The Slice: Tannenbaum recycling

Wanting to avoid the decidedly unsentimental practice of dumping Christmas trees out by the curb with the garbage after the holiday, some choose to take their trees to the forest and set them free, so to speak.

This probably constitutes illegal dumping and almost certainly contributes to the next summer’s forest fire fuel load. So why do some in the Spokane area adhere to this practice?

Because children sometimes get their way. And we prefer to cling to the vision of birds and furry woodland creatures making use of the needles and branches.

Has your family ever gone in for that form of wishful thinking recycling? (I’ll keep your name to myself.)

The Slice question from this date in 1997: What would Dr. Seuss have titled a Christmas story set in Spokane?”

“Twilight Zone”/Spokane connection: One entertaining if quirky aspect of the classic ’60s TV series is seeing depictions of the future that are, to us in 2015, actually way back in the past.

Rod Serling’s favorite time frame for stories of the future seemed to be 1974. There was an episode called “Steel,” set in the days after boxing involving human fighters had been outlawed. There was “The Old Man in the Cave,” depicting life for survivors of a nuclear war. And I’m sure there are others.

Don’t know what it was about that year that appealed to “TZ” writers. Maybe just the sound of it. Or the “10 years on” thing. But when watching reruns I sometimes wish one of the characters would allude to 1974 in a way that, of course, would have been unknowable in the mid-1960s.

“… and there was going to be a world’s fair in Spokane, Washington. But then the exchange of missiles happened.”

Slice answer: “Did my parents help with homework?” wrote Bob Braun. “They monitored my doing it. Teacher Mom proofread my writing assignments, but eighth-grade-educated Dad (North Dakota dust bowl problems) gave up when I got to algebra.”

Spokane at its resilient best: Readers have been sharing photos of downed trees adorned with strands of holiday lights in neighbors’ yards.

Today’s Slice question: I have asked this several times over the years. I’m posing the question again today.

Can you recall a time when something got you going and you just couldn’t stop laughing no matter how hard you tried?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. The Marmot Boca Raton Bowl is not affiliated in any way with the Marmot Lodge. It is named after the outdoor outfitter.