Let’s focus on world down below

Here’s a finish-this- sentence multiple-choice exercise. …

No Spokane area basement is truly complete without. …

A) A pingpong table. B) A pool table. C) A bar. D) A foot of standing water. E) About 500 kinds of spiders. F) Mysterious stains. G) Mole people. H) Boxes of stuff you forgot you had. I) Signs of a struggle. J) A weird smell. K) Other.

OK, let’s move on.

•Just wondering: A few weeks ago, someone at another newspaper came up with a list of the ways those writing letters to the editor had described themselves. His focus was the “as a…” construction in which the letter-writer cited two sources of credibility. For instance, “as a concerned father and gun owner. …” Or “as a mother and former Girl Scout. …”

So, if you were going to submit a letter to the editor, what pair of credentials would you cite?

Me? I think I’d go with “as an animal-lover and asthmatic. …”

Or perhaps, “as a Spokane voter and consumer of dairy products. …”

Or, “as an early riser and recovering baby boomer. …”

OK, your turn.

•Slice answers: Before he and his wife moved to Spokane a few years ago to be near family, federal retiree Jim Carmody lived in Georgia. While there, he bought a BMW at Hank Aaron’s car dealership in Atlanta.

Once when Carmody had taken the vehicle in for an oil change, he met the baseball hall of famer. Later that day, Aaron encountered Carmody at the dealership again. Concerned that the servicing of Carmody’s car was taking too long, Aaron personally interceded and hurried things up. Then he autographed a coffee table book about his baseball career and gave it to Carmody along with apologies for the delay.

Mark Augenstine and Philip Eager told about having baseballs signed by Aaron.

Tom Kraus said he has an autographed photo dating back to when the Braves were in Milwaukee.

Me? I got my own Aaron autograph back around 1967 or 1968, before a game at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, which no longer exists. I was standing by a railing next to the field with my childhood friend, Matt Tanksley. Matt, not a shy lad, yelled, “Hey, Hank!”

Aaron came over and signed our scorecards.

The Slice had asked about Hammerin’ Hank because I have a wild hunch we will be hearing a little about his home run record this spring and summer.

•Name game: Lauren Hopkins’ first name sounds elegantly feminine now. But when she was a little kid, the high profile of “Bonanza” actor Lorne Greene complicated her life.

•Today’s Slice question: What’s the ideal personality profile for a youth-sports coach?