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The Slice: Fifty shades of ‘Thanks for coming’
That’s really unfortunate. So today I want to address that by saluting everyone who came here from the following places.
So, thanks for…
Alabama: Understanding humidity (the real thing). Alaska: Your informed perspective on mosquitoes and bears. Arizona: Understanding the absurdity of “But it’s a dry heat” when it gets above a certain temperature. Arkansas: Calling the hogs. California: The scholarship athletes we borrow. Colorado: Getting high. Rocky Mountain high. Connecticut: Knowing the location of “back East.” Delaware: George Thorogood. Florida: Coming all this way. Georgia: The second-best sweet onions. Hawaii: Putting up with people asking “Why?” Southern Idaho: The famous potatoes and extended families. Illinois: Knowing about the urban/rural schism before you ever got here.
Indiana: “Hoosiers” and “A Christmas Story.” Iowa: “The Music Man.” Kansas: Tolerating people who repeatedly note that you’re not there anymore. Kentucky: Bottled spirits. Louisiana: Hot sauce. Maine: Greeting each new day. Maryland: HBO’s “The Wire.” Massachusetts: The story behind “Spotlight.” Michigan: The Corvette. Minnesota: Coping with winter through culture. Mississippi: The blues. Missouri: Being the Gateway to the West. Montana: Being the West.
Nebraska: Talk-show hosts. Nevada: Being where Moe Greene got his. New Hampshire: Live Free or you know what. New Jersey: HBO’s “The Sopranos.” New Mexico: Those enchanting license plates. New York: Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont. North Carolina: The idea of Mayberry. North Dakota: The childhoods of so many good people in the S-R obits. Ohio: Presidents and astronauts. Oklahoma: Having a state flag honoring Native Americans. Oregon: Being worth a covered-wagon journey once upon a time. Pennsylvania: The Declaration of Independence.
Rhode Island: Clam chowder. South Carolina: Coming here with your stories of insects that could be saddled. South Dakota: HBO’s “Deadwood.” Tennessee: Barbecue. Texas: A different style of barbecue. Utah: HBO’s “Big Love.” Vermont: A name that means “Green Mountain.” Virginia: George Washington. Western Washington: J.P. Patches, et cetera. West Virginia: The oddest outline of any state. Wisconsin: Cheeseheads. Wyoming: Devil’s Tower and “Shane.”
All fine places. All ingredients in our big pot of Spokane stew.
Today’s Slice question: How many people you know say “Daylight Savings Time” even though the correct way to say it is “Daylight Saving Time”?
Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Nancy Vick’s idea for a local password exchange: One person says “SPO-CAN,” then the other says “SPO-CANE.”