Arrow-right Camera
Subscribe now

This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

The Slice: How did this get here?

December starts Tuesday.

And you know what that means.

Yes, the time draws near when someone at your holiday party is going to surreptitiously stuff a rum ball behind a sofa cushion.

No, of course, that is not the proper way to dispose of hors d’oeuvres that didn’t meet with approval. But sometimes people don’t want to hurt the host’s feelings. So instead of openly tossing a canape or dip-laden cracker into the trash, some party attendees get creative when getting rid of festive snacks.

So here is the question. What was the most unexpected place you found a rejected hors d’oeuvre after a party in your home?

Just wondering: The question about how you would stock your clothes closet if you wore similar outfits every day prompted a note from a reader who attended a Catholic school back in the day. She has more or less stuck with the uniform concept ever since.

How about you? If you wore a uniform at school did you go wild with variety once free to choose or did you stay in the pattern of sticking with a familiar look?

Let’s try to settle these debates before the end of 2015: Inland Northwest or Inland Empire?

North Idaho or northern Idaho?

The Spokesman-Review or The Socialist-Review?

Dogtown (good) or Dogtown (negative connotation)?

Warm-up question: Do you know any local residents whose overall opinion about Spokane depends to a ridiculous extent on their last encounter with a store clerk or government functionary?

If the individual helping these folks was polite and competent, Spokane is a great place. If the service was lethargic and indifferent, Spokane is a hopeless jerkwater.

Of course, their reactions to hometown newspaper columns might run along similar lines. If they read one that was so-so or at least didn’t make them retch, Spokane might be viewed as tolerable. But if the last one they saw was so insipid and grimace-producing they could hardly believe it, Spokane might be seen through their eyes as a cultural desert, a veritable news media Hooterville.

Today’s Slice question: The biggest advantage to having season tickets is obvious. But what is the downside (or at least potential downside) to having the same seats over and over?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Dick Wands used to call the Monday S-R the “Monday Pamphlet” but the full-page ads for windows and hearing aids make him think he needs to come up with another name.

More from this author