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The Slice: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition or parched Washington

The Slice had mentioned that many are surprised by Northwest reality.

And so a Spokane Valley friend who is a transplanted Texan recalled his initial glimpse of Washington.

“My first trip to the ‘Evergreen’ state was to Pasco,” he wrote. “I flew in from San Francisco (in the day, Hughes Airwest had direct flights) late at night. I was shocked in the morning when I looked out on the Rattlesnake Hills. I thought we had been hijacked to Lubbock.”

Just wondering: When someone moves here from the eastern half of the country, how long does it usually take for that person to get used to radio and TV stations that start with K instead of W?

A) About a week. B) A year. C) It never happens. For instance, they keep referring to KSPS and KPBX by the letters of the PBS station and public radio station back where they used to live. D) Other.

Not forgotten: Davenport’s Darci Van Buren Linstrum saw the mention of hearing someone’s last words.

“The night before my Mom passed away she said to my brother and I: ‘It’s not what you leave behind that counts but what you leave for others to enjoy.’ We were touched by her words (she was a staunch supporter for a new pool in Davenport) and used them on her headstone. Miss her.”

Slice answer: “Regarding what you do when a fly gets in your house,” wrote Pam Meyer. “I watch my dog, Cooper. He watches the fly wherever it may be and eventually he usually catches it. So I don’t have to do anything.”

This date in Slice history (1992): Today’s Slice question: Today’s question is a fill-in-the-blanks affair. The category: Top 10 Spokane civic nicknames or mottos that make more sense than “Lilac City.”

10. Baja British Columbia. 9. Where neighbors take just a little too much interest in your lawn. 8. More multicultural than North Dakota. 7. Home of affordable housing in 1988. 6. Birthplace of several people who moved away and became famous. 5. Gateway to Post Falls. 4. A lot of people who want to be like their parents. 3. Home of free curbside parking for downtown workers. 2. Upper Utah. And the No. 1 civic nickname that makes more sense than “Lilac City” is (your answer here).

Today’s Slice question: What do you say to a manically yapping tiny dog behind a chain-link fence when it threatens to kill you?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Every time I see my neighbor’s teenage son, he is looking under the hood of a car.

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