The Slice: Sons shine bright on her last drive

Tekoa school bus driver Dorothy Lindgren retired late last month after 54 flawless years on the job in Whitman County.

On her last day, she got a surprise.

Just as she was about to make her final afternoon run, three special passengers emerged from the junior high/high school.

It was Lindgren’s sons. Roger had flown up from San Diego. John had come over from Vancouver, Wash. And Ken had come from nearby Oakesdale.

Lots of smiles. And, yes, a few tears.

Taking the air: My friend Jeff was doing about 70 on Interstate 90 near Liberty Lake with four “granddogs” in a midsize SUV.

Suddenly Frank the Tank, a personality-plus pooch who is half Chihuahua and half dachshund, stepped on one of the backseat window controls. The window came down all the way.

Frank proceeded to lean out of the opening. Way out.

“I nearly had a heart attack,” said Jeff.

He realized it could end badly for Frank, to say nothing of what would happen to Jeff if he had to report the dog’s demise to his daughter.

From the driver’s seat, Jeff tried to raise the window. But Frank initially refused to pull his head back.

In the end, everyone survived. Still, it was a good reminder about the importance of familiarizing yourself with the “dog lock” window-control overrides.

Slice answer: One response to the question about subspecies of Spokane 20-somethings came from a reader who asked to remain anonymous because he is involved with the high-energy woman who inspired his answer: “Serial organizers.”

Thursday quiz: Lots of readers knew that back in the early ’70s, a few years before it started calling itself a university, Eastern Washington State College switched its sports nickname from Savages to Eagles.

Today’s Slice question: How do vegetarians react to the smell of bacon frying?