The Slice: Rarely, a lot to be desired

Last month, while I was sitting in our car waiting for my wife to emerge from a South Hill grocery store, a gentleman driving an enormous SUV ran into our parked vehicle.

He wasn’t going fast. And the resulting damage to our car, though obvious, was not tremendous.

The other driver, who said he could not see our car down below, proved to be an honorable fellow. He did not change his story once the insurance companies got involved.

Moreover, I’d like to believe that if I had been in the store with my wife, he would have stayed on the scene until we came out with the groceries. Everything I read about him online after I got home that day suggested he is a substantial person.

But we all know that not everyone out there is honest and trustworthy. So here’s my question.

Have we gotten to the point where going to the store is a two-person operation — one to do the shopping and one to stay behind and monitor the parking lot mayhem? The modern version of riding shotgun, if you will.

OK, I realize it’s not possible or efficient to make every store run a two-person outing. I am also aware that dented fenders are not tragic.

Still, if you have ever spent time sitting in a crowded parking lot, you must have observed that people take more care around occupied vehicles than they do when maneuvering or opening doors near unoccupied cars. Well, assuming the other drivers can see that you are there.

In this context, the Golden Rule seems to have been the victim of a hit-and-run.

Warm-up questions: Do you suppose there are people in other parts of the country who spent one night in Spokane long ago during a road trip and still remember being here because of something that happened or something that was said during their brief stay in the Lilac City? What are the chances they are confusing Spokane with Tacoma in their memories?

Today’s Slice question: Is wearing weathered, worn out, sorry-looking shoes at this time of year a common-sense badge of honor in the Spokane area?