The Slice: Broadening the college student profile

Community college instructor Betsy Lawrence suggested I left a few people out when considering who should attend college (Saturday’s column).

“Let me tell you about those who also benefit from higher ed and who make up a typical community college English 101 section:

“The man who worked in construction for 25 years, has a back injury and is starting to learn about computers.

“The young woman who lost a child due to a felony drug charge and is fighting with all her might to get her life in order and regain custody.

“The 45-year-old mom, grandma, and caregiver who is finally able to start achieving her goal of becoming a nurse.

“The vet who left Spokane for Afghanistan after graduating from high school and is now on the GI bill and planning to teach middle school.

“And finally, the 30-year-old hairdresser and mom of two toddlers who dreamed of someday becoming a community college writing instructor (yeah, that one was me!).

“I know you know college isn’t just for the kids – it is for changing the lives of adults all around us.”

No. 1 reason you are not a typical Inland Northwesterner: “I don’t wear flip-flops and pajama bottoms when I go shopping,” wrote Nadine Joubert (aka Miss Priss).

You’re not a newcomer if …: “You remember where the old Viking (restaurant/bar) was on South Washington,” wrote Mary Anne Brown.

Slice answer: Growing up in Cheney in the ’50s and ’60s, Tim Crabb’s family subscribed to both the Review and Chronicle.

That wasn’t all that unusual. But Tim and his brothers delivered papers, so they get to stand in for all who grew up in two-newspaper households.

Tantrums times two: “My little brother would start crying when his breakfast toast would not hold up, structurally, to jelly,” wrote Jim Bohn.

And a reader who asked that I keep her name to myself recalled the time her reluctantly participating son opened a YMCA day care Christmas program by shouting from the stage, “I hate you, Mom!”

Happy holidays.

Slice answer: In the matter of jobs that teach you a lot about life, Tom Tyler had a thought. “I would say being a retail sales person qualifies.”

Tom said most shoppers are a pleasure to deal with but a few affirm the truth of the saying, “Retail is people behaving badly.”

Today’s Slice question: Who comes to mind when you hear that old song, “See You in September”?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. “I’ve been meaning to comment on your new column portrait,” wrote Dana Freeborn. “You’re looking rather sketchy.”