OK, it’s March.

Spring is on the way.

But I wonder. How long will it be before spoken recollections of this winter veer toward tall tales and away from descriptions of reality?

Not long, I suspect. I’ll get back to that in a second.

Mostly what we learned this winter is that Spokane is an easily dazed lightweight when it comes to coping with deep snow.

One decent jab to the jaw, and we’re staggered.

It took a geologic age for streets to get plowed. More than a few stretches of sidewalk remained glaciated for a month.

Buffalo or St. Paul, we’re not.

It’s not really residents’ fault – well, except maybe for those who begrudge any and all taxes for basic services. Perhaps you can’t even blame city planners. We wound up getting more snow than usual. That probably won’t happen next winter.

But any “bring it on” fantasy about Spokane being hardy and rugged when it comes to winter has been revealed to be a joke.

We’re a city where the basic plan for winter is to hope it’s a mild one. Some years, that turns out to have been a safe bet.

Still, I wonder how the winter of ‘07-‘08 will sound in stories when we’re lying on beaches or out on our boats this summer. I’m betting the mostly mild temperatures will get way colder and the snow drifts deeper.

We want to believe it was a mighty blow that sent us crumpling to the canvas.

But the truth is we just can’t take a punch.

“On the other hand: A lot of pretty adorable people live here.

I’m still hearing about households where the pets have first dibs on chairs and comfy spots on the couch. If I’m correctly reading between the lines, some of those who defer to their cats and dogs are gruff old guys you wouldn’t automatically recognize as total softies.

Some pets have it good.

I wish they all did.

“Saturday Slice quiz: What former professional athlete who grew up in North Idaho co-authored a sports book in the late ‘60s that became a best seller?

The correct answer might win you a coveted reporter’s notebook.

“Make way for cats named Elizabeth Bennett and newborn boys called Fitzwilliam: I predict the recent PBS Jane Austen fest will lead to a lot of babies and pets being named after some of her characters.

“Rest easy: Slice reader Paula Heikkinen Grayhek wrote to say that those who got stabbed with pencils as kids should not worry about lingering lead poisoning because pencils don’t use actual lead.

“Today’s Slice question: If you were going to use the opening of a song as your alarm-clock sound, what song would you choose?

Me? Well, there’s always that one Pink Floyd number with the clocks. But I think I’d go with the opening guitar blast of the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night.” Either that or the introductory horns from any one of a dozen big-band classics.