Drivers Don’T Get To See It All

Jon A. Holloway walked downtown from his home at 22nd and Garfield the other day.

“I was reminded that as a pedestrian one sees a lot that the motorist misses,” he wrote.

He saw some knockout gardens.

He saw drivers aggressively turning into crosswalks occupied by pedestrians.

He saw side-by-side pedestrians show no interest in making room on the sidewalk for an oncoming person.

He saw cars on hills parked with their wheels turned the wrong way.

And he saw a woman struggle to get a baby in a car seat secured inside her vehicle — a process complicated by the fact that she was yakking on a cell phone at the time.

* Young chefs: We’re told by reliable sources that the 8-year-old Potter twins can really cook. Tim makes tasty omelettes while Nick prepares perfect French toast.

Joyce Crabb sang the praises of her 7-year-old niece, Makena McCluskey. “She started to help fix meals at the age of 3, pulling a chair up to the kitchen counter,” wrote Crabb. “She doesn’t have a very broad range of dishes that she makes as she isn’t allowed to operate the stove. But she makes one heck of an egg sandwich. And a major plus is that she also washes the dishes.”

* Shout: Bicyclists sometimes wonder why they are hoarse after a long ride. But it’s not much of a mystery.

For riders who attempt to converse with companions during the ride, the experience is the equivalent of yelling for several hours.

* Overheard on the bus (young woman in a wheelchair referring to the injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down): “It could have been worse. At least I can move my arms.”

* Just wondering: What’s the most heated encounter you’ve witnessed involving a homeowner and a person whose dog is fertilizing the lawn?

* Six things not responsible for water in your basement:

1. Socioeconomic class antagonism in Spokane and the difficulty of achieving a community-wide consensus about anything that stands to benefit the wealthy.

2. The delusional self-importance of prominent people’s spouses.

3. The percentage of Spokane’s population that ought to be in jail.

4. Jackson Browne’s “Fountain of Sorrow.”

5. Whispering co-workers.

6. Sign pollution.

* Just a thought: Those incapable of seeing themselves as others do are probably better off just staying home.

* Today’s Slice question: Who is the No. 1 most plastic person in the world of Spokane TV news?