The Slice Actually, ‘Geg’ Is Aok

Sat., July 6, 1996

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

“Be careful of what you ask for,” wrote Michael Hiemstra. “You just may get it.”

He had read about The Slice’s lack of enthusiasm for Spokane International Airport’s “GEG” code name.

“We in Spokane should consider ourselves lucky,” he said. “I used to work for the Sioux Gateway Airport located in Sioux City, Iowa. Its airport designation is SUX. City officials requested a change of identifiers for the airport and were presented with a list of alternate designations. GAY topped the list. If Spokane wanted a new one, we might end up with something like SAP. I would not like to live in a town with a bunch of SAPs. By the way, the Sioux City airport decided that SUX was not so bad after all.”

Face it: Talking about the weather for more than 10 seconds is like admitting you’ve got nothing to say.

Here’s our apology to readers offended by our remarks about the need to get bicyclists off sidewalks:

Sentences that Jumped Off the Page Department: “I’m not going to move to Spokane and work as a secretary in a grain elevator.” - University of Iowa economist Donald McCloskey, who has changed his name to Deirdre, in an essay in Harper’s magazine dealing with his decision to switch genders.

States ranked by the number of I-90 miles within their borders: 1. Montana. 2. South Dakota. 3. New York. 4. Washington. 5. Minnesota. 6. Ohio. 7. Wyoming. 8. Wisconsin. 9. Indiana. 10. Massachusetts. 11. Illinois. 12. Idaho. 13. Pennsylvania.

While we’re on the subject…how many readers recall how, back in the ‘50s, proponents of the Interstate Highway System pitched it as being crucial to the nation’s defense against the Red Menace?

Our guess is that the equivalent tactic in the ‘90s is saying that if you don’t support this or that public measure, your children will fall behind in their computer literacy.

Warm-up question: Besides Alicia Mae Franklin, who turns 8 on Aug. 8, how many Inland Northwesterners were born on 8-8-88?

Today’s Slice question: What events would be included in the Inland Northwest Lifestyle Decathlon?

, 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. Walking through a Spokane residential area, we encountered a little boy who hadn’t quite mastered saying “How’re ya doin’?” or “Have a nice day.” He waved and called out “Happy day!”

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. Walking through a Spokane residential area, we encountered a little boy who hadn’t quite mastered saying “How’re ya doin’?” or “Have a nice day.” He waved and called out “Happy day!”

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