The Slice: Winter can be so peaceful

People badmouth winter around here, but how often do you hear loud, stupid, too-many-beers talking and laughing coming from a nearby backyard in January?

Let’s move on.

Slice answer: A reader who described herself as an atheist said she lives within earshot of church bells and savors the sound.

Sunday quiz winner: Quite a few readers knew that “Glengarry Glen Ross” was the foulmouthed 1992 movie that required a ridiculous amount of sanitizing to make it arguably suitable for TV. But I’m declaring Pullman’s Rachel Halverson the winner because she saw that F-bomb fest on an important first date.

Last word on eschewing automatic dishwashers: “My grandmother would wash while I would dry and we had each other’s undivided attention,” wrote Linda McGregor. “It was an unhurried way to catch up on each other’s lives standing side by side.

“My son-in-law, Scooter, lets his 2-year-old daughter, Claire, and 1-year-old son, Collin, stand by his side on chairs while he washes the dishes. They are so cute chatting away with Daddy, no TV, no toys – just being present in each other’s lives.”

To whom it may concern: On the evening of Tuesday, May 25, Julie Saunders’ 3-year-old son, Jude, darted out in front of traffic on Post Street in downtown Spokane.

A woman behind the wheel of a white/pearl Subaru stopped in time. And Saunders has something to say to that driver: “I’m sorry for the heart pounding that I’m sure resulted, and offer my genuine heartfelt thanks for being such an attentive, quick-to-react driver.”

Saunders was too stunned to mouth “Thank you,” but her gratitude will last forever.

Today’s Slice question: After a rainy stretch, how long does it take the low-humidity Inland Northwest to go from sodden to peak forest-fire danger?

A) A month. B) A week. C) A day. D) About half an hour. E) Other.