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The Slice: Rain, sleet, snow … turkeys?

Spokane mail carriers on their appointed rounds might have to contend with unleashed dogs.

But down in Dayton, Wash., postal employees occasionally have to battle hostile wild turkeys.

It’s no joke, said a Dayton postal worker named Nancy. “They can be very, very aggressive.”

Of course, with Thanksgiving just five weeks away, the ornery birds might be wise to lay low for a while.

•Pet names: Gregorio Munoz III of Cheney has a Lab mix called Kaniksu, named after the national forest where the family enjoys camping.

One time they were there and the pooch got away from Munoz’s sister-in-law during a huckleberry-picking foray. So she went around calling out, “Kaniksu! Kaniksu!”

Several strangers gave her funny looks.

Eventually she realized that might have been because she was marching around in the Kaniksu National Forest yelling “Kaniksu!”

In any event, the dog got back to camp before she did.

•People names: Maia Newell-Large reports that her parents have not had any real problems with keeping their own last names. “I, however, inevitably end up having to explain to various people that I am not married, or divorced, or adopted, or that my parents are still married, as the concept of a child with two last names is apparently more confusing than a married couple with two separate names.”

•Questionable ideas: 1. Drinking beer while hunting.

2. Newspapers expecting readers to accept the notion of a wall between the editorial page and news coverage.

3. Alternatives to bathrooms when there’s a basement bedroom.

•When nostalgia beats reality: Last week, a woman who had watched a televised replay of an old football game in which WSU came back in the last minute to defeat USC called the S-R the next day to complain about the lack of coverage of the thrilling victory. She didn’t realize she had been watching a vintage contest. And as there was about to be another WSU vs. USC game, this created confusion.

But this all gives me an idea. Maybe the Cougs’ offense should try time travel.

•Fan mail: “Love your column except when you ramble on and on and on about one subject,” wrote Donae Thornburg of Airway Heights.

•Remember: The deadline for entering The Slice’s Jack-o’-lantern Photo Contest is Monday.

•Today’s Slice question: Believing you were just talking to yourself, what is something you have said out loud and then realized that there was someone else within earshot?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098; e-mail pault@spokesman.com. Don’t try to look tough for your driver’s license photo.

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