May 24, 2002 (The Spokesman Review) - At other times of the year,
you might have to consider different explanations.
But right now, there's a good chance that one word can account
for the way certain people look, sound and act: allergies.
Branching out: "One Thanksgiving, when my son was about 4, he
kept swallowing olive seeds," wrote Mikel Reuter, his mom. "I told
him if he kept doing it olive trees would grow out his ears."
That was a mistake,
"Sometime during the night, I heard him crying and went to check.
He said he could feel the tree growing out his ear.
"I swabbed the ear with baby oil and talked him into going back
to sleep.
"A short time later I heard him crying again. Upon arriving at
his bedside, he tearfully told me it was growing out the other ear."
* Traits of old-school parenting readers would like to see make a
comeback: Teaching kids to write thank-you notes -- Jeri
Hershberger.
Correcting grammatical mistakes -- Kathy Friedlander.
* When people who don't eat meat get invited to backyard
barbecues: "Nice vegetarians bring their own special something for
the grill," wrote Kimberly Morse.
Not-so-nice ones show up and judgmentally bask in self-anointed
specialness, said a reader who described himself as an omnivore.
* They've been called worse: A North Idaho reader reeling from
media references to "Bloomies" began referring to residents of his
city as "Coeur d'Alanies."
* Today's note on the breakdown of civility: "I'm being driven
nuts by my next-door neighbor who thinks everyone should enjoy his
KABOOM KABOOM stereo," wrote Donna McDonell. "What ever happened to
neighbors caring about neighbors?"
* Slice answers (tons o' T-shirts): Maggie Dickmann said her dad,
Brian, has more than 200.
And you can tell Craig Heimbigner and Karyn Christner have more
than their share. They first wanted to know if The Slice was just
asking about shirts in "current rotation."
* Slice boating safety tip: Wise up.
* Warm-up questions: Is it wrong for the father of the bride-to-
be to lobby for elopement? What has been your experience recently in
crossing the border with Canada?
