The Slice: A one-question Labor Day Eve poll

Let’s see a show of hands.

Who has already started thinking about next summer?

You know, based on lessons learned from 2017. And internally declaring an intent to do more of this and less of that.

Thought so. Me, too.

Let’s move on.

Several readers said: You’re not a newcomer if … you saw the Spokane Indians play when they were the AAA farm team for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“See You in September”: “Two thoughts come to mind when I hear this song (and since I listen to oldies on the radio that’s quite often),” wrote Suzanne Harris. “The first is bittersweet: The love who didn’t come back because he died (in an accident) over the summer. The second is that today’s college students will never experience that sweet anticipation of looking for a letter in the mailbox and the thrill of being able to hold and read those wonderful pages.

“Facetime, Snapchat, and all the other instant communications will never replace the great experience of exchanging letters with a loved one. But, hey, they get the pleasure of staying in constant touch in a way we could never have dreamed of. I guess there are trade-offs, and if I had to choose, I’d probably opt for today’s situation. How about you? Paper or electronic communication?”

I told Suzanne her observations reminded me of being away at college and checking my campus mailbox 11 times a day.

She wrote back. “Always hopeful, often disappointed, but oh, the glorious high when there really was that letter waiting!”

Facetime: I have read a fair amount of feedback on the new drawings that have replaced photos of columnists in the S-R. It has given me an idea.

How about drawings of readers? Let’s do it.

It can be a self-portrait or perhaps you might want to have a little kid draw you. Either way, I’m hoping you will share these artistic renderings with me. And maybe one day soon when you open the paper and look at The Slice, you will see your face smiling right back at you.

Warm-up question: Is there someone in your household whose chief contribution to the running of the home seems to be staring into the refrigerator and declaring “We’re out of …”?

Today’s Slice question: If you had to guess, what percentage of those who settled in Spokane 100 years ago had once been called drifters?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Asked for their favorite name of a defunct railroad, most responding readers mentioned the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway.