The Slice Many Allergic Reactions Occur In Checkout Line

Everybody knows that plenty of people around here are sensitive to various kinds of pollen.

But if you asked us, we would say far more Inland Northwest residents are allergic to paying full price.

Vintage bumper stickers still on the streets: Cheney’s Bob Neubauer saw “Nixon is the One” when over in Seattle recently. And closer to home, Carol Baker spotted a “Remember the Pueblo” sticker not long ago.

Another reader said his pastor, the Rev. Robert Premus, drives around with “Chicago Bears Super Bowl Champions” on his bumper.

Name game: “In 1949, the senior class at North Central had 14 Shirleys,” wrote Shirley Shaffer.

The name was inescapable because of Shirley Temple.

Seeing the world with the perspective of someone learning to color pictures with crayons: Nancy Witter was helping her 4-year-old son Brent brush his teeth when she found herself brushing his gums. The boy was quick to notice. “Mom,” he chided. “Stay in the lines.”

Keri Yirak thinks The Slice ought to have an Ugly Shrub Contest: OK. Let’s see some pictures.

Slice answer: “Dressing a little provocatively doesn’t have to elicit reactions from anyone - it can simply make you feel different (more confident, attractive),” wrote Kathleen Buchanan. “What others think isn’t the point.”

Handy around the house: “You can tell a lot about the self-confidence of a do-it-yourselfer by watching what he does immediately after being awakened in the middle of the night by the smell of burning electrical insulation.” - David Owen, writing in Home magazine

Body language: No, you’re not the first of the male persuasion to make a slightly off-color wisecrack when watching the exercise machine commercial featuring that extremely fit woman named Kiana - you know, the one where she says “You can have the body you want.”

Warm-up questions: In what year will telephone area codes 208 and 509 be subdivided? What’s wrong with people who think it’s OK to simply abandon pets when moving?

Today’s Slice question: Which of your makeshift household repair jobs originally intended to be temporary has now lasted the longest?

, DataTimes MEMO: The Slice appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. Always pass along a phone number. Even if you don’t want your name to appear in print (that’s no problem), we need to be able to contact you. Thanks.