The Slice: They don’t always have the drive

Our part of the country is known for being home to people who don’t think a trip of 300 miles qualifies as a long drive.

But have you ever noticed that some of these same folks have to be prodded with a sharp stick before they will agree to drive across town on an errands run?

Musical allusion in Monday’s Slice: The correct three words were “Hot August Night,” the Neil Diamond album title and lyrical opening to “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show.”

I suspect a lot of readers knew that. And, as requested, a few brave good-sports shared their brief song stylings. I salute them.

You can help choose a winner by checking out the fun vocal entries for yourself. Just go to The Slice Blog and find the “Hot August Nights” post. Happy listening.

Slice answers (your garden’s worst enemy): “Turkeys,” said Janice Graves.

“Me,” wrote Carl Eklund and Lawrence Killingsworth.

Spokane style: A note from Slice reader Jeff Brown gave me an idea.

What if, instead of “Sincerely,” “Yours very truly” or whatever, people here wrapped up correspondence with “Get off my lawn,” and then signed their names? You know, just for the rest of the summer.

I think that would be amusing.

But it’s really too late, I suppose. Most messages today lack a formal structure that includes a complimentary closing.

Still, adopting the cranky old Spokane guy voice could be fun. And we wouldn’t even have to stop with “Get off my lawn,” though that would seem to be the classic of the form.

We could also end emails or letters with “Keep it down in there,” “You’ll poke your eye out” or the time-honored “I’ll give you something to cry about.”

Warm-up question for former lifeguards: Ever save anybody?

Today’s Slice question: Which of your high school classmates turned out to be the biggest success? (Define that however you wish.)