The Slice: Do it for your bowels’ sake

Baby boomers’ aging could be a bonanza for area farmers who grow lentils.

As people get older, they tend to become more interested in, um, the digestive arts. And lentils are nothing if not a boon to what TV commercials gently refer to as “regularity.”

Lentils may not be an exciting food. But they are loaded with insoluble fiber. And that makes them an ideal part of a diet that can help you get up and do what needs to be done.

OK, I understand that many people would rather not think about such things. They would prefer to discuss yoga and Thai cuisine.

But there comes a point when style and elegance take a back seat to real life. And that’s where lentils come in. They are all about reality.

With a little creative marketing, demand could quadruple and the price of these unassuming legumes could climb. That could pump much-needed cash into the local economy.

The simple fact is a lot of people who do not currently eat lentils would benefit from several servings per week. (Onions and hot sauce help.)

Now I’ll admit it. “Bowel health” isn’t the sexiest concept to stride into the national spotlight. But as self-obsessed boomers age, Americans are certain to become less squeamish about discussing, uh, active lifestyles.

If lentil growers are smart, they’ll start positioning themselves for a bountiful future. Perhaps some informal discussions can take place at the National Lentil Festival in Pullman in August.

There’s no time to waste. So let’s get going.

“Two questions for KXLY’s Debra Wilde:

Q: In terms of Spokane TV news, is it fair to say you know which closets have skeletons in them?

A: “Not only do I know where those closets are, but I helped put a few skeletons in them.”

Q: I’ve been telling you for years that you ought to write a no-holds-barred/tell-all book about your experiences in TV news. When are you going to write it?

A: “When I do, it will be Erma Bombeck meets Jackie Collins and readers will find chapter 6 particularly eye-opening.”

“Six for 6/6: 1. What Doors song sums up the mood at your workplace?

2. Has a serious romance ever started at ArtFest?

3. How closely do you monitor the pregnancies of The Weather Channel’s women?

4. Do listeners to the BBC on Spokane Public Radio eventually start speaking with an accent?

5. Seeing as how it was started in Spokane, shouldn’t Father’s Day be a monthlong celebration here?

6. What do you think doctors would say about your plan to make sure the kids are dehydrated before the family gets in the car for a long road trip?

“True or false: People who refer to themselves as “straight shooters” often aren’t.

“Today’s Slice question: Where around here will you see the most flagrant marijuana smoking?