The Slice Look For Warning Signs And Be On Guard All Day

Don’t fall for any April Fools’ pranks today.

Remember, if someone at work seems excited, chances are a “joke” is coming.

Be part of the solution: Instead of just ridiculing the offerings on cable TV’s community programming channel, why not come up with an idea for your own show?

But even before you do that, there’s a step you can take. There is a meeting early tonight at which you can find out about the free production help available from TCI in Spokane. Showing up doesn’t commit you to anything. For details about the time and place, call 484-4931, extension 282.

For the purposes of tonight’s meeting, you don’t need to know exactly what sort of show you would like to produce. But we can’t resist suggesting a dozen program titles.

1. “That Spokane Girl!”

2. “PUD Cops: Caught on Tape.”

3. “A Panel of White People Discussing Diversity.”

4. “INW Residents Who Should Be in Jail.”

5. “Further Evidence that Good Comedy is Rare.”

6. “Eye on Airway Heights.”

7. “The Spokane Hair Designers on Trampolines Show.”

8. “Those Incredible Outpatients.”

9. “Hate The Swell Paper Hour.”

10. “True Stories of Lake Life ‘97.”

11. “The Irresponsible Rumors Report.”

12. “All You Can Eat This Week.”

Assume for a moment that being normal is a good thing: We were listening to a national radio show when we heard ketchup described as “The key to being normal.”

Maybe. But in the Inland Northwest, we suspect it would rank behind dressing casually every day and the belief that camping is fun.

Sure, calculators are fine: But it’s still handy to have at least one person in your family who knows the multiplication tables.

Warm-up questions: Is it possible to have a shared driveway and not end up hating your neighbor? What’s the most unusual item waiting to be claimed at a local lost and found? When kicking a pinecone off the sidewalk, do you pretend for an instant that you are a soccer star?

Today’s Slice question: In aggregate terms, how much time would you save this year if you decided to pay zero attention to Major League baseball?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

MEMO: The Slice appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. Gardening maven Phyllis Stephens must have perfected cloning technology already because she seems capable of being at multiple public gatherings simultaneously.