The Slice: The chance to bark lost its bite

Editor’s note: Paul Turner is taking some time off. In his absence, we’re diving into the archives here at Slice Central. Today, we revisit Aug. 8, 2008.

Some little hellions were out in front of my house yelling.

I couldn’t make out what they were shouting, but I could sure hear their squealing voices.

Savoring an opportunity to shift into “mean old man Turner” mode, I opened the door.

The sweet-faced kids explained that they were trying to track down a lost dog named Kayla.

Oh.

Carry on.

Hope they found her.

Shiloh, when I was young: My sister-in-law in Michigan freely admits that she has officially stopped rockin’.

The other night she told me about attending a Neil Diamond concert. She loved every minute.

I didn’t try to convince her that she was morally wrong to feel that way.

But after we hung up, I realized I had missed a chance. I should have suggested that she ought to move to Spokane and be among those sending me angry notes next time I say something unflattering about the 89-year-old singer.

Just wondering: Before heading out the door early in the morning, have you ever mistakenly set your home-alarm system so that it will go off the moment still-sleeping members of your family get up and start moving around?

You never know when you’ll find yourself feeling proud of Spokane: Last Friday, before a training session on using the newspaper’s new telephone system, I made small talk with the young woman from Portland who would be teaching the class.

She travels quite a bit. And she said The Davenport was the nicest hotel in which she had ever stayed.

Lifers vs. Transplants: Transplants can rhapsodize about our “four seasons” and all, wrote Craig Heimbigner. “But NO way do they care about the Inland Northwest like we do.”

The TV/real life interface: What could a “CSI” unit learn about you by disassembling your keyboard and examining the contents?

Today’s Slice questions: What’s left on your summer to-do list? Is that realistic?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098; email pault@spokesman.com. It turns out that quite a few local families have stories about encountering bears while huckleberry hunting.