Did You See Shadow Today?

Thu., Sept. 21, 2000

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

Everyone in the Spokane area is mysteriously paired with a stranger.

You see that person over and over.

Whether you’re at the store or on an airliner, there he/she is.

Some people probably wonder if they are being followed. They aren’t. It’s just their Spokane shadow.

* Unpacking: When Chuck Young was in the Air Force, he and his family moved from Mississippi to Germany. “When our household goods arrived, imagine our surprise to find hitchhikers in several of the boxes - Mississippi cockroaches,” wrote Young. “We had to have our apartment fumigated.”

Adjacent apartments had to be bug-bombed, too.

“Great way to meet the new neighbors,” Young recalled.

And Elizabeth Peck told of opening a long-sealed box that had been packed in Colorado. She discovered a deceased lizard.

She saved it and put it in a frame.

* First impressions: Kathy Beaver moved with her family to Spokane from Puerto Rico in the late ‘60s. “The thing I remember is shoveling snow off the roof,” she said.

After living in a balmy climate, that first winter here was slightly surreal.

* Baby boomers corner: How many 45s did you own when your singles record collection was at its peak?

* Overheard: A guy riding an elevator apparently was thinking of Pavlov’s research on how one sensory experience can trigger expectations of another. He said certain smells prompt a “Pablo” response in him.

* Slice answer: Kellie Grant said Chris Gale is the area’s funniest Sunday school teacher.

* Sometimes it’s just better to stay home: Back in 1972, in a small town in Michigan, Sarah Owen’s dad was pulling out of a car dealer’s lot in his brand-new Ford Pinto station wagon. He hadn’t even completed his turn when he got side-swiped by a car driven by a daughter of the chief of police.

Kristi Philip’s daughter, Andrea, was rear-ended at a stop sign by an uninsured motorist 10 minutes after receiving her driver’s license.

And a local dad who wished to remain anonymous told about how his son got a DUI on the first day he had a learner’s permit.

* Word power: We know a Spokane couple who, when helping certain Cub Scouts sell snack foods to raise money for their pack, refer to themselves as “popcorn pimps.”

* Today’s Slice question: Do you know anyone who eats right, exercises and smokes?

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