The Slice: Finding common ground in Spokane

Today’s Slice is a quiz for those in mixed marriages.

You know, couples consisting of one person who grew up here and one person who moved to the Spokane area from far away.

Over the years, I have had a tendency to think of most local couples as being either natives married to natives or transplants hitched to transplants. But of course, that’s crazy. There are plenty of lifers married to people from other places. And I think these couples might have special insights about life in the Inland Northwest.

So here are a dozen quick questions for husbands and wives who started life far apart but eventually came together. Please feel free to share your answers with The Slice.

1. Has the person who grew up here ever said, “It’s a Spokane thing – you wouldn’t understand”?

2. Has the person who grew up elsewhere ever said, “I don’t care if it’s the way people have always done it here – it’s nuts”?

3. In your marriage, is the transplant actually the bigger Spokane booster?

4. Have you, after getting married, moved away and then come back?

5. How would you characterize your relatives’ attitudes about the Inland Northwest?

6. Does the person who grew up elsewhere sometimes assume that he or she is qualified to be a spokesperson for the rest of the country in all matters?

7. Do both husband and wife stretch the truth about the weather extremes they experienced as children?

8. Is there some point, say, after 40 years, when the newcomer is no longer expected to feel as if he or she just arrived?

9. Did you rear your children with a “you’ll want to stick around” mindset or a “get out of here as soon as you can” attitude?

10. Does the lifer regard himself or herself as an expert on all things Northwest even if his or her actual set of experiences is rather limited?

11. Does the transplant regard himself or herself as an expert on everything from diversity to urban highway traffic even though he or she grew up in a place a lot like Spokane?

12. Are most of your friends born-heres, moved-heres or other mixed couples?

Today’s Slice question: Has motorists’ horn-honking etiquette changed in Spokane?