Because I'm smart AND pretty...

This is worth it

2006-08-14T14:16:00.000-04:00

Just had to put this story out there...

Woman gives birth to Myracle in wrecked car

PAHOKEE, Florida (AP) -- A pregnant woman in labor, driving herself to the hospital, crashed her car and gave birth while trapped in the mangled, partially submerged vehicle, authorities said.

Kenyetta Biggs spent more than an hour in the car Sunday morning before she -- and her newborn daughter -- were rescued and taken to a hospital, authorities said. Her father said she had not told the family she was pregnant.
Biggs, 21, suffered a broken leg, but she and the baby she named Myracle were reported to be doing well.

Palm Beach County sheriff's Deputy Stephen Maxwell had been starting his shift Sunday when he noticed a person's head poking out through some tall grass along a canal bank.
The deputy stopped and found Biggs trying to get out of her partially submerged car. She told him her baby was inside.

"As I looked around her I saw the newborn baby laying in the passenger seat with the placenta and umbilical cord still attached," Maxwell said.

Maxwell and another deputy pried open the door to free Biggs. Police said she had been driving to a hospital and a strong contraction caused her to lose control of the car shortly after 5 a.m.
Biggs' father, Kenneth Biggs, said he figured his daughter didn't tell relatives of her pregnancy because she was afraid of their reaction. None of that matters now, he said.

"We are definitely welcoming this baby with open arms," he said.

I Call It

2006-01-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

I made this call back in December. I call that Heath Ledger will win best oscar for Brokeback Mountain, over Philip Seymor Hoffman in Capote and David Strathairn in Good Night, Good Luck. They are my top picks, of course, but Heath Ledger's performance is the winner. Thanks for these amazing films!

Mouse Thrown Into Fire Sets Home Ablaze

2006-01-10T12:59:00.000-05:00

FORT SUMNER, N.M. (AP) - A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire. Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it. ``I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house,'' Mares said from a motel room Saturday. Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and throughout the house.
No was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it was destroyed.
Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks.
``I've seen numerous house fires,'' village Fire Department Capt. Jim Lyssy said, ``but nothing as unique as this one.''

2005-11-04T18:01:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it’s been some time since the last post. Just too much going on for words. Family issues, work things and other stuff has just occupied all of my time. Here’s a Synopsis:

Saw this, it rocked. Totally enjoyed this opera and can’t wait to take the boyfriend to the Symphony.

HAD to see the Kirov Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty. Tchaikovsky is one of my all time favs and the Symphony was also featuring his work the same night. There was no question which to see – LOVE his music for ballets and this was performed by his countrymen – could not miss!

Best movies of the year:

Capote - Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserves the oscar for this

Good Night, Good Luck - So does David Strathairn - in fact, he may edge out Hoffman

(I love this period in pop culture, but these truly stand out)
At senior internship in college (an economic development firm in Detroit) they would ask each intern who Edward R. Murrow was...I was the first who knew. Man those are still some cool people to hang with!

Downfall - GREAT German flick on their take on Hitler's last days

The boyfriend ran in the Detroit Marathon and in an impressive amount of time; he did the 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 34 min. It was a gorgeous day and I greeted him half way through the route (which we drove the night before - hmmmm what a city!) I hung around the DAC and then just walked around that part of the city, taking pictures. I must look like I know where stuff is (which I do) because people would approach and ask questions, like 'where does that rail (people mover) go?' or 'how do I get to the so-and-so?'

I really want to see La Boheme - I'm really enjoying the opera, especially with the seats that we get - it is amazing to know that we have such beautiful places in the city - and easy to get to and easy to find. I just found out in a really cool way that the boyfriend is treating me to see another Tchaikovsky ballet - the classic Nutcracker.

Ok, tomorrow is visiting my aunt who is quite ill with cancer. It is sad and unfortunately the way of the world. Sunday is a long planned annual trip to the corn maze and an apple orchard.

It is a busy time, a fun time, a sad time, but it's wearing me out and I haven't seen family and friends (that aren't ill.) I look forward to a time when I can actually knit when it's not in my weekly meeting at work.

Gotta go - it's late - hope there are no typo's. Cheers.

Homage to Kat

2005-08-18T10:28:00.000-04:00

This morning, I was driving up Woodward to my 8:15 doctor's appointment. I was amazed at the amount of traffic at this time of day - it's not usually like this, but it IS 2 days before the Dream Cruise. People, cars, tents, stages, signs, you name it. Anyway - I'm driving along and low and behold in front of me is a nice looking navy colored sedan - piled high with CRAP to the roof. The plate - here it comes (and a variation to protect the innocent) - LVE NASCR. I saw that and said, just as I did back on vacation in January "Ohhhh Kathleen" ... then I laughed hysterically and then thought 'hmmmm, I gotta blog this.'

So there you have it - a fun little pre-birthday smile!

