The Slice: Be true to another school

There are people who talk the talk about being loyal Cougar fans.

And then there’s Jerry Mellinger. The 75-year-old South Hill resident has attended all but four WSU home football games since the 1968 season.

Got that? He has missed a grand total of four games in 42 years.

It almost goes without saying that on each occasion he had a good reason for being a no-show. Inclement late-season weather has never stopped him, though.

Now you might assume that a guy with a house painted crimson and gray attended Washington State. But actually Mellinger went to Eastern.

He got hooked on Cougar football back when he was a linebacker at North Central High School and his team attended a college game in Pullman.

The retired state employee believes WSU will win five or six games this year. “I know there aren’t many who think that,” he said.

No, but then there aren’t many fans like Jerry Mellinger.

Gimmee: Jeff Clausen was walking out of a North Side grocery store when he encountered something new: drive-by panhandling.

Two women in a Ford Taurus were making loops around the parking lot and asking strangers if they could spare a dollar.

Perhaps they needed the cash to pay for gas.

Speaking of money for nothing: On her way downtown recently Pamela Galloway saw a guy with a cardboard sign that read, “Spaceship broken – need parts. Anything will help.”

That’s more believable than some of the entreaties you see. Maybe he works for NASA.

Slice answers: “I’m at an age (47) when many of my peers are welcoming grandchildren and minimizing risk-taking,” wrote Kathy Hammonds. “The highlight of my summer has been learning how to ride a motorcycle.”

Judd Phillips suggested that the centennial celebration in Metaline Falls should include Kevin Costner look-alikes to recall the locally filmed movie “The Postman.”

And Glenn Jacklin was among those reporting that my saying “Have a good weekend” seems to help that come true.

Today’s Slice question: Can you say your summer has been complete if you haven’t seen a praying mantis?