The Slice: My annual seasonal rantette

OK, it’s no reason to abhor summer.

But man, the garbage barrel is rank in this heat.

Let’s move on.

This date in Slice history (2002): Here’s a tip for kids operating lemonade stands.

Try not to let drops of perspiration fall into the pitcher.

Slice answers: A number of readers said yes, of course, they worry about their homes being broken into while they are out of town on vacation. “This is Spokane,” said one. (The “Well, duh” was implied.)

But Susan Johnson had a different take.

“No Paul, I don’t,” she wrote. “The burglars would take one look and say, ‘Nothing good here, guys.’ Or maybe feel bad and bring us back something.”

In the matter of the boldest thing said to you at a first lunch, Herb Postlewait remembers a new colleague at a place where he had just started work asking him how he really got the job.

The part of Spokane that Tim Wink spends the least amount of time in is, unquestionably, the South Hill.

And Gary McInturff said the thing that freaks spiders out is “A Paul Turner column directly overhead and closing fast.”

“My wife with a can of Raid,” said another reader.

Re: “The Postman”: Lynn Barnes wrote to say the 20th anniversary of the movie will be noted up in Metaline Falls over the Labor Day weekend.

She was one of Kevin Costner’s co-stars in the dystopian box office disappointment.

“If you watch the movie you can see me dance for about two seconds in the street dance scene. You can also see my husband not dancing, and part of our red setter Zeke (who never got paid and was supposed to).”

Honors for yours truly: “As far as we are concerned you deserve to be called King of the Mountain for riding your bike up the South Hill,” wrote Fred and Michelle Batten.

Thanks, but you would not say that if you saw how slow I go.

And Peggy Arendt shared this. “I have named my backyard marmot ‘Paulette’ in your honor.”

Thanks, Peggy. Let’s hope Paulette doesn’t munch any of your car’s engine hoses.

Warm-up question for fans of “The Godfather”: Who is the Fredo in your family?

Today’s Slice question: What was your overall impression when you went back to look at the house or houses you grew up in?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Coming in Saturday’s Slice: Defining “elderly.”