Lunch with Ernie

2005-08-12T18:13:00.000-04:00

Again, enjoying my time in the City of Detroit. As I drive in, I pass by the State Fair which just opened; I volunteered there this past week / weekend to keep up my State of Michigan Master Gardener certification. And I live blocks from the Fair so that is really convenient and it’s cool to see my handiwork right there on Woodward Avenue. FYI – a new highlight this year, as I was told, is the autorama portion of the Fair, as demonstrated by midgets. Fascinating. One thing I just love is seeing friends and sharing a good meal. Today was lunch in Greektown. The fact I work in another business district in the city means that I have a drive, with associated parking issues, but it isn’t too bad, plus I pride myself on my directions and parking abilities, especially downtown. Today I jumped off 375 at the Lafayette exit and parked in the structure adjacent to St. Mary’s. The exit ramp AS WELL AS the structure had construction, like everything else. I was a few minutes late because of it but it was ok. My friend Ernie, who at one time was my boss, was waiting outside our favorite restaurant (there are so many there, but this is a longtime fav, consistent for the past 13 years I’ve been going there), the Laikon. It was closed for vacation so we dined next door at the Cypress. Lunchtime with Ernie is always a treat, and you never know who is going to show up. Ernie is the president of his own company, an economic development firm in the City. I was once an intern and then briefly worked there, YEARS ago now. I learned much – saw many things, did all kinds of things and was introduced to new and wonderful experiences. For this I am ever grateful. There isn’t much to share, really. Today it was Ernie and Mike P. (no Diane, which happens.) These lunches are timeless…it could have taken place in 1992 when I started and it will be the same as time goes on. We laugh and debate and chit chat – it’s just another wonderful relationship. And I learn all about the developments going on in the city. I don’t see Ernie but a few times a year – here and there – Festival of the Arts or the DFT, an occasional lunch. But these ARE the times of my life! This is what life is all about and I can see that every day.
On the way out, I stopped at Astoria to pick up some Baklava (can't go to Greektown without that!) and then went into the casino to get my parking validated (saved $2.50) - had to fight the throngs of people just to make it to the service desk. Amazing - where do all these people come from? This place is ALWAYS busy (this I know because I'm always get my parking validated, lol!) Enough's enough...time to go back to work. As I drove back, I had SUCH a good feeling! I will always make these trips, it makes life that much richer. Take it for what it’s worth, but I say LIVE LIFE – and to the fullest! Maintain those friendships – they have such value! And now I’m off for another adventure…

Lunch time experience at NC1

2005-07-29T16:18:00.000-04:00

Much can be said for working downtown Detroit. As I’ve done it for quite some time, nothing surprises me. I just find things that are more and more…odd. Then again, as anything odd FREQUENTLY happens to me, I’m not surprised. I just gather it in and well now I will blog about it. As JulieU says, ‘their antenna go up when you are around…there’s a disturbance in the force.’ So yesterday at lunch was no exception.

I’m sitting outside on a cement bench, enjoying the cooler weather and eating lunch with Lt. Dan. A woman, dressed in somewhat presentable clothes and clutching a purse close to her body, approaches. Her hair is somewhat askew and right away you notice she doesn’t have all of her teeth. Of course I made accidental brief eye contact and that is what drew her over. I had just been observing Lt. Dan swipe at the pigeons next to us and happened to look her way. She quickly approached and asked (in a mumbled, quiet tone and this is what I could make out) ‘you got thirty-one cents?’

What?

WHAT?

Lt. Dan and I automatically said no, as a force of habit.

She walks away says something like have a blessed day and we politely smile.

Lt. Dan says ‘Who the frick asks for thirty-one cents???’

This made us chuckle. At this point we were done eating lunch and headed inside to the elevators. You would think that this is where the oddity ends. No. Not for Spoozy.

This isn’t nearly as interesting yet still somewhat perplexing. We ride up from the 1st to the 2nd floor, with our destination being the 6th floor. A woman and her companion, perhaps her larger, impared son, get on as we stop at the 2nd floor. She asks – ‘is this going up?’ Then she replies ‘oh good’ when she realizes that we in fact are headed up. She hits the button for the 4th floor.

We stop at the 4th floor.

‘Ok, get off’ she tells her companion. She looks around and suddenly she looks dismayed.

‘Wait, I thought we were going down. We need to go down.’

Meanwhile, the doors shut and close that tiny bump on the road map of life experience forever.

Lt. Dan looks at me and glances away as there are others in the car. The elevator stops at 6 and we disembark. Wow. We survived lunch. There are plenty more lunches to be had - can’t wait to see what happens next time!

Quotes from along the way

2005-06-24T13:51:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, I've decided to post quotes from family, friends, co-workers and maybe even total strangers. I've created this file on my desk top and steadily have collected them as I go along throughout the day. Here are a few:

“I’m going to enroll in the The Ike Turner School of Bitch Management.”

-- My coworker S quoting something she read in a book called ‘Off the Chain’ by Euftis Emery, 06/24/05

“That’s like the Al Greene School of Cheating.”

-- Me in reference to S’s quote above, 06/24/05

_________________________________________________________

“Ohhh. Dating as in carbon dating.”
-- Smart Ass Intern on my comment where I say that I'm ‘dating’ myself, as in reference to my age, not as in physically ‘dating’ myself, 05/31/05

_________________________________________________________

“Toooo easy, like punching a baby.”
-- Smart Ass Intern, in reference to a conversation where a coworker says that she doesn't like trail mix and that she’s not a big nut fan, 05/26/05

_________________________________________________________

“I love you like a brother, but that was kinda gay!”

-- Our Buddy Davo on Godrick feeding him dessert (a taste) from his own (Godrick’s) plate, 05/22/05

“AND…we’re NOT gay.”

-- Juicy, citing a previous quote from a Davo / DD experience in Meijers from years ago, where the cashier thought they were gay, 05/22/05

Ok, that's all for now. I've come across some funny sh!t while looking for an e-card for the Smart Ass Intern's birthday tomorrow, check these links out:

http://wickedmoon.com/e/sendcard.php?image=wickedmoon.com/media/video/stand_up_comedy/chappellesgayamerica.wmv

http://wickedmoon.com/e/sendcard.php?image=wickedmoon.com/media/video/tvcommercials/germanengineeringarabtechnology.wmv

http://wickedmoon.com/e/sendcard.php?image=wickedmoon.com/media/video/tvcommercials/vibratormixer.mpg

Lastly, Happy 35th B-Day, DD!

