And Besides That, I’M A Cat, I Don’t Care What You Think

There’s something about watching farm cats that makes it hard not to smile.

The other day, at this family spread in the southeast corner of Spokane County, about a mile from the Idaho line, this one grayish-tan shorthair had gone into the barn to see what everyone was up to.

Tiptoeing along the top of a sheep pen, the cat suddenly lost its balance and had to scramble to keep from falling in among the lambs and ewes. Digging into the wooden sides of the pen with its claws, it succeeded in righting itself.

Then, aware that this performance had been observed, the feline glanced up at one onlooker. The cat’s countenance seemed to say, “I meant to do that.”

Stumbling onto an Internet surprise: Kathy Robbins was looking for sites dealing with old-time gas stations and such. She saw something referring to great pumps and decided to check it out.

Suddenly her screen was filled with the image of bare breasts.

Slice answer: Moscow’s Mike Hudson suspects that the favorite topic of people who don’t know what they are talking about is other people’s romantic relationships.

Overheard on the bus (a man was looking at some large, flat object a teenage boy held in his lap): Man: “What’s that?”

Boy: “It’s art.”

Man: “Oh.”

Just because something is unbelievably garish doesn’t mean it can’t have sentimental value: While shopping for antiques, a reader acquired a bracelet that she thinks ought to find its way back to the family of origin.

It has eight charms shaped like boys’ heads. And it is engraved with eight names and birth years, ranging from 1938 to 1966. The names are Larry, Jerry, Tom, Bob, John, Ray, John Jr., and Kevin. (Boy, you don’t see those names in the birth announcements these days.)

Anyway, does this remind anyone else of that old “Dick Van Dyke” episode about the family broach that Laura hated to wear?

Speaking of TV, has this week’s international news had you singing the Coach’s geography-class memory trick from “Cheers”? You know, “Al-ban-ia, Al-ban-ia…”

Whatever. The woman who has the bracelet is well-intentioned. Our lines are open.

Today’s Slice question: Should you be worried about your personality if you derive much of your sense of self-worth from the fortunes of a basketball team to whose success you have contributed zero points, zero assists and zero rebounds?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: 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. Surveys addressed to “The Main Grocery Shopper” only start trouble.