The Slice: No better time to hit the road

We have arrived at long car-drive season.

It almost seems as if the sun will never go down.

Life in these times: There are no longer any trash barrels in my post office, at least not near where I have a P.O. box. And I would be amazed if anyone has said a word about it, because we can all guess why they’re gone.

What to say while trying to not step on slugs: Several readers came up with good suggestions, ranging from lines in dancing-themed movies to song lyrics from same.

One of those folks should, by rights, be the winner.

But Dave Whipple mentioned the old song “Papa Loves Mambo.” And I cannot get it out of my head.

Papa loves mambo

Mama loves mambo

So maybe if I send him the coveted reporter’s notebook, that act will purge my consciousness of the infectious voice of Mr. Perry Como.

Look at ’em sway with it, gettin’ so gay with it

Slice answer (gubernatorial canines): One might suspect Colville’s Lisa Huff is a tad cynical about politicians. Because she said that a dog breed best suited for fame because of its relationship with the governor of any state would be a bulldog-Shih Tzu mix.

I’ll let you guess what Huff would call that combination.

Timing is everything: “An important tip for Inland Empire parents is to have their children take their driver’s ed in the dead of winter so their first snow driving is in someone else’s vehicle,” wrote Janice House.

Farmer tans as a predictor of how someone will vote: “In view of our usual local election results, it seems to me that just living in the 509 area code is a pretty reliable indicator of how a person will vote,” wrote Peggy Coffey.

But Jerry Dormaier, who has come by years of farmer tans in the classic rural fashion, said he is living proof that sweeping assumptions can be mistaken.

Today’s Slice question: How many of those who are into personal Fourth of July fireworks connect their pyrotechnics to the historical underpinnings of this tradition?