Just a little insight...

2005-06-07T17:06:00.000-04:00

My oh my has it been a busy time, I can’t even begin to explain. Both work AND home. I am now realizing just how much work I do at work, VOLUMOUS! The huge amount of dedication is probably because I work at a cancer center…I hope to be out of a job one day (meaning no more cancer.)

Thought I would share this particular busy time as this week I am what is considered ‘over’ busy. Let me lay it out (mind you, this is just after work activities, this is above and beyond a hectic day at work):

Monday = Dr.’s appt, followed by a package pickup and then dinner meeting with the Candidate
Tuesday = Professional group meeting (dinner) and swapping out something at the store (since the meeting is at the mall)
Wednesday = Opera (big date, can’t wait!)
Thursday = Friend is in community theater – in A2
Friday = Festival of the Arts
Saturday = Race for the Cure – mind you, I’m on the committee, so I will be getting there about 4 a.m. with the gigantic boobie mobile (mobile mamm van) then off to my friends boat
Sunday = Parent's 57th wedding anniversary (probably dinner) then somehow cram in laundry, cleaning and tending to the cats

I was mulling the week over on Sunday – and this is what I really wanted to do that day:
- Greek Town Art Fair
- PrideFest
- Gone to my fav nursery (40 min away) to get my special flowers for my pots out front
- Swapp out Summer clothes for Winter clothes

Only like 2 of those would have been humanly possible on that day - but how could I have done that if I was originally supposed to be on the boat to begin with? Actually, I wasn’t feeling well so I did laundry (yeah, when am I supposed to do that???) and rested. But it sucks to rest on such a BEAUTIFUL day!

Tomorrow I will get up and mow the lawn around 6:30 a.m. (my neighbors (we share a house) have done it 4 times already and I’m past due – it’s the only time I’ve got and they will do it again one night if I don’t!)

Knitting? What’s that? Last week I was fortunate enough to knit twice – because there were two meetings where I could…the previous week I forgot my knitting for the one standard, weekly meeting (doh!) and we don’t have that meeting this week…dammit I miss it!

Working out? Miss that too! My body feels like it is falling apart. Being busy and running around kinda helps, but I need the full-on WORK IT work out. I think what I have to do is get up extra early and walk and do a few crunches (sit ups) and push-ups. I used to take some SWEET workout classes – nothing like working out until you are ready to pass out – you feel on top of the world! My clothes still fit, so I know I’m ok, but I think I’m *right* on the edge of losing what shape I do have.

Gardening? Even though I rent, I’ve planted many a flower (perennial, annual, shrub etc. in the past couple of years.) I need to weed and tend to what little garden there is – some of it is fine and overgrown (in a good way) and quite beautiful. But the rest needs work – when???

Sleep? Precious few hours…this is like the week my bro was in town – same thing, just so much to do and no time, especially to sleep.

And this does not mention that one person in my family and a very dear friend are going through some particularly difficult times and they have both asked me for help. They ask me because in both cases – I’ve been there. I find it hard to relate to someone unless I’ve been where they have been. For example, I’ve been married to an alcoholic. When I was having my hard times, the best advice came from someone (two women, actually) who was in the same boat. As much as others can sympathize, they just simply don’t know…until they have done it themselves, how can they really, truly know? Dealing with depression – many people blow that off, too. Unless you know it, felt it, lived with it at your core – you just don’t know and that isn’t easy to explain. This also applies to not having money. Unless you’ve been there, counting your returnables and pennies at the all night grocery store to buy gas and dinner, well that’s hard to explain to someone who has never had to count the days until payday. These may be strong words, but I’ve been on the receiving end of some shit-ass advice from people who don’t have a clue. So there, I think that covers it!

The help I have provided has included long conversations, but they are needed as both of these dear people are literally suffering and have nowhere to turn. I’m more than happy to help, but that is where the precious little free time has gone.

No time to work out, knit, read (blogs, books), watch TV, what is this world coming to?!?! I decided to write this over a couple of days at work…see what it would take and how long it would take – unfortunately it does take chunks of time away from the day…I guess I will have to figure something else out.

I look forward to next week, which isn’t nearly as busy. May was a busy month and I tried to pay attention as it flew by – with graduations, birthdays (some more raucous than others, lol), family visiting, movie premieres , etc. It is a great month to watch all the flowers and plants bloom and I’ve paid as good attention as I can. We are now in my favorite month…June. I will look carefully at it as much as I can and appreciate the fact that I’m not lugging around a heavy coat – which was the case for many months preceding.

I have to say, though, being somewhat busy is a good thing. You don’t want to be over busy, for not only will it wear you out but also you will not be able to address what is in you, your most personal issues…in other words…avoidance. I can see where I’ve avoided things in my past (too sad, hard to address) and I’m thankful that all that I’m not in that position now. I believe that keeping somewhat busy is so very healthy for the soul. Not to mention the fun times you have, people you meet, places you go. I’m just over busy this week, and with lots of cool things!

So, enjoy life, don't let it pass you by and don't forget to get on for a ride...it's the only life you've got.

