The Slice: For now, it’s OK to leave ’em be

Slice reader Mike Kraft doesn’t get it.

Why do people start raking or blowing leaves when only a small fraction of them have fallen?

Based on what he has observed here in Spokane, he fears it might be a minor obsessive-compulsive disorder.

But if any readers have theories, I will be happy to pass them along.

Nixed for nuptials: Judy McKeehan saw a Slice column last week that had “For the Good Times” as an item lead-in. That expression reminded her of the classic Ray Price song (written by Kris Kristofferson) with that title.

“That was the only song Mike and I danced to in our long (two month) courtship.”

So when her mother asked her if there was a special song they wanted played at their wedding, Judy thought of “For the Good Times.”

She quickly ruled that out. “I really didn’t think ‘Hold your warm and tender body close to mine’ were appropriate lyrics for a wedding.”

This was back when people occasionally used good judgment.

Besides, that song is about a relationship ending and Judy and Mike were just getting started.

What did you and your special someone dance to?

You make the call: Is it my imagination or are “Spokane is a great place to raise children” and “Spokane is the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis” fading from popular use?

Once, you heard those all the time. They were local staples in the previous century. Not so much anymore.

Maybe people realized that the raising-kids cliché required a qualifiers-laden asterisk and the “largest city” thing could be confusing if the listener did not tack on a silent “If we are talking only about a narrow northern-tier latitudinal band.”

But, as always, I could be wrong. Maybe people are still saying those lines right and left, just not to me.

Warm-up question: Is it appropriate to compensate your parents if they routinely take care of your kids while you are at work?

Today’s Slice question: What do you plan to do with the fall-back hour we gain next weekend?