The Slice: Easier to swallow, but still tough to chew

It sort of sounds like a Northwest delicacy.

But perhaps there is another explanation.

Dan Mork was talking to his young grandson, Kai Laukkanen, when the boy mentioned having recently enjoyed a fine steak dinner.

Mork asked him what kind of steak had been served.

“Pine rib,” said Kai.

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: “Your blog item on phonetic alphabets made me realize that I have learned and used at least three different phonetic alphabets in my lifetime for different purposes,” wrote Mike Almond.

That gives me an idea. What if we came up with a phonetic alphabet based on Inland Northwest place names or some other local theme?

Athol, Bayview, Creston… Or Albi, Bulldog, Comstock…

Take a shot at it. There could be a coveted reporter’s notebook in it for you.

While we are on the subject: Here is a Slice item from 2004 that remains one of my favorites.

Not everyone agrees about what constitutes “common knowledge.”

When my dad meets a new employee at the South Hill pharmacy he patronizes, he tries to get the person’s first name fixed in his mind. One way he does this is to spell it out using the phonetic alphabet that became second nature to him in the Air Force.

You know. Angie would be Alpha November Golf India Echo.

And so on. I assumed everyone knew about the code.

Well, earlier this week, one of the pharmacists reported that she had been watching a military drama on TV and a character employed that phonetic alphabet.

The pharmacist, a young woman, was amazed.

Until that moment, she had thought it was something my dad made up.

Slice reader Rick Koterba wonders: “I would like to know when a car’s sunroof became a moonroof?”

Today’s Slice question: Today is Michigan’s statehood day. It became the 26th state on this date in 1837.

So what are your closest ties to the Great Lake State? Born there? Aunt in Grand Rapids? Old Ford in your backyard?