining out before some entertainment event with individuals from both ends of the time-anxiety spectrum.

Sometimes watching them debate the matter of when your party needs to leave the restaurant can be a show all by itself.

Warm-up question: At virtually all of the movies I have seen recently, those near me in the theater have conducted themselves admirably. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I sat near someone who engaged in problem behavior. So have I just been lucky or have many of those who lack consideration for others migrated to personal media options for watching movies?

Today’s Slice question: Do parents leading young trick-or-treaters on their Halloween rounds skip houses with campaign signs in the yard for candidates or causes the parents vehemently oppose?