The Slice: Pork and beans sounds pretty tasty

Slice reader Jerry Foulger was looking through a book on soldiers’ slang from World War II when he saw that, in certain military circles, “Spokane” meant pork and beans.

“Does pork and beans seem like a dish popular here or is there another level of meaning that we might be missing?” he wondered.

Well, Jerry, I don’t know about the 1940s. But I wouldn’t mind if the expression gained currency in 2008.

Just imagine.

“What kind of place is Spokane?”

“It’s great. No nonsense. It’s pretty and the people are genuine. It’s a pork-and-beans town.”

Or maybe it could become a slang phrase synonymous with a lack of pretense or affectation.

“Katelynn, don’t get mad. But this Seattle guy you are going out with strikes me as a complete phony. He’s a snob about a hundred things that don’t matter.”

“I know. I think I need to find a pork and beans guy.”

OK, your turn.

“Modern life: Tom Emerson Jr. of Post Falls finds that something odd is happening to him more and more.

He’ll be listening to music and hear a snippet of synthesized electronic sound that seems exactly like his cell-phone ring tone. This, reflexively, prompts him to reach for his phone even though it is not ringing.

“More modern life: “About three years ago, my husband and I took two cell phones out of service but the kids keep them on to play with,” wrote Karen Mullen.

The children — a boy, 11, and a girl, 17 — occasionally recharge them.

The thing is, the phones continue to receive text messages clearly intended for others.

The notes aren’t anything that would prompt Mullen to take them away. They’re mostly things like “I’ll call you later,” “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “I’m at the bar.”

“I imagine they are being sent to the numbers we had before we canceled them,” said Mullen.

Of course, it would be entertaining if the kids started to incorporate some of this material in their daily discourse.

“Where’s your little brother?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s at the bar.”

“Warm-up question: In winter, how many shoes or boots can usually be found in the informal footwear corral just inside the door to your home?

“Today’s Slice question: If your co-workers were asked to describe what you always seem to have up on your computer screen, what content category would they mention most often?