The Slice: A tale from the other end of I-90

Let’s hear from a GU hoops fan far from here.

“The Zags’ first run, in 1999, made me a very slight ‘celebrity’ in the sports radio scene in Boston,” wrote Bill Drury, who still lives back East.

Here’s how it happened.

The owner of a family-owned pizza restaurant across the street from where Bill lived was listening to a sports talk show on the radio. The on-air host asked for a Gonzaga graduate to call his show.

The restaurant owner thought of Bill. So he hurried across the street, rang the bell and convinced Bill to phone the radio show.

“I talked about GU, then would call back after each victory.”

Then, after Gonzaga lost in the Elite Eight, Bill called once more. “This time the host chided me about Gonzaga not being as good a school as his alma mater, Northeastern University, which is in Boston.”

Bill told the radio host that could not be true because he himself taught at Northeastern but there were not any NU grads teaching at Gonzaga. (He has since moved on to a different college – New England Conservatory.)

“The other absolute is, if I am wearing a GU shirt/coat, some random person will always say ‘Go Zags!’ It’s great to be a Gonzaga graduate living in Boston.”

Slice answer: Deborah Chan imagined a huckster trying to lure people into Spokane. “Step right up, ladies, gents and children! For only one thin dime, one tenth of a dollar, see the largest, deepest potholes in the world! See an elephant disappear in one before your very eyes! See the newly exposed bones of the ancient woolly mammoth in another! This amazing sight ONLY in Spokane, folks! Step right up!”

Steve Heaps wonders: “Is it just me or do others around here have their antennae go on alert when someone begins a statement with, ‘I’m not a racist, but …’? ”

Falling asleep at concerts: Classical music puts Helen Rock to sleep. “Literally,” she wrote. “Yes, in public.”

When she finally realized nothing would keep her awake during orchestral performances, she stopped attending them.

That would be fine, except her daughter-in-law is a concert violinist and, well, more on that later.

Lorelei Plagman said high school band concerts reliably had her dozing within moments of the lights dimming. “I don’t know how many head jerks woke me back up over the years. So embarrassing because the kids sounded amazing.”

Today’s Slice question: How much predatory reality should TV nature shows include?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Common complaints about neighbors include dog barking, other noise, weeds/junk cars/toys in the yard, too-frequent yard sales and RVs/boats semi-permanently parked on the street.