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The Slice: Birthdays rub elbows with history

It turns out that a few other things happened on the days we were born.

For Nick De Angelis, it was the Germans invading the Soviet Union during World War II.

Mary Shelly was born on the day President Calvin Coolidge smoked a ceremonial peace pipe with some Native Americans in the Southwest.

Chuck Boos shared his exact birthday with evangelist Billy Graham.

Japanese troops overran Guam on the day Julie Farmer was born.

Scott Walker was born on the day Marilyn Monroe died.

Deborah Lawrence Hale was born in Iowa on a day a blizzard hit her family’s town.

Jerry Barnhill was born in Colville on a snowy Easter Sunday.

And so on.

Then there was this from Patricia Mahoney. “I was born on Dec. 7, 1941, which is Pearl Harbor Day. My maiden name was Day and my grandmother was Pearl. I came within a hair’s breadth of being named Pearl Harbor Day.”

Back Midwest: Slice readers with connections to Michigan include Mike Wirt, Midge Thorin, Dian Zahner, Virginia Zuehlke Hutsell, Shirley Pantaleo, Joyce Mann, Don Thomas, Patricia Suksdorf, Kimberly Johnson and Larry Garvin. Let’s stop at 10.

Just 48 more lists of Slice readers’ names to go.

Best-written book you hated: “I hated ‘Winter’s Tale’ by Mark Helprin,” wrote Scott Burnham. “Its weakness is unusual – it suffers from too much imagination.”

Second opinion: “Paul, I’m sorry to tell you, but your jam/peanut butter/toast responders are a cheerful bunch of liars,” wrote Les Norton. “I’d wager that most of them do just what I do. They lick the knife between servings. That way there is never any chance of getting peanut butter in the jam or vice versa.”

No, Les does not live alone. Though it’s possible that could change after this item appears.

When Slice readers are at home: “My little finger on my left hand is not working properly and I can’t raise it up to its normal position,” wrote Dee Hargitt. “Therefore, each time I wash my face, I poke myself in the nose.”

Today’s Slice question: What is your favorite part of the Winter Olympics?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Please don’t refer to today as “Super Bowl Eve.”

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