2005-05-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

Cop Breaks Up Drug Deal Next to Squad Car

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - Police Cpl. Mike Swygart said he did not believe it at first when someone told him two men were making a drug deal next to his patrol car. Swygart said he was on a break having a cup of coffee Friday night when a person told him what was going on outside.

``I laughed because I thought no one would be so foolish as to handle illegal drugs next to a police car,'' Swygart wrote in his report. ``He looked at me and told me that he was not joking.''

Swygart walked outside and spotted two men in a car parked next to the squad car, holding what appeared to be bags of marijuana.

``I opened the passenger side door and shouted, 'Police, don't move!' Both suspects dropped the baggies and let them fall on the front seat,'' he said.

Officers detained the two men and reported seizing two small bags of marijuana as well as some drug paraphernalia and pills.

Information from: The Truth, http://www.etruth.com

blog story

2005-05-24T17:33:00.000-04:00

Woman, 86, Jailed for Calling 911 20 Times

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - An 86-year-old woman has been sent to jail after police said she called 911 dispatchers 20 times in a little more than a half-hour to complain about a pizza parlor. Dorothy Densmore remained in jail Tuesday charged with misusing the 911 system, a jail spokeswoman said.

She told dispatchers Sunday that a local pizza shop refused to deliver a pie to her south Charlotte apartment, said Officer Mandy Giannini, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokeswoman. She also complained that someone at the shop called her a ``crazy old coot,'' Giannini said.

Densmore wanted them arrested. Instead, police came to arrest her, and she resisted, Giannini said.

It's unusual for someone to face charges for nonemergency calls, Giannini said. But on Sunday, Densmore kept calling 911, even after she was told to stop, Giannini said.

When an officer arrived at her apartment, the 5-foot-tall, 98-pound woman attacked him, Giannini said. Densmore scratched him, kicked and bit his hand, she said.

Densmore is also charged with resisting a public officer and two counts of misusing the 911 system, jail records show.

It was the second time she'd been charged with misusing the emergency system, court records show.

In March 2004, police said she called 911 about 10 times after she was asked to stop, a police report says. She then threatened to hit the officer with a chair when he came to arrest her, the report states.

Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotte.com

Boy Rescued After Climbing in Toy Machine

2005-05-23T14:37:00.000-04:00

I find this story amusing for a variety of reasons. One in particular is that I'm quite familiar with this little city and this WalM@rt.

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - A crane vending machine can be frustrating enough when you're trying to snatch a little stuffed toy from its steely clutches. Imagine if the prize it's denying you is your own 3-year-old son. James Manges II managed to climb up the chute and inside one of the machines Thursday, swinging around for an hour amid the plush toys he coveted before firefighters freed him. James' mother, Danielle Manges, said they had paid an early morning visit to a Wal-Mart in this northern Indiana city because he had been sick and was sleeping odd hours. After she denied him money to play the vending-machine game, he threw a juice box and climbed into the machine while his mother picked it up. ``Within two seconds he had climbed through the hole, into the chute and pushed the door shut so we couldn't get him out,'' she said.
At first, Manges thought it was funny: ``He was playing with all the toys and hanging from the bar like a monkey.''
She even bought a disposable camera to take pictures, as other shoppers did. But she soon became upset when Wal-Mart employees said they did not have a key to let James out.
Firefighters removed the back of the machine to free James - who went home empty-handed.
``He definitely didn't get a toy after that,'' Manges said.

New and Improved

2005-05-20T15:47:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone...JulieU was kind enough to set up my blog so it doesn't
look so retarted and cookie cutter. Really, if I wasn't so busy I
could have figured it out and played around, but why not have a master
do it? Looks GREAT - love the fact that I'm smart AND pretty (I think
AND special was added later to that joke) - so thanks for bringing me
up to speed. This change has come to be as I have a new endeavor...I
will be posting quotes - a random collection - from friends, family,
co-workers and even a few people on the street. Why you ask? Why not
- and besides, these are some of the funniest things you will ever
hear. In explaining this project and giving examples of some of the
quotes, the first one is that of JulieU who said:

'This list will be craptacular by year end.'

-- Julie on Spooz's list, 05/12/05

A random sampling:

'Are you done? Because I'm now 10 minutes closer to my death and
I have nothing to show for it. What the heck does any of that have to
do with the issue at hand?'

-- JulieU, after listening to the Candidate finish a long and detailed
explanation (really boring) 04/28/05

"He deleted the internet?"

-- Jesler, the intern I share an office with, quoting a girlfriend
that called him for help with her pc, 05/18/05

Ok, ok, this is still new and fresh, but keep your eyes peeled - you
never know when YOU will be quoted here!

Yes I know...

2005-05-01T23:54:00.000-04:00

That you will find it disappointing that yes, this is yet another odd news story. Just know that I'm having some really fantastic times and LIVE IS GOOD :)

