The Slice: ‘Moment’ hit from out of nowhere

People here like to talk about experiencing a “Spokane moment” now and then.

Often, this is loosely defined as a small-world encounter where you unexpectedly bump into someone with whom you have an out-of-context connection. The operating premise is that this happens more often than you might expect in a medium-sized city.

Frankly, I’ve had my doubts about whether this truly does take place more frequently here than anywhere else. But then came Monday afternoon.

I was taking a shower and heard a bang. The sound seemed to come from outside, so I didn’t really worry about it. There wasn’t much I could do at that moment, in any case.

After getting dressed, I learned that a vehicle had smashed into a wooden power pole across the street. The impact shattered the pole’s base and yanked it out of its hole. The wires above were now holding it up, instead of the other way around.

The driver had fled the scene in what must have been a seriously dented vehicle.

Soon a police officer arrived, wanting to know if anyone had seen what happened. She turned out to be someone I know, Brenda Yates. Her husband is a friend of mine. Officer Yates and I had just been at the same charitable fundraising event a few days before.

Only in Spokane? Maybe not. But still.

I just wish I could have given her a license plate number.

“Where the West meets the Midwest: Janet Lake of Kellogg phoned one of those numbers where you find out the location of a retail chain’s store “nearest you.”

She was informed it was in “Coeur d’Alene, Ohio.”

“Surprisingly, the recorded pronunciation of Coeur d’Alene was correct,” said Lake.

“Some adults cannot be trusted around children: Laura Curran was overseeing some North Idaho Cub Scouts last weekend. They were selling popcorn.

One prospective customer, a woman, responded to a Scout’s pitch by telling him she would not buy any popcorn because she does not support gay people.

Isn’t that a swell thing to say to a kid?

“How would you respond to this kind of hate?” wondered Curran.

“Los Angeles magazine notes that worn-out looking men’s dress shoes are an emerging fashion trend: “For once, Spokane was on the cutting edge,” wrote Pam Stark.

“Today’s Slice question: What Inland Northwest person, place or thing that you are supposed to revere because of local-icon status do you actually regard as overrated?