The Slice: Fondest memories can linger for months

Barbara Caraway’s granddaughter, Susan, began a question, “Grandma, do you remember, back in the day, when I was 3…?”

The kid had just turned 4.

Slice answer (something decided with the flip of a coin): Jeri Thomas and her husband, Steve, had settled on the make and model of the car they intended to buy. But Jeri wanted it to be red, Steve wanted white.

So they tossed a coin.

Red.

In the matter of replacing “Potatoes” in “Famous Potatoes” with the plural version of your last name: “My last name is Gieser and most people pronounce it ‘geyser,’” wrote George Gieser III, of Silverton, Idaho.

It’s supposed to be pronounced “geezer.”

In any case, George likes the sound of “Famous Giesers.”

And if we replaced the “Evergreen” in “Evergreen State” with your last name, Bonnie Wheat thinks her name might be just the ticket.

Ready to be sworn in: “Even though I have lived in Whitman County almost 63 years, I have never been called for jury duty,” wrote Patsy Wood. “My husband, on the other hand, has lived here less than 12 years and has been called for jury duty three times. I cannot repeat the word he uses (upon seeing that he has been summoned once again).”

Several readers noted it is an important civic duty and can be a fascinating experience. I agree. But let’s be real. Busy people don’t always welcome it.

Selling stuff as a child: “Rural kids in small towns have a challenge selling ‘door to door,’ since that usually requires Mom and a car,” wrote Amy Ammons. “Add to that the fact that I was in a school full of cousins, all of whom were trying to sell to Grandma and aunts, and annual fundraising sales became something to dread.”

Slice answer: Gary Polser said that if he was a consultant his specialty would be aging.

Today’s Slice question: How often does it happen that you will go a long stretch with zero social invitations and then – boom – receive two for gatherings to be held at the same date and time?