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The Slice: Life can be exciting when you hang loose

There’s something to be said for fearing your pants might fall down at any moment.

It adds a certain zest to life.

Striding from your work station to the restroom, ordinarily the most mundane of trips, can become an adventure.

This is what can happen after you lose a few pounds and are still wearing the same old clothes.

Now I know what you are thinking.

“Just tighten your belt a notch … problem solved.”

But here’s the thing. Sometimes your waist, hips, butt and pants conspire against you. Finding the sweet spot on a belt can be easier said than done.

One notch too loose and you risk involuntarily dropping your trousers. One notch too tight and you can feel like a calf roped and cinched up in a rodeo event.

Sure, you can purchase new apparel. You can try to buy pants that actually fit.

But if you suspect the weight loss could be temporary, you might be reluctant to do that. Besides, let’s face it. Being reminded of your new weight 50 times a day can be oddly morale boosting.

Every time you thrust a hand in your pocket to make sure your pants stay up, you can silently celebrate.

Each time you feel your pants slipping lower and lower on your waist you can salute your bathroom-scale success.

Yes, suspenders are an option. But not everyone is a suspenders person.

And I should not have to point out that there is nothing risqué about getting a small kick out of worrying that your slacks will suddenly be down around your ankles.

It’s a different kind of living on the edge.

Smell that smell: When Marnie Gaither’s family bought a boxer puppy from a guy whose home was redolent of marijuana smoke, they were not aware that the smell attached itself to them. “We were only in there for five or 10 minutes.”

And at their next stop, a Walgreens, they didn’t make the connection when strangers wondered aloud about the source of a distinctive aroma.

But when they got back outside and loaded into their van, one of Marnie’s kids had revelation. “Mom, that smell was us!”

Today’s Slice question: What did you drop in a deep part of a lake this summer?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. What was your all-time most hilarious hairstyle?

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