The Slice: Circulating some hometown trivia

Here are my two favorite pieces of Spokane trivia.

An S-R subscriber once complained to the circulation department about delivery boy Bing Crosby’s early morning whistling.

World War II bombers got patched up here and set back into combat.

What are yours?

What to say when cutting out of work early: “My very favorite happened a few years ago on a fabulous summer day,” wrote J. Scott Miller, a Spokane lawyer. “An employee told me he was leaving work because he was having vision problems. I asked what was the problem? He said, ‘I just can’t see staying at work when I could be fishing.’ I had to agree.”

Bill Robinson said a line from an old PBS series became the standard excuse for early departures at his business.

The TV show, a dramedy set in World War II, featured a German plan to produce counterfeit British currency. As the war became obviously lost, a Nazi general showed up and commanded that his staff car be filled with the bogus currency for his purported trip to Berlin to “die with the Fuhrer.”

After that, a procession of German officers made similar demands, declaring similar intentions.

“For 30 years or so, at Robinson Research, the preferred euphemism for leaving work early in pursuit of debauchery has been ‘I’m going to Berlin to die with the Fuhrer.’ ”

Five things about which there will never be total agreement: 1. Where “Back East” begins. 2. Does Puget Sound qualify as “the Coast.” 3. Is there an Inland Northwest accent? 4. The former Spokane TV news anchor most like Ted Baxter. 5. Wearing pajamas when going to the store.

Rebranding: A friend’s 4-year-old nephew recently bonked his head and the boy’s mother suggested they go to the store to pick out some new Band-Aids.

He chose a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles design, saying, “I got Injure Turtle Band-Aids.”

You said it, kid.

Today’s Slice question: What’s usually the biggest difference between people who moved to Spokane from bigger cities and those who moved here from smaller places?