The Slice: Remind me why I remember you

OK, where were we.

Oh, yeah. What do people say to you at parties?

Coeur d’Alene’s Nancy Burke reported that, recently, strangers have been coming up to her and asking, “Where do I know you from?”

This more or less requires her to provide a life summary and a rundown of her activities. That can be exhausting. “It just drives me crazy,” she said.

So Burke has come up with a new response: “Have you ever been in prison?”

“Exciting new medical procedure: “I was recently coming home from work listening to a Spokane radio station when I heard an ad for ‘lazy guy’ surgery,” wrote Mark Sverdsten of Cataldo, Idaho. “It took a few moments to realize it was actually ‘lasik eye’ surgery. Gave me a good laugh. But what do you suppose ‘lazy guy’ surgery would involve?”

Well, Mark, that would depend on whether the surgeon was attempting to instill laziness in the patient or eliminate it. But either way, the part of the brain that stores excuses would certainly come in for some prodding.

Of course, in severe cases, the nerves and blood vessels that connect the backside to the recliner might be the initial focus of the operation.

“Outdoor life: “I was riding my bicycle in the early morning in Sandpoint,” wrote Kary Miller. “I opened my mouth to say good morning to a friend when a honey bee flew in. It stung me on the roof of my mouth as I struggled to spit it out and not crash my bicycle.”

That smarts.

Kary wonders if others have experienced “odd” bee stings.

And along similar lines, Slice reader Keri Yirak wondered: Mosquito bites on what part of the body are most maddening?

“Passing situation: You know how certain celebrities are a BIG DEAL to some people while others are utterly oblivious to their fame?

Spokane’s Mark Rypien falls in that category.

Sunday at SeaTac, at a gate for a flight to Spokane, the onetime Super Bowl MVP waited and minded his own business. But even more fun than watching him was checking out the reactions to his presence.

An older woman sitting next to him clearly had no idea who he was. But a fortysomething man couldn’t take his eyes off him and appeared to be wrestling with himself about whether to approach the retired quarterback.

On the flight itself, Rypien’s seatmate was a whole-grain young guy who clearly didn’t know the NFL star from Adam. After landing, I asked Rypien if he paid extra to have a seatmate who is not a sports fan.

He smiled.

“Today’s Slice question: Who holds the local record for longest elapsed time between returning from a trip and actually finishing unpacking?