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The Slice: Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
There is an urban equivalent to the classic rural compulsion to fire rifle shots through road signs.
Sure. It’s ramming traffic signs with your car or truck. The evidence is all over Spokane.
OK, some of that might be unintentional. Surely not every instance of a motorist running into a ground-mounted sign involves malice aforethought.
But could there possibly be that much inattentive or intoxicated driving in Spokane?
No, seriously. I’m asking.
Comparing taking care of elderly parents to Vietnam: You sort of get an idea how old someone is when that person weighs the relative care-taking burdens of different siblings by referring to the one adult child who lives in the same town as the elderly parents as being “In country.”
Speaking of elderly parents: What do you do when an older man you know has always insisted on being the one who does all the driving but now can’t ever remember where he’s going or how to get there and resents being given directions by his wife?
Slice answer: “Yes, I attended the Rose Bowl game in ’98 with my then boyfriend who thought it more important to get to the pregame tailgate parties than to take in the Rose Parade,” wrote Susan Jackson. “He’s no longer my boyfriend.”
Our GEG airport code: “It took me many years to learn it came from Geiger Field,” wrote John McNamara of Pullman.
But he’s fine with it.
The continuing saga: “I get teased by my daughters and sons-in-law all the time because I can’t eat my scrambled eggs without ketchup,” wrote Linda Mullen.
How did she get hooked? Linda thinks it comes from watching her father and grandfather in Michigan douse their eggs with the red condiment.
Warm-up question: “One day in casual conversation I mentioned to my wife that I had seen an Elvis concert as a child (here in Spokane),” wrote Chuck Wilson. “I was surprised by her outburst, ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me?’ It was like attending Woodstock and not mentioning it for a few decades.”
So here’s the question. What personal experience have you neglected to mention to your spouse or longtime significant other that might elicit a similar reaction?
Today’s Slice question: Ever been about to affix an annual license plate sticker in freezing temperatures and had it break into multiple pieces which you then tried to stick in place on the license as if putting together a puzzle?
Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. You probably don’t need to start stocking up for your Super Bowl party just yet.