The Slice: Wouldn’t want to let these go to waste

Stand back. I’m about to dump out a bag of readers’ answers to Slice questions.

Oh, and if you are having breakfast, you might want to skip the next few paragraphs.

“The best thing about winter and dog poo is that every time it snows, my dog has a brand new canvas to begin with,” wrote Amanda Vandenberg. “However, when the snow melts and the rain sets in, everything gets too soggy and mushy to scoop up, which is the worst part of the job.”

Rod Snider agreed that, in this context, cold is good.

“Best thing is it’s frozen and picks up easy,” he wrote. “The worst is all of the unfrozen surprises after a big thaw and heavy rain.”

Unfrozen surprises. That could be a good band name.

Gail Woods, Kim Moors and others said picking up after the dog in winter can be a breeze – when the weather actually resembles winter temperatures. But a couple of readers noted that frozen backyard droppings can stick to the ground and practically need to be chiseled free.

In the matter of what object Spokane should drop from a tall building during the countdown to the New Year, readers’ suggestions ranged from a huge, glittery apple to a marmot with a mullet.

Spokane Valley’s Tim Choiniere had another idea: “At midnight on New Year’s, Spokane should drop from the top of the Spokane County Courthouse, with a safety net, all the rude food and beverage servers who ask, ‘Do you need change?’ “

Pamela Stark suggested “an oversized coupon for 50-cents-off that people can tear apart in a frenzy.”

Saturday’s column prompted Florence Young to inventory her free return-address stickers. “I currently have 1,041 labels on hand,” she wrote.

She estimates that, even if she received no additional stickers, this supply would last her 8.46 years.

L. D. Albin wrote: “I discard none of the freebie address labels, but if they are too politically offensive or unattractive I tear off the identifying tab portion of the sticker before use.”

Dora-Faye Hendricks said she tries to match the return-address sticker with the stamp she’s using. “The flag, an animal, a cartoon, et cetera,” she wrote.

Greg Cicero uses his UW alumni labels on mailings to “people who would probably not appreciate it.”

But no one reported feeling guilty about not contributing to organizations sending out free ones.

In response to another question, Pam Stevens said her mom had hoped to give birth to her before the end of 1964, for tax purposes. “She tried everything she could think of, but no luck.”

In the end, Pam didn’t arrive until Jan. 5. “As my dad likes to say, I’ve been trying to make up for lost time ever since.”

And a reader named Vanessa said that if she were a local TV news anchor, viewers would obsess about her resemblance to Mariah Carey.

“Today’s Slice question: If Spokane were an individual, what form of therapy would do him/her the most good?