The Slice: When they talk, their furry friends listen

Here are some reasons people talk to their pets.

“If I have a strong opinion on something, the dog wags her tail,” wrote David Bowman. “My wife just rolls her eyes.”

“I have a wonderful pair of pets – a dog and a cat – whom I love talking to because they’re cuddly and nonjudgmental,” wrote Caroline Cunningham. “Furthermore, neither pretends to like me for my intelligence and both genuinely adore me for my kindness and affection, which is more than I can say of some humans I know.”

“My dog is truly man’s best friend,” wrote Jerry Hilton. “I talk to her all the time, especially when we are alone. I often tell her my deep dark secrets. Not once has she betrayed my confidence.”

Favorite New Year’s Eve scene in a movie: Darsi Kemp nominated the happy ending to “When Harry Met Sally.”

RE: Monday’s Slice: Oatmeal eaters seemed to regard as sage commentary my assertion that they can be trusted. Certain others were skeptical about my research.

A.J. Cain became a fan of the classic cereal after she figured out how to prepare it. (She doesn’t use instant and cooks hers with milk and cinnamon.) “I hated the stuff for years which was attributed to my mother’s idea for my childhood morning breakfast. It was a gooey/gluey lump of a mess.”

Private screenings: Diane Aune was among those locally who spent part of Christmas Day connected via Skype with distant family members – in Sacramento, in her case.

“God bless those geeks who figured out this remarkable way to communicate. … Think we were hooked up for over five hours,” she wrote.

Marjorie Lefevre and one daughter in Ritzville were connected by video link with another daughter and a granddaughter in Nebraska. The four of them fired up their sewing machines and had a competition, just as if they were together.

Warm-up question: Ever heard a holiday toast so bad it made you put down your glass?

Today’s Slice question: What do forest managers think of people taking Christmas trees into the woods and setting them free, so to speak?