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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Slice Run A Red Light, Then Bash Us In The Broadside

We’re sometimes accused of bashing Spokane, a charge that suggests some people simply don’t know what real bashing is. So maybe it’s time to conduct a clinic. Send us a sentence or two of no-holds-barred Spokane bashing (think Howard Stern) and we’ll print a few of the best rants and perhaps even award a prize or two.

Trust us. The Lilac City will survive this little exercise.

Today’s fishing story: When Jeff Knight was a little kid, he once yanked a fish out of Liberty Lake so vigorously that it flew over his head, broke the line and zoomed through the open window of a nearby pickup truck in which a woman was dozing. “You should have heard the commotion,” recalled Knight.

One thing you don’t pick up from watching TV nature shows: A group of Japanese students staying at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute recently learned a memorable lesson about North American wildlife. A skunk got into their dormitory and announced its presence by spraying.

Speaking of skunks: “My 2-year-old son learned ‘skunk’ and ‘moon’ the same night as the animal crossed the road before our car in the light of the full moon,” wrote Anne Trail. “However, he reversed the names. Not too many people have full skunks in the night sky.”

Overheard near Whitworth College (a man admonishing a little boy to be aware of traffic): “You’ve got to watch out. Cars aren’t going to look for you here. This isn’t the South Hill.” - submitted by Libby Brock

Sign that the end is near: We were in downtown Spokane when we saw this boy, maybe 12 years old, walking with a woman who might have been his grandmother. The lad had on a T-shirt adorned with two words, in huge letters: MATE EATER.

Closer inspection revealed that the shirt also featured the image of a praying mantis. But, um, never mind.

Old business: “My family calls it ‘roothog or die’ when nobody actually fixes dinner and everyone just fends for themselves,” wrote Worley, Idaho’s Larisa Stark.

Three other readers noted that “nosh” was left out of Monday’s list.

And Newman Lake’s Paul Davis nominated his dad, Darryl, as the best backyard chef. “Everyone loves his pork chops,” he wrote. “Someone who didn’t like meat even ate his pork chops and asked for seconds.”

Warm-up question from J. Audel: “How many Manito neighbors pray the Thursday night drummer group would move on to Mount Fuji?”

Today’s Slice question: What local residential block is home to the most out-of-control engine-revving?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

MEMO: The Slice appears Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. According to a survey, 75 percent of drivers sing along with music during traffic jams.

The Slice appears Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. According to a survey, 75 percent of drivers sing along with music during traffic jams.