The Slice: Someone should teach them to use crosswalk

Daniel Rossi was driving to a coffee place on 57th Avenue the other night when he noticed that some guy was out of his vehicle and holding up traffic.

“A little confused, I angled my head for a better look,” said Rossi, who is 18.

That’s when he saw that the guy was helping a family of ducks cross the super-busy street.

“It was very cool to see,” said Rossi. “Everyone was stopped for the ducks, and this man got out in the middle of the street and walked the confused group to the other side.”

Let’s hope their luck holds up.

“Adjusting to the changing labor market: From fifth grade through high school, mowing the lawn was one of John Maxwell’s chores. His family had an old-fashioned push-mower. It took some effort, but did the job.

Eventually, though, it was time for a change. “Dad sprung for the new gas-powered mower in 1980, the week I moved away to college,” said Maxwell.

“Slice answer: Ruth Palnick, who moved here from Honduras last fall, said the title of a helpful instructional video given to all newcomers to this area would be “A Handy Guide to Spokane Street Lanes.”

She even wrote a promo for the tape: “Since so few Spokane streets have painted lane lines, this life-saving visual aid is a must.”

“Reminder: Friday is Take Our Daughters to Earth Day.

“Durable Appliance Department: Spokane Valley’s Jay Sanguinet isn’t one to turn his back on a household device just because it’s a little long in the tooth.

He bought a washing machine in 1978. And his family still uses it.

He has become proficient at making repairs. “But the way I calculate it, with four grown teenagers (20, 18, 17, 14), we’ve pushed a minimum of 25,000 loads through the old girl,” he wrote.

“Hats off: Pete Hardenbrook in Moses Lake recently counted his baseball caps. He has 216.

“I wanted to hang them on the wall downstairs,” he wrote.

His wife’s ruling? “Nope.”

“Q&A: A reader suspicious about the power and reach of the Cowles Empire wondered how there could be a sign for River Park Square in a cluster of state signs on I-90. “I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe we paid somebody.”

And that turns out to be the case, though it’s all quite kosher.

State transportation spokesman Al Gilson called my attention to the Revised Code of Washington, Title 47.36.270. “Similar signage is located on Interstate 90 for the Spokane Valley Mall, and on Interstate 5 in the Puget Sound area for Northgate, Southcenter, and the Tacoma Mall,” he said.

Gilson said River Park Square’s management paid $4,900 for the sign’s fabrication and installation.

“Warm-up question: What would be a good label for your lifestyle?

“Today’s Slice question: In the Spokane area, a mention of what subject brings know-it-alls out of the woodwork?