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The Slice: It was all going downhill
“My first (and only) ski run was at Red Lodge, Montana,” wrote Patricia Klingman.
She found herself at the top of the beginners hill, wondering what to do next.
“A lady whom I still believe was my guardian angel, noticed my plight. She asked if I knew how to stop.”
Patricia did not, so the woman showed her.
“That done, gravity took over. I was going faster than any human ever went before when I saw buildings approaching. Uh, oh. I tried the stop thing.”
It worked. “After that, if I went to Red Lodge it was only for lunch or shopping.”
Near nature: “I know that ‘It’s Spokane’ and people dress casually for everything, but I was rather stunned to see a man in camo pants at the symphony,” wrote Sue Swanson.
Animal tracks in the snow: When Tim Wink was a little boy, he would sometimes ask his Uncle Ron about wildlife footprints in the snowy woods.
Uncle Ron would say they were made by a Redassrunatcha. He explained that it was best to steer clear of them because once they saw you they would, as the name suggested, “Run right at you.”
“I was scared to death,” recalled Tim.
Cheri Moore told about how they lived in a house with a dramatically slanted roof when her children were young. The edge of the roof came close to the ground. As a consequence, the family dog, a cocker spaniel mix named Lady, had no trouble getting up on top of the house – even when there was snow up there.
This, of course, looked for all the world like reindeer prints at a certain time of year.
Slice answers: How much would you be willing to donate to a college sports program so you could drink beer in an exclusive setting with other donors and possibly rub shoulders with athletes?
“Absolutely zero dollars,” said Herb Postlewait.
George X. Hale said he wouldn’t even consider hanging out in such a setting unless they paid him at least $500.
Today’s Slice question: Do you have your New Year’s midnight kiss planned?
Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. You would have gotten the answer to a crossword puzzle clue earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal. It asked you to name the city that was the site of the 1974 world’s fair.