The Slice: Lake water running in her veins

I crossed paths with a friend outside a post office the other day.

She and her husband had sold their lake place a couple of years ago. So I asked how much they were missing it.

She made sort of a funny face and then admitted something.

“We bought another one,” she said.

I’ll bet that’s not the first time that has happened here in “Going to the lake” country.

Let’s move on.

Slice answer: Is Spokane in the middle of nowhere? Steven Stuart had an answer.

“I grew up in Cataldo, Idaho, population of 74. I also worked for four years in Stanley, Idaho, year-round population of around 100. To show how middle-of-nowhere Stanley is, we used to go to Boise, 120 miles away – two mountain passes – just to eat at a McDonald’s. Thus I consider Spokane not anywhere close to the middle of nowhere.”

One word to describe how you look in a swimsuit: “Sixty,” said Nils Swanson.

Slice answer: After mentioning a dog presenting me with a copy of the newspaper upon my arrival at the home of two readers, The Slice asked what tangible symbol of your occupation that dog might bring you.

Gonzaga University’s Kathy Hill had an answer. “He’d bring me a solicitation from the National Science Foundation because I coach grant-writing.”

Today’s fireworks advice: This comes to us from Gary Polser, a retired Air Force bomb disposal technician.

“Leave your matches at home and watch others from a safe distance.”

How to know when you have gone from merely sweaty to disgusting: One reader said it’s when his wife tells him he is “ripe.”

Let the good times roll: “You really should wear your glasses when dialing your cell phone,” wrote Donna Potter Phillips. “I thought I was calling my daughter in Pullman, 509-432-XXXX, but I dialed 504-432-XXXX. It didn’t sound like her, but heck, sometimes we do have a bad connection. I even asked, ‘Is this Jane?’ And she said ‘Yes.’ But she had no clue who I was or why I was calling and I was peeved that she didn’t know what I was talking about.”

Area code 504 is New Orleans.

Today’s Slice question: Which word do you find most often in sentences referring to Spokane?

A) Elegant. B) Hardscrabble. C) Homespun. D) Dank. E) Underrated. F) Irascible. G) Flummoxed. H) Paroled. I) Besotted. J) Savory. K) Unaffected. L) Infested. M) Languid. N) Portions. O) Gruff. P) Felicitous. Q) Ardent.

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Not everyone wants to be found by people from their past.