The Slice: Blinded by the lights

So here’s the question.

If you enjoy seeing holiday lights on the house across the street, do you owe it to those neighbors to decorate the exterior of your own home?

Let’s move on.

Renaming Spokane International Airport: Keith Alloway had an idea.

Greater Spokane Aerodrome.

Slice answer: John McTear saw the question about whether readers missed being able to go to the arrival gate when greeting deplaning passengers at the airport.

It reminded him of a time, years ago, when he often flew out of Salt Lake City.

He recalled that it was not unusual to encounter welcoming contingents complete with balloons and banners there to greet returning church missionaries.

“When the returning missionary they were waiting for appeared, all exit traffic was stopped while everyone waiting had their chance to hug, kiss and squeal. This ritual was repeated for each returnee. People with connections would be going crazy from the delays.”

Hearing the northern lights: “My husband and I heard the northern lights when we lived in North Pole, Alaska, in the mid-1980s,” wrote Linda Fletcher Hall. “When it was minus 40 or lower, we would bundle up around midnight and go for a walk to see and hear them. It’s one of our favorite memories of Alaska.”

Though some researchers who have looked into the phenomenon suggest the sound is subtle, longtime Alaska resident Emil Wunderle likened it to the noise from a fast-moving freight train.

Today’s Slice question: When it comes to seasonal greetings, what’s your choice?

A) I say “Happy holidays” because it’s more inclusive. B) I say “Happy holidays” because the angry people who insist we should all say “Merry Christmas” annoy me. C) I say “Merry Christmas” because the tenor of the season is largely secular. D) I say “Merry Christmas” because that’s what I’ve always said. E) I mix it up. F) I first ask myself, “What does Fox News instruct people to say?” Then I do the opposite. G) I say “Merry Christmas” because not one of my many non-Christian friends is offended by this. H) I say “Merry Christmas” because, to me, saying “Happy holidays” promotes a false equivalence and the idea that Hanukkah is the biggest Jewish holiday when I know it’s not. I) I take a knee.

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. If “It’s a Wonderful Life” was about your experiences, would “wonderful” still work as the operative adjective or would you sub in a different word?