The Slice: The right gift for graduation season

Back in May of 2010, The Slice presented a guide for responding to high school graduation announcements arriving in the mail from the teenage children of casual friends and distant relatives.

You know, kids you barely knew existed.

A few readers regarded my helpful hints as unduly sarcastic. Others objected to my suggestion that announcement recipients write back to the young scholars, asking “Who are you again?”

OK, I realize most of these invoices, er, announcements don’t actually include the words “Please remit.”

But let’s not kid ourselves. The expectation of a gift hangs heavy in the springtime air.

That’s fine. Never hurts to ask. But I said it then and I’ll say it now. Advice can be a sincere present, too.

So maybe it’s time to take another run at this, and involve Slice readers.

What counsel would you offer a wide-eyed youth about to graduate?

Share your original guidance with The Slice and you just might win a coveted reporter’s notebook.

Language arts: “My family has often developed its own language, using the wrong word intentionally or mashing words together,” wrote Amy Ammons. “Two memorable errors that made their way into conversation at inappropriate times:

“Two plus-sized friends of my parents named Frank and Trudy. Privately, we called them Tank and Fruity.”

So I guess I don’t need to tell you what eventually happened.

And in case you are wondering, Frank and Trudy lived in Billings and are gone now.

Here’s Amy’s second example. “We joked about being on the ‘nerve of a vergious breakdown.’ My doctor must have been concerned when I used that term during an exam.”

Meg Parker worked for a railroad in Portland with a guy who said “It’s so quiet in here you could hear a mouse drop.”

An unfortunate collision of two sayings about silence, that doesn’t make any sense. But you are welcome to use it.

Recalling Civil Defense sirens: “I sure do remember them,” wrote Joe Jovanovich. “I loved the sound of them and listening to them come on around the city, one by one. I always worried, however, that the sneaky Russians would attack us on a Wednesday at noon.”

Today’s Slice question for couples: What do you do when you enjoy watching TV together (and much prefer it to watching alone) but strongly disagree about the appeal of certain shows?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Today’s Slice blog salutes a few high school sweethearts who have been together a long time.