The Slice: There must be some more people we could honor to get some time off

You know, a person could get used to these three-day weekends.

Any chance MLK Day could be moved up to this coming Friday?

No, he’s feeling fine: Retired teacher Tom Brattebo recently visited some third-graders he had known when they were younger. They were glad to see him.

“We thought you’d expired,” said one of the kids.

Family Phrases Department: “When our now 24-year-old son, Frank, was 2, he called Mt. Rainier ‘Mt. Reindeer,’ ” wrote Becky Severinghaus. “Needless to say, we still refer to it as that.”

Linda Higley’s son, Cale Russell, is responsible for the family calling a certain insect a “humble bee.”

In Tomas Lynch’s home, “pajamatize” means to get ready for bed.

Connie Gutierrez has a sister-in-law named Eva for whom English is a second language. Once when Eva meant to say “all of a sudden” she instead came out with “real of a sudden.”

“Since then, it just doesn’t seem right to say it any way but her way,” said Gutierrez.

Karen Buck once asked her son if there were any chips left in a bag. “No, not really,” he answered. “Just casserole topping.”

That expression lives on.

And Sandy Tarbox has long referred to a grocery outlet that sells dented cans, discontinued items and odd lots as the Used Food Store. “I accidentally wrote a check once with that name on it and had a hell of a time explaining to the clerk that I meant no disrespect.”

Slice answers: “In our household, 2010 is going to be the year of the empty nest,” wrote Tim and Julie Tveit. “Whew! Yeah!”

And Steve Peck, who was in the military stationed in South Korea at the time of Y2K, remembers the concern that widespread computer crashes might trigger an invasion from North Korea.

Today’s Slice question: When your extended family is gathered, how much does deciding what movie to see resemble culture wars?