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The Slice: When “Our turn” seems to go on forever

Say some friends invite you over and you have a nice time at their home.

How long can you expect them to believe that you have not offered a reciprocal invitation because your home is sort of a disaster due to a major remodeling project interrupted in the summer of 2015?

Even if it’s true.

Just wondering: Has anyone ever not scoffed when arguing about politics and hearing the other person’s answer to “Where are you getting your information?”

Fairfax 8 - 1521: Remember those scenes in old movies where soldiers or spies would exchange passwords or swap a sequence of seemingly random expressions? Sure. Well, an email from Slice reader Trish Edgar about the storied Spokane TV talent show, “Starlit Stairway” (1953-1973), got me thinking. Wouldn’t lines from the Boyle Fuel jingle make for perfect Spokane passwords?

Too dated? Well, what would you suggest?

How about taking turns naming the last two head GU men’s basketball coaches before Mark Few?

Perhaps it could be an exchange of “Dolly Parton, Liberace and John Denver” greeted by “Expo 74.”

Or maybe one person could say “Spokane Canaries,” and the other would reply “1916-17 hockey season.”

Or maybe one person could say “Lapsed” and the other would reply “Catholic.”

OK, you get the idea. I’ll send a coveted reporter’s notebook to the reader submitting the best idea. The winner will be chosen by a mystery judge.

A question that often comes to mind when watching one of those HGTV shows where families say they need a new house that gives them more room: Would finding a storage solution for the 2 tons of toys currently spread out in the living room and dining area possibly free up some space?

Feedback: “Your column comparing Mayfield to Spokane was fun to read, but you really should compare Mayfield circa 1963 to Spokane circa 1963, not Spokane today,” wrote Suzanne Harris. “In most areas we were very much alike.”

Mayfield, as you may recall, was where the Cleavers lived in “Leave It to Beaver.”

Spokane, of course, is the near-nature setting for TV’s popular “Darn That Marmot!” and “Love That Rock Chuck!”

Or maybe I just dreamed that.

Today’s Slice question: When you encounter strangers who mistakenly assume you agree with them about contentious public policy issues, does it prompt you to reassess the vibe you’re giving off?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. “I remember 10-minute parking for a penny in front of the downtown Post Office,” wrote Lars Neises.

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