Men Pull Decomposing Cow From Iowa River

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - It might smell a bit fishy but the story of two guys who pulled the carcass of a cow from the Mississippi River is true. The carcass had somehow made its way downriver from Clinton to Moline, Ill., over the past two weeks. It was first spotted, beached along the shoreline in Clinton. When it started to create a stench, nobody could be found to haul it away. The Coast Guard, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and local police all turned their nose up at the job. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Jump forward two weeks. The cow reappeared this week, 26 miles downstream, hung up on wing dam near Moline, Ill., across the river from Davenport. No one knows for sure how the cow got into the river.
It has been seen perched on all fours and eventually tipped onto its side, witnesses said.
``It's right on the traffic path for our rowers,'' said Marshall Guth of the Quad City Rowing Association.
But on Thursday, Chad Pregracke and Chris Fenderson, retrieved the carcass and hauled it to shore, where a truck from a rendering company hauled it away.
Bob Imler said he called Pregracke, president of the nonprofit group Living Lands & Waters, after several other government agencies and organizations rejected requests for help.
Pregracke and Fenderson, a member of the group, took a boat through the backwaters of the Mississippi River, spotting the dead cow near the Rock Island Arsenal Power Dam.
They briefly discussed how to rope the cow. Heads or tails?
``It's got a tail, dude, I think that's are best bet,'' Pregracke said.
But when he leaned over the side of the boat to tie a rope to the cow's tail, the wind shifted and his eyes began to water.
The rope slipped once before it was reattached and the cow was hauled to shore. Fenderson said the smell eventually made him sick.
The main concern was making sure the decomposing cow didn't run aground in shallow water.
``The only thing I'm worried about is getting the cow stuck,'' Fenderson said as he drove the boat. ``Man, I never thought I'd say that.''

Controversy, Drama and Odd News

2005-04-22T19:00:00.000-04:00

My this has been one hell of a week. From a family domestic disturbance and the police to a Brain Injury Support Group and Food Poisioning. I will have to write all that up as time permits. It's date night and I've got a date (yes still smitten) so enjoy the odd news.

Officer on Toilet Accidentally Fires Gun

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - This is one story they'll be telling around the San Antonio Police Department for a long time. An off-duty officer was at a San Antonio auto auction house yesterday when nature called, a police spokesman said. Officer Craig Clancy strolled to the appropriate facility and was lowering his trousers when his pistol fell from his waistband. When Clancy fumbled for the falling firearm, it went off, twice. One of the bullets nicked a bit of floor tile into the leg of a man who was washing his hands nearby. That man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Police internal affairs is investigating.

Party Store Lunch

2005-04-18T23:27:00.000-04:00

So today, I had an odd lunch. I ate my simple peanut butter sandwich at my desk, knowing that I had other items to complement it. I went to the lunchroom, took my orange from the fridge, cut it and enjoyed it with some coworkers I don’t see often. Then I head back to my desk to get my beloved Pringles and some remaining sugar wafers (vanilla flavor.) I run into another buddy and we head down to one of the MANY stores together (I needed a pop.) It was in this trip that I was also denied purchasing just ONE spinach pie from this one restaurant (had to buy the package) and it was JUST like the soup nazi ‘NO, not just one pie, NO PIE FOR YOU.’ (This is just a side note to this story, mind you, lol. It’s just like me – all the strange, bizarre and odd things ALWAYS happen to me, or to me first – something I’m known for.)
Anyway, I pick up a pop and I join this coworker back in the lunchroom. He sees my spread – Pringles, pop and sugar wafers and says ‘Suz, do you always eat lunch like you picked it up from a party store?’ Once I calmed down from the tremendous laughter, I informed him that I had already eaten my sandwich and fruit prior to sitting down with him. Didn’t matter, this was a classic – party store lunch.

So get this…

2005-04-18T23:11:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, I had an awful experience with a group that I now refer to as my ‘former friends.’ I was part of a group of friends with whom I work and I enjoyed them immensely (at the time), especially on Friday nights at Happy Hour. For a variety of reasons, this was important to me – my own friends, who enjoyed me for me (or so I thought at the time.) I don’t feel like rehashing out all the details, most of you know them. Basically it was 2 years ago to the day that there was an incident at the bar where I was yelled at for no reason. It doesn’t matter how drunk you are, you don’t YELL at someone you call a friend, in a bar FULL of people. Yes I was singled out, humiliated, scared and terribly saddened. As a result, the dynamic of the group changed and they would go out with out me, yet make plans right in front of me or tell me about how they all went out the night before. I did my best to ask why I wasn’t included…not that I need to be, but if you do stuff, don’t mention it in front of me; it hurts my feelings and I told them so. This didn’t matter to them and it tore me up and for some time. Getting them to see my side or understand was not (nor ever will be) in their purview.

There was no contact with the party in question, except for a parting scowl that I saw in my rear view mirror as I drove away. Then, a year later, I hear from him. He sent me an instant message, informing me that he had told the instant messenger service that I was using a screen name that he created. Mind you, it was my nick name (that he liked) and he willingly gave it to me some time before. I told him he could have it back; within minutes I changed the password, gave it to him, apologized for any inconvenience this may have caused and signed off. Immediately. End of story as far as I was concerned.

So this evening (ok last week now), out of the blue, I get an instant message from him. I was home early from work, not well as a result of sore throat / allergies. I was taking a pleasant nap and when I awoke, I saw it – to my sheer disbelief. The message was sitting on my desktop and again I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. It simply said ‘I apologize for threatening to kill you, I didn't mean it literally.’

And there you have it, ladies and gentleman. The earth has spun off its axis and the planets are in alignment. I’m waiting to see the four horsemen for the seventh seal has been broken. SO many questions!!! And lots of wtf and so on…total disbelief. So why now? What prompted this? Why does he think I care any more? If he didn’t mean to kill me literally – did he mean it figuratively? Wtf???

Here’s what I have since done. I replied, the next day, with: apology accepted.
I thought – I could ask ‘what gives, why now?’ He doesn’t deserve for me to be nice. I chatted with someone who knows the story and he said that if I want to know why, to ever know, that I need to be nice (if you want to attract flies – use honey not vinegar – WHATEVER.) Yes this is out of character for him, something must have happened, like a near death experience or middle age, lol. Wait, he’s already way middle age. Anyway, if any further conversation ensues, I will be polite. That’s it. No more than that and no other intention. My goal is to find out why now. Beyond that, I truly don’t give a rat’s ass. Not any more. The time that I did care has long passed. It’s still Spring and I’m even more smitten (see previous post.) When it rains, it pours. It’s the time of my life and this is proven to me, one way or another, every day.

