The Slice: Good news on the S-R circulation retention front

Scott Jacob doesn’t really have a choice.

He has to keep getting home delivery of the newspaper. You see, it’s important to his dog.

Murphy, a smart German Shepherd/mixed breed canine, has a routine. It requires the continuing existence of daily print journalism.

First Murphy goes to get the paper at the end of the driveway. Then he brings it in and presents it to Scott.

Scott removes the paper from its protective plastic sleeve. Then he tosses that wrapper to Murphy. The dog grabs it in midair and takes it over to the garbage/recycling and deposits it.

They do this every day.

So, as you can see, converting their subscription from print to online-only would be unthinkable.

“Couldn’t do it,” said Scott.

Murphy has his own Facebook page. If you stop at a Jacob’s Java coffee stand, I’m sure they could tell you how to call it up.

And if you haven’t taught your dog something along the lines of Murphy’s newspaper routine, what’s keeping you?

Slice answer: “We knew it was time to rethink babysitters when we came home and our son was helping the babysitter with her homework,” wrote Bernadette Powers.

Embracing change: The first time Coeur d’Alene’s Ada May Foster drove her new car, she wasn’t completely sure about all of the controls. “I washed the windshield about seven times.”

Just wondering: “Do any of those people who have new license plates that begin with AUG ever check to see what happened on their license plate day?” wrote Florence Young. “You know, plate number AUG1374 would be August 13, 1974 (or I suppose, 1874). Or AUG2258 would be August 22, 1958. I realize that not all form a date (AUG7439) but I always wonder when I see one that does.”

Warm-up questions: Does someone who shares your residence enjoy a certain food item that you regard as revolting? What would a hair style called “The Spokane” look like? How did it go when your children went ice skating for the first time? How about skiing?

Today’s Slice question: A reader sharing a “Why I fired the babysitter” story told about a bottle of vodka at her home that had been partially filled with water in an attempt to hide the fact that much of the actual booze was gone.

That got me thinking. When you were young, what did you do to try to put one over on adults?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Name a place that has 10 times as much animal roadkill as the Spokane area.