The Slice Phone Machines Instill A Blind Faith In Some Callers
Someone who had a wrong number left a message on our home phone that has haunted us for days: “Holly, this is Virginia. I’m very sorry. Your mother passed away. G’bye.”
We have no idea who Holly is. But we hope the sad message eventually got delivered.
Burglary/scam alert: If you live in a retirement complex or nursing home, always lock your door whenever you step out. And be extremely careful about allowing strangers to come in. It’s almost always a good idea to assume that someone could be lying.
George’s neighborhood: A friend’s 3-year-old noticed a Nethercutt commercial and announced in a sing-song voice, “I see Mr. Rogers.”
If you think you’ve had some tough breaks and have a right to whine: Check out “Indianapolis: Ship of Doom” tonight at 10 on KSPS-TV. Chances are, dying of thirst and waiting for the sharks to come and chomp your legs off beats whatever you’ve got to gripe about.
Slice answers: “There’s nothing wrong with North Idaho that being annexed by the state of Washington wouldn’t fix,” said Mary McDonnell.
And a reader named Kathleen in Coeur d’Alene said there’s nothing wrong that “Seceding from southern Idaho wouldn’t fix.”
Other answers ranged from suggestions that IQ tests be made a part of driver’s license exams to tips on expanding the gene pool.
Smells like gender gap: Women are more likely than men (88 percent vs. 75 percent) to say that the reliability of their deodorant is “very important,” according to a survey.
Warm-up questions: Which of your co-workers has the most astonishing record of forgetting to zip up? How many local grade school kids are aunts or uncles? Who around here has the job that is most demanding when it comes to having to read illegible handwriting?
Today’s Slice question: Who has the hardest-to-find home in the Inland Northwest?
Send us the easiest-way directions to your place. Assume the person is starting in downtown Spokane. And tell us about how ridiculously lost some of your visitors have gotten.
If your directions are deemed to be THE most complicated, we’ll send you a handsome compact umbrella. The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday. And, no, we won’t help burglars by actually printing the directions.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
MEMO: The Slice appears Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. Remember to boycott “Northwest” calendars that are really Seattle/Portland calendars.