The Slice: When leakage is a laughing matter

In the matter of laughing so hard you wet your pants, The Slice heard from a number of readers who said this simply isn’t a remarkable occurrence.

“It is just a part of a woman’s life,” Cheryl Everard said.

Hayley Lockerbie said the experience is virtually universal. “I lovingly refer to this as multitasking,” she said.

Phyllis Rollins said it has happened to her on more than one occasion. And the older she gets, the more likely it is to take place.

Cheney’s Linda Carter recalled being on her honeymoon in Las Vegas. She and her husband were out walking, and he was making her laugh. She told him to quit because she had to go to the bathroom. He didn’t.

“It came as a gusher and my jeans, right down to my tennis shoes, were soaked.”

As marital omens go, it might have been a bit unusual. But Linda and her husband have been laughing for 48 years. “Thankfully the bathroom is nearby.”

Slice answers: Jeff Anderson has been in a room with a former Beatle, Paul McCartney. “It was a big room – June 10, 1976, the Kingdome, Seattle. The acoustics were atrocious. We didn’t care.”

Peggy Victor of Moses Lake (though she lived in Portland at the time) was there, too.

In another matter, Tom Harding estimated that more than 50 percent of his body mass was once pumpkin pies. “I cannot get enough of it.”

Yellow crime scene tape near nature: Jim Clanton’s daughter in Southern California watches the TV show “Cops.”

“Apparently Spokane is featured often. It freaks her out.”

So much so that Jim is practically required to check in with her if he goes out to run an errand.

Anyway, this gave him an idea for a new city slogan. “Spokane: Not as bad as ‘Cops’ makes it seem.”

Warm-up question: What are the magic words when trying to start an old car on a subfreezing morning? A) “Rama lama ding-dong.” B) “Yagga zuzzi, yagga zuzzi, yagga zuzzi – zim!” C) “Bah-ram-ewe.” D) “Pleasepleaseplease.” E) Other.

Today’s Slice question: Do women who keep track of their extended family’s birthdays and anniversaries do so because they enjoy it or because, if they don’t, no one else will?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Saying “No!” isn’t always enough to keep a dog from chewing up your shoes.