It’s Spring and I’m Smitten

2005-04-11T22:55:00.000-04:00

No, this is no news article for once, so calm down. Yes, I like my odd news, but I figured so few people read this that it won’t matter when I post it. I suppose this entry is more for me, like a diary. It’s Spring, yes, and the weather is changing. The days are warming and the sun is shining. I have an eye on my perennials peeking up out of the ground and I’m watching the neighbor’s bulbs bloom. With this emergence of Spring and all it’s glory, well I’ve emerged myself. And happier than ever.

My friend Laura says ‘oh barf’ when I tell her just how happy, as she knows the situation and the one who is contributing to this tremendous feeling of happiness. Brian says episodes of Dynasty are less complicated. I laughed for HOURS over that comment! I am laughing all the time…and enjoying the weather…and my kitties, one of whom is on my lap as I type. I have such great opportunities right now it seems, and this is all amplified as well as brought to light by this recent burst of…well…you guessed it – happiness! I can see my friends and appreciate each and every one of them…from a long awaited lunch with Natalie to an over night card party with the gang or a quiet IM from a friend about her beading – they all mean the world to me.

I will not let the common slug attempt to take away my joy, which I must say is bounding and exuberant…I can hardly contain it and this is the best high I’ve had in years. This is in stark contrast to where I was just about 6 - 8 weeks ago; life was just as busy but much more gloomy and without hope. I was just existing. I was not alive. Sad and unfortunate and the way it goes. But I am VERY MUCH alive NOW and am enjoying every moment as I let this fresh air of the new season fill my lungs as vibrant blood courses through my veins. Dramatic, yes. Silly, of course. Do I care? No. Go ahead and ridicule, you do anyway. I just don’t care and I’m not going to listen. Besides, it’s not my problem to fix.

No sad talk. Not now. I’m just smiling and full of life and feel that I could take on ANYTHING. I find the humor in everything yet can recognize the fullness of things, even when they are sad. It makes me appreciate my mental state, emotions, health and all that I have even more. This has the feel of a Northern Exposure monologue…Chris in the Morning. Love that show – wish it never ended. Yet another thing to appreciate this fine day. If nothing else, I hope you read this and at least smile. Perhaps you will go outside and let the sun warm your cheeks and take in all that is April in Michigan. I will continue with my happiness and I wish you the best with yours.

Ms. Wheelchair stripped of title for standing up

2005-04-05T22:57:00.000-04:00

Friday, April 1, 2005 Posted: 8:51 AM EST (1351 GMT)

APPLETON, Wisconsin (AP) -- Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin has been stripped of her title because pageant officials say she can stand -- and point to a newspaper picture as proof.
Janeal Lee, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a scooter, was snapped by The Post-Crescent newspaper standing among her high school math students.
"I've been made to feel as if I can't represent the disabled citizens of Wisconsin because I'm not disabled enough," Lee said Thursday.
Lee, 30, of Appleton, had planned to go to the national pageant with her younger sister, who also has muscular dystrophy and won the competition in Minnesota.
Students at Kaukauna High School, where Lee teaches, raised $1,000 for her trip to the national pageant.
The move by the state pageant officials, led by coordinator Gina Hackel, is supported by the national board.
Candidates for the crown have to "mostly be seen in the public using their wheelchairs or scooters," said Judy Hoit, Ms. Wheelchair America's treasurer.
"Otherwise you've got women who are in their wheelchairs all the time and they get offended if they see someone standing up. We can't have title holders out there walking when they're seen in the public."
Hackel said Lee should have been aware of the rules.
The crown now goes to first runner-up Michelle Kearney of Milwaukee, who will travel to New York in July for the national pageant.

Deliveryman Stuck in Elevator Four Days

2005-04-05T22:54:00.000-04:00

By TOM HAYS
NEW YORK (AP) - A deliveryman who vanished after taking Chinese food to a Bronx high-rise apartment building was found alive Tuesday after apparently spending more than three days trapped in an elevator that had become stuck between floors. Ming Kuang Chen, 35, had been the subject of a widespread search after he failed to return to his restaurant Friday night with $200 in receipts, prompting speculation that he was the victim of armed bandits or some other urban horror. But the disappearing deliveryman emerged Tuesday with a mean thirst and a tale of survival. He was pulled out at about 5 a.m. Tuesday by firefighters responding to an emergency call at the high-rise. ``Thanks for everyone caring about me,'' Chen said afterward in an interview with ETTV, a Taiwan-based news network. ``I'm fine now.''
Chen had no food or water throughout his ordeal. He was given water at the scene before being taken to Montefiore Medical Center, where he was treated for minor dehydration and ate an apple, cereal and a roll. ``He was in very good condition,'' said hospital spokesman Steve Osborne.
Authorities were questioning why police officers and the building's private security force found no sign of Chen, who claimed he had repeatedly cried out and pushed an alarm button in the elevator. And authorities had conducted a door-to-door canvass of the apartment complex over the weekend in search of Chen.
``I tried to knock (down) the door and kept screaming for help, but no response,'' Chen said in the television interview. ``During the time I was stuck in the elevator, I just kept sleeping because I don't know what else to do.''
Chen was last seen about 8:30 p.m. Friday after making three deliveries at the same apartment complex. He later told police through a translator that he had entered an elevator on the 32nd floor of a 38-story building when it plunged down and became stuck between the third and fourth floors.
Chen, a native of China who speaks little English, apparently tried to tell rescuers how long he had been trapped by circling his watch dial with his finger numerous times, said Fire Department spokesman Charlie Markey.
An investigation determined that the security camera and alarm system in the elevator were working. But security officers told police they never heard nor saw Chen until Tuesday. Authorities showed up at the building Tuesday after firefighters got a call that an elevator was stuck.
Even maintenance workers who were called to check out the disabled elevator on Monday missed Chen, police said.
Those questions aside, Mayor Michael Bloomberg marveled at Chen's good luck.
``If they were there and they searched and they didn't find him, thank God it turned out that he's OK,'' the mayor said. ``I think we should all be thankful that the man's alive.''

