The Slice: Living room with a view

It’s seldom acknowledged but true.

From a purely selfish perspective, the outdoor Christmas lights that really matter are the ones on the house across the street.

Oh, sure. It’s nice if you decorate your own home in a way that pleases you each time you approach after dark. But there’s a good chance the lights you will look at most often are the ones you see when glancing out a front window.

So when you do, what’s usually your reaction?

A) “How lovely. Our neighbors have such good taste.” B) “Good God.” C) “I wonder if Boo Radley still lives there.” D) “Where are my sunglasses?” E) I live in the country or an apartment/don’t celebrate Christmas, so this doesn’t really apply to me. F) Other.

Just wondering: What Inland Northwest workplace sees the most impressive tsunami of baked goods brought by employees every December?

Three ways you can tell visiting eagles don’t care about politics: 1. If you start talking about campaign strategies, they fly off and try to catch a fish. 2. If you allude to some gasbag’s 5-point plan for this or that, the big birds might claw your face with sharp talons. 3. You can declare that you are a disgruntled voter all you want, but the eagles won’t ever change their expressions.

Slice answers: “We were on the way to go roller-skating last Friday,” wrote Pam Meyer. “My 7-year-old grandson asked me what my spirit animal was and I thought hard and came up with the butterfly. Of course, he laughed and said that could not be.”

But Pam felt her choice was affirmed when, a few days later, she saw the question about whether your spirit animal could injure you.

Next question. If you were the inspiration for a TV or movie character, with what consumer product would that character have a signature association?

Kathy Hansen had an answer. “One word: wine. Pinot noir to be specific. Or pinot gris. Well, any wine I suppose.”

And in the matter of who is friendlier to strangers, city residents or country people, one reader said, “It depends on the stranger.”

Things could always be worse: If someone argues that at least reality has not turned out like “Soylent Green,” you might note that it’s still too early to tell. That 1973 film depicted life in 2022.

Today’s Slice question: How did so many people who never ride the bus get to be experts on what bus riders are like?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. A surprising backyard bird sighting in December is like a present.