The Slice: It can be tough trying to live up to that fake ID

Let’s start with fake I.D. stories. In the late ‘70s, Lee Hirschel was going to college in Cheney. His girlfriend had yet to turn 21. (Let’s call her Girl A.) So another young woman (Girl B), who was similar in appearance, gave Girl A her driver’s license. Girl B then got a new one. A few months later, Girl A went off to a summer internship in Oregon. One day, she went out after work with a guy from her office. They were going to have a drink. And they got carded.

So Girl A presented the license she had gotten from Girl B. The guy handed over his license, too.

The waitress checked the identification cards and then asked if they were married or siblings.

It turned out the guy from the office was the brother of Girl B.

Here’s another.

Bobbi Corbin used to work at the customer service counter at a discount department store.

It was not unusual for people to steal things from the store and then try to exchange them for cash. Well, because the names of some of these folks showed up on warning lists and advisories, it was not uncommon for them to use fake I.D. cards.

Corbin saw this over and over. But one guy she remembers presented an I.D. that said he was 21 and 6-foot-2.

Trouble is, he looked to be about 60 and stood all of 5-foot-2.

“And he insisted that the I.D. was legitimate,” said Corbin.

Of course, some people don’t really think like crooks.

Rick Haglund told his brother about a Department of Licensing employee accused of making copies of driver’s licenses for potential use on the fake-I.D. market.

Haglund’s brother immediately thought about a restaurant chain that has, on occasion, treated customers celebrating a birthday.

Said Haglund’s brother: “Think of all the free breakfasts you could get at Denny’s.”

“ Memorable teachers: “The teacher who made a difference for me was Gene Whiting,” wrote Linda Fletcher Hall. “He was my science/math/civics teacher at Park Junior High School around 35 years ago.”

She said he made students feel valued and respected.

Scott Walker sang the praises of Phil Snowdon, his sixth-grade teacher at Emerson Elementary. “He was very open, friendly and funny and showed me that teachers were just regular people,” he wrote. “He also showed me that adults were not the enemy.”

Liz Vogel e-mailed an appreciation of Ruth Loveland (she was Miss Conner then), her third-grade teacher in Bonners Ferry. “She really listened,” she wrote.

And Marje Peterson, who attended school in Coeur d’Alene, said it was toss-up between Gary “Big Dad” Rasmussen and Mary Ann Luedtke. “They both left a huge impression,” she wrote.

“ Today’s Slice question: When he dislikes her friends and she can’t stand his, how does a couple socialize?