Woman gives birth in car before police pull her over at gunpoint

2005-03-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

Thursday, March 31, 2005 Posted: 8:03 AM EST (1303 GMT)

KETTERING, Ohio (AP) -- A woman rushing to a hospital to give birth hit a few stops along the way -- first at a gas station where she delivered the baby herself, then when confused police ordered her out of the car at gunpoint.
Debbie Coleman, whose 3- and 4-year-old daughters were asleep in the back seat, pulled over at a gas station just after midnight Tuesday.
"I asked if she needed help, and she just leaned back in the seat, hollered a little, and I looked down and there was the baby's head," said station co-owner Lloyd Goff, who was alerted to the emergency at pump No. 7 by a customer.
Goff said Coleman "threw her leg over the steering wheel, groaned once, and the rest of the baby came out.
"She caught that baby, put it to her chest, gave me a look, like, 'I gotta go,' closed the door, put the van in gear and away she went."
A customer at the gas station in suburban Dayton tried to give police a heads-up about Coleman's situation, but a mix-up involving the license plate number had them thinking the van was stolen.
As officers went looking for her, Coleman headed for the hospital, naked below the waist and with the baby boy in her arm. His umbilical cord was still attached.
"I kept pulling over, making sure (the baby) was all right, breathing," she said.
Meanwhile, police had straightened out the license plate issue. But another caller mistakenly reported someone trying to throw a baby from a van.
Coleman said she noticed several cruisers following her before one cut her off. With guns drawn, officers ordered her out of the van with her hands up.
"I opened the door and said, 'I just had a baby' and just let them see everything," she said.
Officers sent Coleman on and let the hospital know she was coming.
Coleman was discharged Wednesday. Her 6-pound, 8-ounce son, Richard Lee Coleman Jr., remained in intensive care.

Search Continues in Wendy's Finger Case

2005-03-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

AP Photo CAPS104

By BRIAN SKOLOFF

Associated Press Writer

A woman bit into a partial finger served in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant, leading authorities to a fingerprint database Thursday to determine who lost the digit. The incident occurred Tuesday night at a San Jose Wendy's restaurant and left the customer ill and distraught, said Joy Alexiou, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Health Department.

``She was so emotionally upset once she found out what it was,'' Alexiou said. ``She was vomiting.''

Employees at the Wendy's store were asked to show investigators their fingers after the Tuesday night incident. All employees' digits were accounted for, officials said, adding that the well-cooked finger may have come from a food processing plant that supplies the company.

``All of our employees have ten digits,'' said Denny Lynch, a spokesman for Wendy's International Inc., based in Dublin, Ohio. He said there have been no reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of injuries at any supplier of chili ingredients to Wendy's.

``By law, you can't hide that sort of stuff,'' Lynch said. ``All of our chili suppliers report no accidents.''

Investigators seized the remaining chili and closed the restaurant for a few hours late Tuesday.

Health officials said the fingertip was approximately 1 1/2 inches long. They believe it belongs to a woman because of the long, manicured nail.

Alexiou said the woman, who asked officials not to identify her, is at minimal risk of contracting illnesses from the finger.

``It's an extremely low chance because the chili was cooked at a very high temperature that would have killed anything in the finger,'' Alexiou said. Still, she said health officials would ask the woman's doctor to test her blood ``to make sure nothing got passed to her.''

Under Construction

2004-12-27T01:10:00.000-05:00

I hope to have more time in the new year to post stuff. Thanks

As Julie would say: 'Don't read any further if you don't want to read another crazy news article'

2004-12-07T16:46:00.000-05:00

Woman survives throat impalement

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Posted: 7:47 AM EST (1247 GMT)

ANDERSON, Indiana (AP) -- A woman survived being impaled by a 12-foot metal fence post that pierced through her mouth and came out the back of her neck in a car accident, authorities said.
Emergency crews had to saw off part of the 1 1/2-inch thick fence rail to free Alejandra Martinez, who was still awake when crews arrived at the scene. Fire officials were shocked to find her alive.
"Talk about having an angel as a co-pilot," Fire Chief J.R. Rosencrans said. "On her rearview mirror she had a picture of the Madonna. You can tell she is a religious person."
Martinez, 28, was in critical condition late Monday, recovering from surgery, officials said.
Earlier Monday, Martinez drove through a stop sign at an intersection and hit another car, Anderson police spokesman Terry Sollars said. She then lost control, careened off the road and went through a chain-link fence.
The car hit a concrete porch, shoving it three feet back, Sollars said. The metal rod from the fence went through the driver's side of the windshield, he said.
A passenger in the back seat was not injured.
Anderson is about 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

Yep, I know.

