My kind of town, Spokane is

Sometimes the best thing about a vintage postcard is getting to see what the sender wrote long ago.

A Slice reader came across an old card that shows Riverside Avenue. The pictured scene includes a row of good-sized buildings and street traffic consisting of both cars and horse-drawn rigs.

It was mailed to a woman in Friendship, Wis., on July 24, 1909.

Here's the message: "We have been on this street today. It reminds us of Chicago. We will leave to visit Corbin Park, a few blocks from here, soon. How is Pet doing?"

It is signed, "The Girls."

Hmmmm. If you'll wait just a moment, I'm going to get up from my desk and walk over to a window that looks down on Riverside Avenue...

...OK, I'm back. Well, I'll be frank. It didn't remind me of Chicago. But it's early.

So perhaps, a bit later on, I might try an experiment. Yes, I think I'll take a stroll on Riverside. And when I'm sure several strangers are within earshot, I'll make a certain declaration: "You know, this street kind of reminds me of Chicago."

Sure, most might scoff. We're good at that here in Spokane. We can scoff with the best of them.

And yes, a case could be made that the postcard writer's comparison was less ridiculous in 1909 than a similar remark would be today.

But perhaps one person who hears me will find a thread of merit in that observation. Maybe then a strange sort of chaos-theory chain- reaction will commence. And who knows? Maybe years from now, it will be common to hear people compare Spokane to the Midwest's largest city.

"The way that politician demanded a kickback reminded me of Chicago."

"Hey, look. There's a cop roughing someone up. Just like in Chicago."

"My flight got canceled. Reminded me of Chicago."

"We're eating big mouthfuls of pizza. Say, that's just like in Chicago."

"It's eerie. In my lifetime, major league baseball teams based in Spokane have won the World Series the same number of times as teams from Chicago."

Then again, in 2001, maybe Spokane is more apt to be compared to Friendship, Wisconsin.

* The plastic man who fell to Earth: A farmer working in a field northwest of Reardan discovered a large, silver mylar balloon. Attached to strings hanging from it was a small, red and white action figure.

The farmer is curious about where the balloon started its journey and who launched it. But, so far, the action figure isn't talking.

* Benefit auction this afternoon: Proceeds will go to upgrading the puppy kennels at SpokAnimal. Call 534-8133 for details.

* Today's Slice question: What population subset is most guilty of bottled-fragrance overkill?

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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