Blame Hypnotic Trance On Both City, County

Fri., June 16, 2000

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

You might have noticed.

More than a few people in Spokane sometimes seem to stumble around in a hypnotic trance.

Well, it’s not their fault. This dazed state can be the result of living in a place where the city and county names are the same. “Spokane” is seen and heard so often around here that the pummeling repetition starts to affect some of us the way too many punches can short-circuit a boxer.

And then there’s the lack of fluoride to consider.

Pay no attention to those wheezing deskmates: Next Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day.

As you might suspect, humans came up with this half-baked idea — not dogs. But there is going to be one event that makes sense. It’s Take Your Dog to Breakfast, at Manito Park from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Getting together with other pets and their owners next Friday could be a fun way to start the day with a howl.

Have your dog on a leash and bring a water bowl. In addition to some sort of breakfast, there will be a pet-themed products/services fair. Dogs will get treats. And the first 100 people are to receive T-shirts.

The event is a fund-raiser to help acquire protective vests for local police dogs. The sponsor, Inland Empire Professional Pet Sitters, requests a $20 donation.

All humans must be accompanied by a canine. Call (509) 922-1147.

What to call tourists in Spokane: “Relatives.” — Mary Ann Carey.

Slice answer: “Every time I start playing my violin, my cat will come downstairs and jump on my lap,” wrote 11-year-old Roxanne Gillett.

Sometimes the feline, a calico named Checkers, tries to catch Roxanne’s bow with its paws.

“I don’t know if she is making me stop or if she likes it.”

Another victim of marketing: Phyllis Oestreich overheard a young man on her bus explaining his cell phone service. He pays $40 a month, he said. And he gets free Caller ID, free call-waiting, free voice mail …

Here’s a hint: Hire people to come to your office and stand around looking fascinated while you go on at length about your vacation. That way, your co-workers can keep working and your feelings won’t be hurt by a lack of interest in your travels.

Staying in character: A kid being a “living statue” of Alexander Graham Bell at a grade school program this week was asked by a parent what he thought of cell phones. “Never heard of ‘em,” said the inventor.

Today’s Slice question: What Inland Northwest cemetery best tells the story of this region?

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