The Slice: The Slice: Good luck getting sleep before sundown

For adults with early bedtimes, this is a disorienting time of year.

Because it stays light so late, you can find yourself toddling off to bed as squealing little kids are running through sprinklers and guys down the street are mowing lawns or washing cars while listening to radios.

There is nothing wrong with any of that, of course. Still.

“How did you sleep?” someone in your family might inquire the next morning.

“OK,” you might answer. “At least after the preschoolers staging Big Wheels races out on the sidewalk called it a night.”

“Sports fan: Paul Tiesse and a few others were approached by a panhandler in Minneapolis. When the guy learned that Tiesse and company were from Spokane, he wanted to talk about GU basketball player Jeremy Pargo.

“Re: the Sunday Slice quiz: After I had already written Tuesday’s column declaring a winner, a couple of readers stopped by with gifts of local memorabilia.

Gene Cameron dropped off a used Budweiser Grand Prix of Spokane cap. And Karyn Christner came by with one of those insulating strips you wrap around a beverage to keep it cold – also emblazoned with the official Budweiser Grand Prix of Spokane logo.

I can’t really accept gifts that have monetary value. But these two items strike me as, um, priceless.

Thanks.

“Going for a Walk with Readers Department: I went out to Greenacres Monday and met a nice couple, Dave and Ritchie Whipple. Dave and I, along with the Whipples’ well-behaved dog, Ben, went for a walk along a ridge near the southern boundary of the Valley. Our route overlooked Veradale.

Dave recently retired after a career with Hewlett Packard/Agilent. We talked about wild asparagus, aging parents, flowers and weeds, advances in canine joint-replacement, the challenges of living beyond the reach of city services, bicycle seats, Delaware, medical specialists, a nearby natural gas pipeline, his kids and the Whipples’ surreal experience of coming home from an ocean cruise a few months ago to discover that the Inland Northwest was in the clutches of a remarkable winter.

The time went by fast.

“I have limited reports to go on: But it might be that Spokane progressives dreaming about living in, say, Portland, should think twice. While it’s entirely possible to be a somebody in certain volunteering/civic action circles here simply by showing up, that’s not necessarily true in places where progressive politics are the default position for much of the population.

Same goes for a blue-state conservative thinking of moving to Idaho.

“Today’s Slice question: What was the all-time worst adult Hoopfest team?