The Slice: Now there’s a baby name that’s out of this world

Here’s hoping someone in Spokane’s Russian community will give birth today.

That’s because I would like to suggest naming the baby “Sputnik.” You know, to note the 50th anniversary of the satellite being launched into orbit and ushering in the Space Age.

“Nominees for inclusion in the “Seven Wonders of the Inland Northwest”: Grand Coulee Dam – Rod B. Hartman

Spalding Auto – Dave Chamberlin

Dry Falls – Liz Cox

Palouse Falls – Steve Haynes

Mount Spokane – Janet Culbertson

“Will anyone now alive ever get to drive on the Spokane North-South Freeway from one end to the other?” – Jim Roeber

“Best/worst things about fall: “Kicking leaves.” – Donna Potter Phillips

“Slick streets, stupid drivers.” – Les Norton

“Great moments in show and tell: Vikki Johnson’s mom had a sense of humor, and used to joke about her own age. But when Vikki was a little girl, she didn’t always know when her mother was kidding.

So Vikki’s second-grade teacher might have been surprised to hear the little girl inform her class that her mother was 21.

Which would have meant that she had given birth when … well, you can do the math.

“How to discover new music: Spokane’s Melanie Jackson said the first step is to try listening to something besides a classic rock station. She recommends Sandpoint’s KPND, at 95.3. “They play new and old rock and blues,” she wrote. “Great station.”

“The place with the most clocks set at different times: LuAnne Swainson nominated Spokane Community College.

“Reasons Spokane has a right to claim that it’s a great place to raise a family: “Proximity to everything,” wrote Janean Jorgensen.

Sure, there are plenty of metropolitan areas with arguably more impressive kid-friendly cultural offerings. But when residents in those places consider the traffic and distances, do they actually take advantage of those museums and science centers?

“If our friends (living in suburbs of Seattle and San Francisco) are any indication, it’s a rare outing.”

Bill Mahaney wrote, “People are friendly here – neighbors, clerks, workmen, strangers – and seem to care about others.”

“Today’s Slice question: Besides dressing in period attire – which many of us are already doing – how should Spokane note the 30th anniversary of “Saturday Night Fever”?