The Slice: A better reason to give peas a chance

A friend has figured out how to get her preschool daughter to eat vegetables. Well, sort of. It seems the little girl has been bumping her head a lot lately. And so her mom has been soothing the child by using bags of frozen peas as ice packs. Now this kid would not normally volunteer to eat peas. But when they are presented as a way to control swelling, the little girl inexplicably finds them appealing. So while her latest noggin bump is being addressed, she snacks on some of the cold legumes. DECKED OUT: The other day on The Slice Blog — 4,750 posts you have not read — I admitted that I have never been to either Disneyland or Las Vegas. I assumed that some readers would react to that by silently paraphrasing the wise old chief in “Little Big Man”: “That makes you strange to me.” But because I am already in confessional mode, I might as well go all the way. Hi, my name is Paul. I live in Spokane and my house doesn’t have a deck. There, I’ve said it. Judge me. OK, I realize others share my shame. And I further understand that lacking a deck does not actually preclude one from experiencing sun-kissed moments that produce laughter and smiles. But the warm weather is coming. And soon the Deck People will be talking about their active deckian lifestyles. To hear some of them describe their coldies-and-sunglasses summers, you would think having a deck on the back of your house is a prerequisite for enjoying a full, rich existence. So where do you come down on that? MYSTERY OR SIMPLY EXPLAINED — YOU MAKE THE CALL: Frowning seems to be the default expression for many people working in their yards or gardens. TODAY’S SLICE QUESTION: You remember, of course, Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man” and his reliance on the “Think system” when it came to having the boys in the band learn to play their instruments. Well, have you ever tried a similar approach in some other area of endeavor? If so, what were your results? Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. I’ve wondered if people who work in department stores are watching “Mr. Selfridge,” the current PBS “Masterpiece Classic” on Sunday nights.