The Slice: Catch a ride if you can in Ketchikan

IF YOU VISIT Ketchikan, Alaska, you can take a tour of the island city in a horse-drawn trolley. And if it turns out your guide is the knowledgeable Stephanie Giese, you might well assume she is a native Alaskan.

But actually, Giese grew up in Coulee City and now winters in Ritzville. Her mammoth Belgian draft horses, Rambo and Prince, also travel back and forth between Alaska and Washington.

This is her fifth tourist season in Ketchikan, a standard stop for cruise ships.

“I run into a lot of people from Eastern Washington,” said Giese, a 1999 graduate of Almira/Coulee-Hartline High School.

“ Slice answer (middle name stories): College student Jennifer Dickinson Singleterry’s dad is a pastor now. But before that, he was an English major. Her brother’s name is Andrew Eliot Singleterry.

She likes her middle name but admitted that neither she nor her brother care much for poetry.

“ Finish this sentence: “Our tent might have been the worst in the history of Northwest camping for the simple reason that …”

“ Feedback: After The Slice noted a couple of actresses from north of the border, several readers pointed out that the license plates up there do say, after all, “Beautiful British Columbia.”

And Karen Botker of Post Falls wrote to say that one reason some local birds might appear to be putting on weight is that there is a fatal disease now affecting certain avian populations which causes a bloated appearance.

“ Slice answer: Karen Swanson said few pets could possibly enjoy hanging out by the window more than her cat, Tallulah.

“ By the numbers: The question about encountering your street address in other cities prompted this e-mail.

“My name is Mark Bauernfeind. A rare last name around here and very German, roughly translated to mean ‘Farmer’s enemy.’

“I moved to Spokane in 1978. Mostly my phone has been unlisted with no other Bauernfeind listed until about 10 years ago when Peter Bauernfeind was listed in the Spokane phone book.

“I called him to see if we have any relatives in common (since the name is so unusual). We don’t.

“Now, my dad lived in the same house in Denver from 1949 until his death in 2000. The address was 1601 S. Madison.

“Peter’s first Spokane address (back when the compass modifier went before the street) was S. 1601 Madison.”

“ Today’s Slice question: What are some ways Spokane is slightly different?

I’ll give you an example. Though I cannot prove it, I believe local men in upper-income brackets are slightly more likely than their counterparts in most other cities to know how to work on cars.