The Slice: Unlike Seattle drivers, we’re all studs

Safety isn’t the only reason to keep your head during winter driving.

There’s also regional pride to consider.

Let me explain. The list of things about which Eastern Washington can assert clear superiority over Western Washington might not be long. But “We’re not freaked out by a little snow and ice on the roads” is certainly on it.

Compared to our skittish brethren on the other side of the Cascades, we in the Inland Northwest can claim to take wintry driving in stride.

I say “claim” because there’s plenty of evidence that we have no shortage of behind-the-wheel idiots in our midst. (What kind of moron can’t remember from one year to the next that you need to slow down when your traction vanishes?) But let’s not quibble.

Let’s keep it simple. We can drive in snow and they can’t.

And it’s not just me saying this.

Seattle-area motorists became a national joke last week after a little snow during a Monday night NFL game caused fans leaving the stadium to act as if the area had been hit by a paralyzing blizzard.

Cameron Huntsucker moved to the Seattle area from Spokane a couple of years ago. And the other day he sent a note to former co-workers back here in the Lilac City. It began, “Oh, how I miss Spokane drivers, who fret not when there’s a couple of inches of snow, who laugh at a bit of ice, who soldier on through the wet, wind and slush.”

So let’s try to remember. We have an image to uphold over here.

The truth is winter driving can be treacherous. But we can at least act like it’s no big deal.

“Pet Peeves Department: It bugs golfer Stephanie Forsman when people use the expression “below par” to describe something that is inferior.

She explained how it works on the links. “Anything over par is, well, not so good. ‘Par for the course’ means you’re right on track, and anything below par is terrific.”

“Just wondering: What’s the coolest item of logger paraphernalia?

“It’s not always such a wonderful life: Diane Rowland noticed a small mention in the paper of a North Idaho resident named George Bailey being fined for failure to give immediate notice of an accident.

She wondered, “Do you suppose he hit a tree on his way to jump off a bridge?”

“Post-marital relations: “When my first husband and I got divorced, he asked for two recipes – my meatloaf and my chocolate chip cookies,” wrote a friend named Judy. “I said absolutely not.”

The meatloaf was a family secret. But the cookie recipe was actually right there on the bag of chocolate chips.

“Today’s Slice question: Which of your get-rich-quick schemes from long ago now makes you laugh?