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The Slice: Did you ever find your gloves?

How about a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past?

Or at least his Northwest cousin, the Ghost of Dec. 23 Past.

Here are some Slice questions that appeared on this date in years gone by. Let’s see how dated they seem.

I remember some of the answers. Perhaps you do, too.

1994: Who holds the Inland Northwest record for most pairs of gloves lost in one winter?

1995: Do people with birthdays at this time of year feel cheated?

1997: What percentage of those attending a Christmas midnight Mass think they are taking part in an entertainment event as opposed to a religious service?

1999: What would be the ingredients in Spokane sauce?

2000: Has a gift ever prompted you to reconsider what you thought of someone?

2003: When those in your family or social circle have radically different tastes in movies, how do you pick one to see?

2004: What possible explanation could there be for not being in the Christmas spirit?

2005: Why did you decide to stop sending Christmas cards?

2006: What word best describes Spokane’s most prevalent attitude about Christmas tipping?

2007: If time travel were possible but restricted geographically to the Spokane area, what year and place would you want to go back and visit?

2008: If you have been more or less snowed in, what will induce you to finally venture out?

2010: What would be the perfect Northwest snack to leave out for Santa?

2011: How many people hold wrapped gifts to their foreheads and guess, Carnac-style?

2012: Do you have any Christmas Eve Eve traditions?

Warm-up question: If Christmas carolers appeared outside your front door would you be more likely to open up and listen to the singing or shout something about being armed and tell them to get off your lawn?

Today’s Slice question: Do people who actually understand how we catch a cold or otherwise get sick eventually just give up on correcting friends and family members wedded to a more folklorish/old wives tales vision of virus/bacteria transmission and causes of weakened immunity?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. As long as there is winter and carrots there will be snowmen of questionable taste.

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