The Slice: The Slice: Does size really matter?

Maybe it’s my imagination.

But it seems fewer people around here are trotting out that meaningless description of Spokane, “It’s the largest city between Minneapolis and Seattle.”

This is a good thing.

Perhaps locals got tired of hearing, “Well, what about Denver?” or “So, in other words, there are no big cities along that northern tier?”

“Slice answers: I had asked about the library with the “best” atmosphere, but sometimes readers play by their own rules.

“By far, the downtown (Spokane) library has the most eclectic atmosphere,” wrote Matthew Kirsch. “Where else can you see professionals, yuppies, hippies and the homeless in the same space? And with the windows it is almost like a fishbowl. I can watch the great social experiment on my lunch hour.”

Ann Carlin said I should have asked about the noisiest library. “I would love to see if other branches are the chaos mine is,” she wrote. “The Shadle branch is a cacophony of children running amok, yelling, crying and screaming, and cell phone users talking as loudly as though they were trying to contact Mars.”

“It was so cold when I went to bed I decided to wear… : “Ruth, my wife, our two cats and dog,” wrote Carl Eklund, who lives outside Colville.

“The Slice’s favorite Three Dog Night songs: 1. “Mama Told Me (Not to Come).” 2. “Easy to be Hard.” 3. “Pieces of April.” 4. “Out in the Country.” 5. “One.”

The omission of “Joy to the World” is not an oversight.

“Seeing things: Another reader had a story about a retinal floater.

“While working at a local medical clinic and showing a patient into the exam room, I suddenly thought I saw a huge fly or even a mosquito (big enough to ride) shoot by my peripheral vision,” wrote Kathryn Schafer of Ritzville, Wash.

That’s not good. So, naturally, she wanted to track down the intruding insect. The patient even helped her look for the big bug in the exam room.

Eventually Schafer realized one of her eyes was playing tricks on her.

“Today’s feline item: “We inherited a cat named Azrael (from the Smurfs cartoon),” wrote Kathleen Pollock. “We always called her Azzie. She is so vocal we started calling her Mew Mew. Our neighbor at the lake (the Swede) wouldn’t accept this and always called her Moo Moo.”

The cat must have liked the sound of that.

“She’ll no longer come when called Azzie, just Moo Moo.”

“Warm-up question for those with hard floors: Would you like to have your TV remotes and cordless phones coated with the rubbery polymer used to make the Super Ball?

“Today’s Slice question: What word best describes Spokane’s most prevalent attitude about Christmas tipping?