The Slice: For more difficult names, just ask: ‘Common spelling?’

There’s an art to asking people to spell their names.

After they have given you their last name, you can say “Like the classical composer?” or “Like the botanical gardens?” Or whatever.

Sometimes the individual will volunteer the spelled-the-same association. But on occasions when you yourself are offering the comparison, it’s important to choose a flattering reference.

I mean, you wouldn’t say “Like the child pornographer?” or “Like the coward of the county?”

I was reminded of this when, after getting this very nice woman to spell her last name, I said “Like the beer?”

There was a moment of silence before she said “Yes.”

I volunteered that I might have chosen a more elegant association.

An unscientific sampling of opinion: Back before the teachers strike was averted, one highly placed Spokane Public Schools official received about 15 pleas that football be allowed to continue even if there was a walkout. And this individual heard a grand total of one expression of concern about kids enrolled in subsidized meal programs.

Lost classroom time? Those worried about that apparently kept their concern to themselves.

When repeating your date of birth gets old: “Don’t know the most times in a day I’ve been asked my DOB,” wrote Barry Bauchwitz. “However, nothing frosts me more than calling a company, entering my DOB and Account# to a robotic computer only to have to repeat all of the information once you speak to a live person. Then being bounced around to several people and having to repeat the process over and over and over and over … Grrrr.”

Slice answer: In the matter of former Spokane residents reading articles about the Lilac City and seeing references to attractions that did not exist when they lived here, Dori Schaefer had a guess about what might most surprise them.

“Kendall Yards,” she said. “They would be blown away.”

Warm-up question: Is there any correlation between attitudes about firearms and a propensity to drive faster than the speed limit?

Today’s Slice question: Why are so many people who earn relatively low wages and experience iffy working conditions often hostile to the idea of organized labor?