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The Slice: Spokane: Good enough for us

Sandy Tarbox asked a physician the other day how long he had been in Spokane.

“About five years,” he answered.

She then asked if he liked it here.

“You get used to it,” he said without even a hint of a smile.

Anyway, this gave Tarbox an idea. She thinks the doctor’s words would make an excellent motto for our fair city.

“Spokane: You get used to it.”

Don’t you love that? It’s modest. It’s realistic yet vaguely hopeful. And, for more than a few of us, it is true.

Following up: A fair number of readers expressed an interest in a weekly comics poll. So let me mull that.

The deadlines for my print column would make it difficult to provide a timely turnaround. And doing it online would just be one more thumb in the eye of readers who want nothing to do with computers.

But maybe there’s a way.

Advice for women about shaking hands: Pauline Riley’s role model in this regard was her Aunt FloraAnne. “Her handshake was extra firm, almost to the point where it hurt a little but in a good way. Everyone always talked about her handshake over the years. She was not a business woman or out in the world much. She was a farmer’s wife. But once you met her, you would never forget the initial meeting. She lived quite a while — never letting loose of that firm handshake.

“So my advice would be shake hands like you mean it. Shake hands in a way that would make Aunt FloraAnne proud.”

Scott Willegalle suggested that, in certain situations, women might want to say “eyes up here” as they are about to shake hands.

Beer me: When The Slice asked readers to come up with a name for a craft beer incorporating the word “marmot,” it should have been noted that such a beverage already exists in real life. Spokane’s River City Brewing produces Midnight Marmot Imperial Stout. That’s a heck of a good name.

I have not tried it. Yet. But based on email exchanges, I can say that I like the folks who make it.

Today’s Slice question: Has Caller I.D. and other telecommunication advances put an end to obscene phone calls?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Thanks for the suggestions about a new mug shot. I’ll share some of that feedback next week.

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