The Slice Plenty Of Friendly Folks Are Out There Roaming Our Parks

People who say nobody is friendly anymore don’t go for enough walks.

You want to see a few smiles and hear strangers say “Hello”? Put on your sneakers early some morning and take a stroll around a city park.

Civility is not dead, at least not among Spokane walkers. Cordial waves are common. Momentary eye contact is allowed.

OK, not ALL the people you’ll meet will nod or greet you. But almost all of their dogs will acknowledge your presence.

Agree or disagree: Lauren Rants says that when Spokane area residents try to pronounce “mill,” it often comes out “meal.”

Picture this: V. Lawson’s phone voice makes people visualize Edith Bunker or Aunt Bea. And Rachel Brooks said her voice apparently conjures images of a short, ditsy blonde, which, she assured us, she is not.

If you can’t say anything nice: When Bicycling magazine advertised for a new editor not long ago, one of the applicants’ cover letters included this charming self-endorsement: “I can help you shed your reputation as the leading bonehead cycling publication.”

He didn’t get the job.

Take that: A woman who was slightly steamed about a Chicagoan’s assertion that all Inland Northwesterners end sentences with unnecessary prepositions sputtered “I’d rather have an unnecessary proposition than hear someone talking through his nose.”

Seconds later, she called back, laughing. “Did I say proposition? Well, I’d take an unnecessary proposition, too.”

Warm-up questions: Does anyone still leave the key under the mat? So what does it mean if a marmot sees its shadow? If they made a sitcom based on your office, what would be the name of the show?

Today’s Slice question: What would Spokane be like without the high-profile presence of the medical/ health-care industry?

MEMO: The Slice appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on IN Life. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098.