The Slice: When saying “I love it” isn’t enough

It’s about to get rough for low-key individuals.

Next Friday, Christmas Day, performance-level thank yous will be the order of the day. And not everyone is cut out to be effusive.

But these are exclamation-point inflation times. You know, Thanks!!!!!!!!! Smiling, offering sincere appreciation and quietly expressing gratitude are not always enough.

That’s too bad. Because some wonderful, generous gifts will be received by people who tend to be subdued and self-conscious. And it would be a shame if their natural reserve were interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm for a present.

So here’s a gift we can all give. A week from today, let’s remember that not everyone is a “woo-hoo!” personality.

Today’s “couldn’t stop laughing” story: Vicki Barnes shared a memory of being with her late mother.

“A college friend was getting married over in the Silver Valley. The guy I was dating at the time (now my husband) couldn’t get the day off of work, so my mom volunteered to come with me for the wedding.

“We were seated in the church somewhere in the middle and the ceremony was going on as expected. The pastor got to the line ‘Place the ring on her finger,’ except he said ‘Place the finger on her hand.’

“My mom and I started to giggle. We looked at one another and it turned into out-of-control laughing. We had people all around us giving us dirty looks. We were actually shaking the pew we were laughing so hard.

“Once we had settled down I had a beaded necklace break and beads proceeded to bounce one by one toward the front of the church. Needless to say we were back to laughing hysterically. It just got funnier and funnier. Thankfully the wedding ceremony was about over at this time. Makeup running down our faces from the tears of laughter, we managed to make it out of the church without being lynched by any of the families involved.”

Warm-up questions: How close to Christmas does a birthday have to be before it requires friends and loved ones to make a special effort to not see the occasion relegated to afterthought status? If, instead of cookies, Spokane became known for hiding fortunes inside another food item, what edible treat would that be? Can a Christmas present be any good if it doesn’t involve lying on the floor?

Today’s Slice question: If someone’s default expression was described as “resting Spokane face” what would you take that to mean?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. “Worst gift ever” stories are almost always entertaining.