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The Slice: Would have married here, if not for hitch
‘Fifty-one years ago Karen and I eloped at the end of my college Christmas break,” wrote Steve Heaps. “We had to hop across the border to the more enlightened state of Idaho because males had to be 21 (I was 20), but females only 18, to marry without their parents’ signature in Washington.”
He wondered if other Slice readers had similar stories.
Just wondering hat trick: Ever tried to teach a kid to make the Vulcan “Live long and prosper” hand gesture? If you could catch the train at more convenient times, would you consider rail travel? Ever tasted lutefisk?
Slice answers: “When a woman asks a man for a reaction to her hair, it’s too late,” wrote Gaylen Wood of Moscow. “She’s letting him know if he had been paying attention to her he would have noticed the change and said something.”
In an unrelated matter … “About your question ‘Do you think you could hibernate if you really gave it a try?’ ” wrote James McPherson, a professor at Whitworth University. “How about if I let you know in the spring?”
And regarding memories of Spokane that stuck with people just passing through, Al Gilson, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Transportation, mentioned Tom T. Hall and his song “Spokane Motel Blues.”
What to say when you are ducking out of work early: “Often, when I leave a group, or sometimes when I just say goodbye to an individual, I explain that I have to go home and check my traps,” wrote John Kenney. “If I am asked ‘What kind of traps?’ I just say that I don’t know — I haven’t caught anything yet.”
Pat Jesseph suggested saying “I have an appointment at 2.”
Mae Greenwood recommended “I must be off to see the wizard.”
Mike Carlson said any reference to an enema is not apt to be questioned.
And a reader named Sheila suggested saying “Time for prayers.”
To be continued.
Today’s Slice question: If all the ultra-conservatives in Spokane and Spokane Valley moved to Idaho and all the liberal progressives in the Idaho Panhandle moved to Washington, how would the numbers break down?