The Slice: Pronounced flavor sets lutefisk apart

Let’s start with a lutefisk love story.

“You asked: ‘Ever taste lutefisk?’ ” wrote Thor Chellstorp. “I answer YES. But first we need to clear up confusion about the word. ‘Lutefisk’ is the Norwegian spelling and pronunciation and ‘lutfisk’ is the Swedish. Since I’m of Swedish descent I will use the latter.

“I have eaten lutfisk every Christmas Eve as far back as I can remember and I really like it. The first Christmas after I was married my new wife and I were invited to my parents’ house on Dec. 24 for dinner, a lutfisk dinner.

“There was silence and I crossed my fingers under the table as my wife took her first bite. She looked up, smiled a little and said, ‘I like it. That is a different fish, but it’s good.’

“She then learned how to prepare and cook it, so I still got my lutfisk dinner every Christmas Eve. My mom and dad told me later that they loved her as a daughter-in-law even before that dinner, so crossing my fingers under the table wasn’t needed.”

Under the clock: An item in Thursday’s Slice about the first time-and-temperature clock brought back a memory for Carole (Bagley) Asher Williams.

“Back in the day when I was in junior high school, my friend and I arranged to meet downtown. We talked on the landline from home (no cellphone or texting back then) and set the time. Florence’s final sign-off was ‘I’ll meet you under the clock.’

“Now, being a Spokane native, I should have understood what that meant, but the appointed time found me on the corner of Howard and Riverside (under the clock) while Florence was stationed at The Crescent (under the clock).

“We both finally gave up and caught a bus home where we again touched base on the phone and she explained the significance of ‘Under the clock’ to me. Guess that was a sign of my ‘innocence’ and her ‘worldliness.’”

Today’s Slice question: Who would visit you in the hospital if you got hurt doing something heroic?