Sep. 19--Bill Burnette of Otis Orchards had a question:

"Why do so many people who have moved to the Spokane area try to make it like the place they got away from?"

Several answers come to mind.

It could be that some individuals want to seem cooler, smarter and generally more with it than the rest of us. So their critiques of the way things are here could be seen as an attempt to cast themselves as more worldly and superior.

Then there are those who simply like to complain and would do so regardless of where they lived. Spokane's status quo just happens to be a target of opportunity.

But I think there are others who honestly like this city but believe we could benefit from considering good ideas that people had in other places.

Sometimes that's welcome. Sometimes it's not. Depends on the presentation, I suppose.

Two things: The idea that people who work online from home don't get embroiled in office politics is pretty well refuted by real-world experience. There's this thing called e-mail.

And before signing up for cable television DVR, couples should talk about the possibility that program storage issues will become a source of conflict.

Nice Strangers Department: So I was in a grocery store and dropped a jar of pimiento-stuffed olives. It shattered.

This was embarrassing. But before I could fully rebuke myself for my carelessness, a woman in the same aisle launched into a litany of reasons why I shouldn't feel bad: happens all the time, they really shouldn't put those jars up so high, et cetera.

I deserved to hear Nelson Muntz from "The Simpsons" call out "HA-ha!" Instead, I practically got a pat on the head and a cookie.

You just never know.

Today's Slice question: Did you remember to call in your prescriptions?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098; e-mail pault@spokesman.com. For previous Slice columns, see www.spokesman.com/columnists. Several readers guessed that Tom Foley holds the record for having shaken the most hands in Spokane.

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