Technology Has Its Bad Points

Thu., Sept. 24, 1998

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

A class was under way at Spokane Falls Community College when a student’s cell phone rang.

So the choices would be to step out into the hall or switch it off, right?

Wrong. “I’ve got to take this,” said the young woman with the chirping phone while remaining seated.

Apparently she was expecting a call about a job or something. And she proceeded to sit there and engage in a phone conversation.

Sigh. Real life is hard to believe.

* Our first nominee: Jill Peeler of Clayton, Wash., said her cat, Angel, just might be the Inland Northwest’s best barn cat.

“He brings us a mouse every day,” she said over the phone as a rooster crowed in the background.

Angel is a 17-year-old male with medium-length fur. He’s mostly white but has a black tail. In addition, he is partially blind and has one fang that hangs out over his chin.

“He’s a good boy,” said Peeler.

* Maybe next century: Spokane’s James W. Cooper was driving north on Division near Costco when, at a stop light, two young women in an SUV looked over at him. “If we keep going north, will we run into a freeway?” one of them asked.

Cooper told them that if they kept going north they’d run into Canada.

The encounter prompted him to think back on decades of discussion about building a freeway in that part of town. “I can remember my dad talking about the North-South freeway back in 1955,” he wrote.

* Quick kick: The Community Colleges of Spokane will offer workshops to help people understand football and hockey. Call 533-3770.

* What to call your newborn: Parents could do worse than to name a son after the bullying Lee J. Cobb character in “On the Waterfront.”

Just think. If the kid went into journalism, he’d have a great byline.

By Johnny Friendly (Your last name here).

* Walk the walk: A Coeur d’Alene reader passed along a list from Health magazine naming the five states with the highest percentage of people who walk for exercise. They are Vermont, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and West Virginia.

* Catalog of the month: Check out the fall ‘98 issue of “Collections,” from Canada’s National Philatelic Centre (or Centre National de Philatelie, if you prefer).

It’s 40 pages of fascinating stuff. Stamps are just part of it. Call (800) 565-4362 to ask for your copy.

* Today’s Slice question: Has anyone ever moved and had to do public speaking on the same day?

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