The Slice: Even allergies can’t block time travel

It’s one thing to be daydreaming and find your thoughts taking a turn toward some nostalgic reverie.

That’s sort of a voluntary, self-guided meandering through your past.

But do you ever find that a certain aroma can transport your thoughts to a specific place and time? I mean, really specific. Say, hunting night crawlers behind your grandmother’s house when you were 10 years old.

Well, this is the season when that tends to happen. The verdant emergence and occasional rain seem to issue boarding passes for round-trips via our private WABAC machines.

The annually renewed surprise is that it can be so utterly involuntary.

Funny how the simple act of breathing in the scent of grass mowing or sniffing a catcher’s mitt can zip you back in time.

Where did you go when you last took one of those trips? And where might you be headed today?

Let’s move on.

Just wondering: Do you know of any local parents who, though residents of the other state, made a special effort to make sure their baby was born in Washington or Idaho?

Slice answer: Jerry Hilton saw the question about bear avoidance strategies.

“Years ago I heard the joke about how you tell the difference between black bear scat and grizzly scat. The grizzly scat is the one with bells in it.

“So, when we visited my sister, Nancy, in Alaska and her husband (now ex) had arranged for us to go on a hike of one his favorite trails, I knew bells were not the answer.

“As we headed out at the trail head I asked Walt what was the plan to avoid grizzly attacks. He pulled out a .38 pistol. I asked if he thought that was enough firepower to stop a charging grizzly. He said ‘Hell no, I’m going to shoot Nancy and that will distract the bear long enough for us to get away.’

“Fortunately, especially for Nancy, we didn’t see any bears.”

Great moments in high school journalism: Back in the early 1960s, at Riverside High School, Rich Kapelke’s headline on his story about the annual concert presented by the girls’ chorus referred to the group as “Chorus Girls.”

“It caused a stir,” he recalled.

Warm-up question: What do you do when an ambulance stops on your block?

Today’s Slice question: What was the most-saved ticket stub in Spokane entertainment history?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. The Slice does not validate parking.