The Slice: Spring comes sooner than you think

Once again, many calendars cannot be trusted.

Chances are, you have one that says spring starts on Thursday.

Don’t believe it.

In our time zone, the vernal equinox actually occurs late Wednesday night.

Geoff Chester, spokesman for the U.S. Naval Observatory, confirmed this.

So there you go. The official start of spring is closer than you thought.

Let’s move on.

Most pretentious development name: “For me, it’s any subdivision with the word ‘Estates’ in its name,” wrote Will Nye.

He said the homes tend to be cookie-cutter McMansions crowded onto small lots.

Nye imagined trying to give directions. “We’re the beige neo-craftsman with the three-car garage and the faux stone on the front. Oh…wait, that describes ALL the houses in the neighborhood!”

Also, he’s not wild about tacking on European names – “As if someone will see the obvious connection between Liberty Lake and the jewels of northern Italy” – and using words such as ridge, valley, cedar and forest when there is no ridge, valley, cedar or forest.

Nancy Hartley nominated “Golden Pond Estates” for the title of most pretentious. “The pond is not golden,” she wrote.

Friday Slice quiz winner: More than 200 readers submitted correct answers. Yes, the military installation just outside Moses Lake was called Larson Air Force Base, named after a WWII fighter ace killed in combat.

I heard from people who served there, people who were born there and lots who knew that in Air Force circles it was common to refer to the place as Moses Hole.

Quite a few readers had fond memories, though. Fielding this particular batch of answers was a pleasure.

Among those who knew the answer was Mary Ann Murphy of Spokane. “My dad, Lt. Col. Wally Matlock, proudly served there for about 10 years and harvested many pheasants that were delicious at our Sunday family dinners,” she wrote.

I’m sending her the notebook for two reasons.

1. She was among the first dozen or so to answer.

2. This gives me a chance to salute her for her efforts to improve the lives of abused and neglected children in Spokane.

Slice answers: Jack Thompson said that, in Spokane, $5,000 could buy you $500 of vice and a $4,500 installment on your payments to a divorce lawyer.

Ray Hedrick asked if it was a trick question.

Today’s Slice question: Can an early bird coexist with a night owl?