The Slice: Even cowgirls get the blues

You know what they say.

He who hesitates is lost.

I was in the post office on South Grand, waiting in line to mail a birthday present to my sister-in-law in Michigan.

Ahead of me stood a woman and a preschool girl with red hair. She was a cute little kid. But the main thing I noticed was her Western footwear.

The little girl was wearing cowboy boots. Or cowgirl boots, I should say.

This got my attention because I had recently written about baby boomer children having worn cowboy boots as 5-year-olds. And I had wondered whether small children in 2017 ever wore similar boots.

Here, squirming around her mother’s legs, was my answer.

I wanted to take a picture of the little cowgirl. But asking her mother for permission was complicated by the fact they were just about to be called up to the service counter.

As luck would have it, I concluded my business with another postal clerk before that mother and child got done. So I waited for them in the outer lobby.

But while lurking, I suddenly heard a kid’s unhappy howl coming from the service counter area. Uh oh, I thought. It’s the little red-haired girl. The prospects of getting my photo just got complicated.

When the mother and cowgirl finally emerged from the service area, I halfhearrtedly started into my asking-permission spiel but almost instantly realized the cause was lost. The kid was pitching a fit.

Still, I can report that at least one little modern-day buckaroo wears cowgirl boots. I just can’t show you a picture.

Following up: “I would like to add some context to Phil Zammit’s experience with dogs and sopranos,” wrote Nancy Klingman. “I am a soprano and voice teacher. Mr. Bennie, my Australian shepherd, was especially enthusiastic about the soprano voice as he listened to my students. When a soprano was really achieving their best sound with strong resonance, Mr. Bennie would join in – matching pitch through the phrases. I think Phil’s dog knows a good thing when he hears it.”

Then there was this, from Jim Markley. “My theory about the dog who howled along with the soprano? Everyone’s a critic.”

Warm-up question: Ringo Starr performed in Spokane on this date one year ago. Not counting that occasion, when were you in the same room with one of the Beatles?

Today’s Slice question (for those who grew up in other parts of the country): How did geography shape your Halloween experience as a child?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. In what way is your life least like a ’70s biker movie?