The Slice: Most of us don’t know (pepper)jack

Paul Turner is taking some time off this summer. In his absence, we dive into the archives here at Slice Central. Today, we visit July 26, 2008. Look for new columns to resume next month.

Cris Yancey e-mailed a snapshot of a North Side fast-food place’s sign.

It declared that peach pepperjack was back as shake of the month.

Yancey had a question: Why?

I agree. Sometimes the road to zany includes a turn onto Stupid Street.

Of course, I’ve not had a peach pepperjack shake. Feel free to tell me how mind-blowing they are.

Wedding dresses for Africa: After graduating from Mt. Spokane High and Western Washington University, onetime Lilac Princess Megan Gentry joined the Peace Corps. She is now in Malawi.

Her dad passed along a request. Megan wonders if any Spokesman-Review readers might be willing to donate used wedding dresses. The garments are coveted by brides-to-be she encounters at the school where she is teaching.

Her parents will arrange to get them to Africa.

Megan suggested that anyone suspecting that this smacks of cultural imperialism probably doesn’t understand life in Malawi. The young women aren’t turning their backs on indigenous ceremonial attire, she said. They just like the way western wedding dresses look. And they want them.

If you have a dress to donate, email Megan’s father, Mike Gentry, at info@dbadvancement.com.

Evergreen state of mind: Spokane cycling advocate John Speare rode a bike to Everett inside of three days this week.

Ballpark memories: Not surprisingly, lots of readers recalled seeing major league games at Seattle’s Sicks’ Stadium and the Kingdome.

But Bill Mahaney remembers watching games at Boston’s Braves Field and at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

Jack O’Brien saw games at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Shirley Schoenleber used to accompany her dad to Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

Ron Smith’s family would travel from Indiana to see games at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field.

Dave Wolfe went with his dad to Pirates games at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field.

John Bonnier wrote a lyrical essay about being at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.

Paul Ruch includes the Polo Grounds in New York on his list.

Larry Zimmerman saw a game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

Don Adair watched baseball at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

And Gary Pierce guessed that not many other Slice readers can say they saw a Dodgers game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Speaking of baseball: It’s long past time to close the curtain on the whole angry-manager- getting-in-the-umpire’s-face act.

Today’s Slice question: Which generation currently has the greatest impact on Spokane’s image?