The Slice: The least you can do is stay out of my wake

‘I would like to file a formal complaint against people with no lake etiquette,” wrote Damon Taggart.

“My wife and I like to find a quiet and relaxing bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene and anchor down for the day.”

What could go wrong?

“It never fails. Lake CDA is 49.81 square miles large and yet another boat will drop their anchor right next to us. I am not trying to sound snobbish, but why in the world would someone want to anchor so close to another boat that you can smell their food and hear every word of their conversation? Or am I all wrong … what is the etiquette on the lake for how close to anchor down next to a boat you do not know?”

Slice readers should feel free to weigh in.

When writing Taggart back, I likened the situation to being in an almost empty movie theater and having some late arrivals come in and sit directly in front of you.

His theory? “People are oblivious to their surroundings.”

Be your own boss: A Slice reader at a downtown Spokane fast-food place watched a woman park in the lot, get out of her car, pull out a backpack and walk a short distance to a roadside location where she began panhandling. Claiming, no doubt, that she was stranded and just needed a few bucks to get home.

Re: Aluminum baseball bats made locally in the 1940s (last Sunday’s Slice): I posted a link to some fine coverage on The Slice Blog at www.spokesman.com. Just find the post created Aug. 6 at 11:15 a.m.

Name game: “My given name is often misspelled or mispronounced,” wrote Denice Lucas.

And she has lost track of the number of times self-styled humorists have regaled her with this one: “Have you heard about the uncle who named his sister’s twins? That’s right: De-niece and De-nephew!”

But there’s an upside. That reminds Lucas of her dear departed mother-in-law. “She loved a good chuckle but couldn’t retell a joke worth beans.”

Once Lucas told her about a firefighter who named his twin sons “Jose” and “JosB.”

When her mother-in-law retold that joke, she turned the punch line into “He named them Hose 1 and Hose 2.”

Today’s Slice question: Does your boss support you when a customer gets abusive?