The Slice: The odds must be better than 1 in 365

My friend John Mraz has a question.

How many people move into a new neighborhood and find out that someone next-door or across the street shares your birthday?

It has happened to John twice. That’s pretty unusual — even more remarkable than the simple fact he actually knows his neighbors.

Arriving at a code of conduct: “Our two daughters and their husbands and grandkids, all of whom live in Southern California, were in town for Bloomsday,” wrote Jim Clanton. “I was giving them some jabs about the water situation in So-Cal, telling them to feel free to take looooooong showers, let the kids run in the sprinklers, flush the toilets as often as they like, etc.

“Well, sure enough, we are all scurrying around getting ready for Bloomsday and what happens? The water goes off in the entire neighborhood.

“I guess it’s best just to keep one’s mouth shut.”

Temporarily out of stock: Following a friend’s gardening-related recommendation, Sheila Wood tried to find something called “alpha alpha.”

“I hunted for it all over Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, and the Spokane Valley. No one carried it or had even heard of it.”

Eventually, after contacting her friend again and more searching, Sheila realized she was supposed to be looking for “alfalfa.”

Batting 0 for 3 on commencement ceremonies: My friend, John Kafentzis, shared a list of reasons he missed his own graduations.

High school: Had landed a job in another town that started the same day.

College: Was in a bike race that day.

Grad school: Had accompanied his wife to a professional conference.

If the Marmot Lodge had a newsletter: Dave Swett thinks it should be called The Straight Poop.

One thought that occurs to Moscow’s Blake Ballard when he reads the obits: “All the good people are dying off, leaving a higher and higher proportion of evil people.”

Today’s Slice question: What happened after you had adhered to a vegetarian diet for quite a while and then went on a meat binge?