The Slice: Do you believe in Miracle-Gro?

The Slice has adapted the late coach Herb Brooks’ pregame talk to the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team (before the historic clash with the Russians) to inspire Spokane area gardeners.

“Great gardens are born from great opportunity, and that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One garden. If you planted 10, the deer and raccoons might eat nine. But not this garden. Not tonight. Tonight we garden with them. Tonight we stay with them, and we SHUT THEM DOWN because we can. Tonight, we are the greatest gardeners in the world.

“You were born to be gardeners – every one of you, and you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. The deer and raccoons? Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearing about how cute the deer and raccoons are. Screw ’em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it!”

Repurposing the newspaper: “I travel Monday through Thursday for my job,” wrote Karin Carter. “When I get home on Thursday evening I have four papers waiting for me. I use them to avoid working on Friday. That and responding to Slice questions are very useful for this.”

Charles Taggart shared this. “All our old papers (except the shiny and slick stuff) go to SCRAPS.”

And Paul Mackey puts old newspaper pages under a couple of layers of paper towels to drain fried foods. “And you can peel potatoes on them, then just roll up and throw away.”

One reason your concept of “carb loading” for Bloomsday is ridiculous: You aren’t even doing Bloomsday.

Slice answers: Several readers said the waterfalls are something you can see in downtown Spokane that you will not encounter just anywhere.

And in the matter of what turned you into a hugger, Kathie Weaver said it was years of being active in square dance groups.

Did you know that in certain square dance circles, hugs are known as “yellow rocks”?

Well, now you do.

Today’s Slice question: Math is not my strong suit. So perhaps you can do the calculations.

We all know it’s a shrinking number. But what percent of the Spokane area’s current population would be able to remember the excitement/anxiety experienced in the last few days before the May 4 opening of Expo ’74?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Happy May Day, comrades! If you actually believe the family that owns The Spokesman-Review are socialists, I would, to borrow a delightful line from “Tootsie,” beg you to get some therapy.