The Slice: Family Truckster heading to Fargo?

The clerk helping Marcie Lund’s family with their passport paperwork was so serious he almost seemed grim.

But he cracked a smile when 9-year-old Karstan piped up with, “Now we can go to North Dakota.”

Just wondering: I know some of us are sick and tired. But when did it become socially acceptable to vocalize a loud “unnhhhh” when getting in or out of chairs in waiting rooms?

Slice answer: “I thought everyone knew horse chestnuts were the ultimate cat toy,” wrote Teresa Rowell.

Sunday quiz winners: Mary Myers of Spokane and Fred Tenisci of Trail, B.C., were among the many readers who knew that Neil Young played Spokane on Oct. 20, 2007.

Another reason to live in the Northwest: “I grew up in Phoenix and on my first solo run on a bike I ran into the prickly pear and barrel cactus my mom had planted at the end of our driveway,” wrote Judie Mitchell.

Frozen in time: Mark Johnson was in town last week. And Mike Eruzione is scheduled to come to Spokane next year. So how many guys from the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team have you seen in person?

Re: Saturday’s Slice: Several business owners said they always want to hear about it when an employee has a pattern of irritating the customers.

Sometimes people know what they are doing: The cashier asked the elderly man ahead of me in line if he really intended to buy two identical birthday cards.

“Twins,” he explained.

Slice answer: Chewelah’s Owen Fullmer gives a thumbs-up to the skywalks in Indianapolis.

Today’s Slice question: When you were just starting a new sport, artistic endeavor or hobby, whose approval did you crave?