He Works North To South, Y’Know

Fri., Dec. 22, 2000

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

If you’re worried about weather interfering with certain flight plans, take heart.

With the exception of towns in Alaska, Spokane is closer to the North Pole than maybe 95 percent of the cities in the United States.

* The 10 degrees of slush-splash:

10. Light splatter.

9. Drive-by puddle paddle.

8. Spotted trousers.

7. Oh, great.

6. Thanks, punk.

5. Soaked shins.

4. What a mess.

3. Face time.

2. Tsunami.

1. Kill shot.

* Let’s see if anybody salutes it: A friend spotted that bang-up banner online.

* Best sledding spot: “The golf course just north of Metaline Falls (known locally as the Pend Oreille Country Club),” wrote John Rumelhart. “It has nice steep hills, lots of snow and no trees or traffic to hit on the way down. An added bonus is that it’s never crowded.”

* Making overshadowed birthdays special: Diane Longley’s birthday is Dec. 18. But when she was growing up, her family didn’t put the Christmas tree up until after her birthday had been celebrated.

Her mom’s birthday is Dec. 29, and Longley and her siblings try to shake off holiday burnout long enough to make sure it’s a special day.

Lori Klein’s daughter was born Jan. 1. So when she was a child, the family celebrated her half-birthday on July 1.

Julie Ingraham has twin boys born Dec. 27 and another son born Dec. 23. “On their actual birthday we have dinner at home with the child picking the whole menu and my husband and I giving them a small gift. They were all three baptized the last week of March, so we use that special date to celebrate their birthdays with the extended family and their friends.”

Mary Ann Trautman’s daughter Christy was born on Dec. 21. And to keep her birthday from getting swamped by Christmas, the family established a tradition of celebrating her day with a party one month early.

Kathy Fleming faced the situation of having two children born within a week of Christmas. For celebration purposes, she let each of them pick an “unbirthday” closer to the middle of the year.

Carla Holt acknowledges her daughter-in-law’s Dec. 23 birthday on June 23.

And Mike Schieche suggested the way to avoid this problem was for adults to curtail a certain activity in March.

* Today’s Slice question: What Christmas song makes you want to run screaming from the room?

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.