The Slice: Inland Northwest: launch pad to success?

I’ve been thinking about this area’s children and wondering.

To what extent is geography destiny?

We all know there are countless variables. But does growing up here tend to launch a young person in one direction or another? What special opportunities or limitations are attached to living here?

Here’s why I found myself mulling this.

Back when I was at my first newspaper job in Flagstaff, Ariz., in the 1970s, I covered a bit of everything. That included high school sports.

One of the teams I wrote about had a terrific running back named Willard Reaves. His eventual stint in the National Football League was brief. But he enjoyed many successful seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Anyway, I was watching the CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada” one recent Saturday. A between-periods highlight featured a rookie National Hockey League player named Reaves. Because he is black, I wondered if he is related to Willard Reaves, an African American.

So I went online and discovered that, after his football days, Reaves had retired in Winnipeg and that the young NHL player is his son.

Now I am not suggesting the younger man could not have become a professional hockey player if he had grown up in Arizona like his dad. Nor am I implying that all Canadian boys become hockey players. But c’mon. It doesn’t deny our individuality to acknowledge that environment can shape us to some extent.

So what about Spokane-area kids?

To be sure, parents, schools, health, mentors, aptitude, luck and other factors all play roles. But does growing up here equip our kids to excel in certain fields? Does something about life hereabouts wind up holding them back in some way?

If you would be kind enough to share your thoughts on this, I will present them next Sunday.

Warm-up question: In some families, the zeal for recycling varies. So when someone is observed being casual about what goes in the trash and what ends up in the recycle bin, do accusations of recycling betrayal ever surface?

Today’s Slice question: When it comes to meeting strangers, are your pets good judges of character?