2004-12-06T15:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, my posts are news stories. I would like to think they are entertaining. At the moment, this is all that time permits, sorry if it's boring. One day I will surprise you, you will see!

Woman auctions father's ghost on eBay

2004-12-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

HOBART, Indiana (AP) -- A woman's effort to assuage her 6-year-old son's fears of his grandfather's ghost by selling it on eBay has drawn more than 34 bids with a top offer of $78.
Mary Anderson said she placed her father's "ghost" on the online auction site after her son, Collin, said he was afraid the ghost would return someday. Anderson said Collin has avoided going anywhere in the house alone since his grandfather died last year.
In a description titled "This isn't a joke," Anderson told Collin's story on eBay:
"I always thought it was just normal kid fears until a few months ago he told me why he was so scared. He told me 'Grandpa died here, and he was mean. His ghost is still around here!"'
Lest the boy's fears scare off potential bidders, Anderson added, "My dad was the sweetest most caring man you'd ever meet."
Some of the prospective buyers have posted their own messages.
"Your story brought tears to my eyes," one bidder said. "I just wonder how this will turn out for your son. I'm sure his Grandfather loved him very much."
Anderson also put her father's metal walking cane up for auction so she would have something to actually send the winning bidder. The proceeds from the auction will go to buy Collin a special present, she said.
Anderson makes one special request of the winner bidder: "I would like to ask you to write a letter after you've received the cane (and the ghost) to my son letting him know that he's there with you and you're getting along great."
The bidding is due to close Monday afternoon.
A message left with San Jose, California-based eBay Inc. in San Jose, California, was not immediately returned Saturday.

Man Gets Extra Fingers and Toes Removed

2004-11-28T13:36:00.000-05:00

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - For Tirso Furcal, having a sixth finger projecting from one hand and an extra toe on each foot made life in his impoverished country, the Dominican Republic, even more difficult. The condition made walking painful, caused the stone-polisher frequent injuries and blocked his hopes for better-paying work. Now, thanks to the generosity of a hospital and surgeons in Jersey City, the extra digits have been removed and Furcal, 41, is healing quickly. Next week, he will return to his wife and three children in his village, Brisas de los Palemeras, a region where several other residents, mainly children, also have extra fingers and toes. ``The majority of the time, it interfered with everything I did, especially when I had to lift up heavy stones,'' Furcal said through an interpreter.
``The surgery was a success,'' he said in the interview, eight days after his Nov. 11 surgery at Jersey City Medical Center. ``I'm hoping things will be better.''
He now plans to go to school and pursue his dream of a career in electronics repair, something previously impossible because his deformity prevented him from getting his hands inside electronic equipment.
His left hand had a full extra finger sticking out from the side, forming a ``Y'' with his pinkie.
So hand surgeon Dr. Marc Urquhart removed that finger and reattached the muscles from it to Furcal's fifth finger so he could move it normally. Urquhart also removed the extra toes on each foot, which sat atop his fourth and fifth toes, making it very painful to wear shoes. Furcal's right hand has a small nub on the side about the size of a wart, but that did not need to be removed.
``He's going to do fabulously,'' predicted Dr. Carl Valenziano, chairman of surgery at the medical center. ``He has very good function of his hands now.''
Valenziano, who arranged for Furcal's first trip ever away from his home so he could have the surgery, said Monday that the man could walk almost immediately afterward and already is wearing shoes comfortably.
A former shopkeeper who lost his small food store in his village in an economic downturn, Furcal then got work with his brother's construction business, polishing stone floors being installed in churches and school buildings in and around Santo Domingo, the country's capital.
He first met Valenziano a couple years ago, when the doctor was on a medical charity mission organized by the group Foundation for Peace. Valenziano periodically goes on the group's missions to build schools, orphanages and churches and to provide health care, medicine, vitamins, even water sterilization systems to people in the poor Caribbean nation, which shares an island with Haiti.
Valenziano was helping to pour the floor and put up walls for a new church, and Furcal was part of the construction crew working there.
``He's just a pleasant fellow,'' the doctor said.
So Valenziano asked Furcal if he would like his condition fixed. When he eagerly accepted, the doctor arranged for Furcal's airfare, visa and for him to stay with Dominican families in northern New Jersey before and after the surgery. The hospital's chief executive, Jonathan Metsch, agreed to waive all the costs for the man's surgery and hospital stay.
Furcal even got a hospital room with a window looking directly onto Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, prompting him to say he felt he ``had come to the center of the world.''
``My oldest daughter started crying when I had to leave,'' recalled Furcal, whose daughters are aged 17, 14 and five.
Then, in telephone calls home after the surgery, he told his family he was doing fine. His wife was crying but very happy during one conversation, he recalled.
``I told her not to worry, that I have my family in Christ here,'' he said, referring to the doctors and other medical workers at the hospital.

Mom Breastfeeds Puppy to Protect Baby

2004-11-18T11:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know, I know, I sometimes just post odd news as my blog. But these are stories that I find to be truly OUTRAGEOUS - like this next article...

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A woman in New Zealand says she is breastfeeding her pet puppy because she wants it to protect her baby daughter as they both grow up. Kura Tumanako told the NZPA news agency Wednesday that she had started breastfeeding the Staffordshire bull terrier pup after her baby stopped taking her milk. "I didn't want to waste it so I gave it to Honey Boy," she said. According to NZPA, Tumanako said she had fed the dog twice a day for the past week but would probably wean it off in about six weeks' time. Her baby, now 2 months old, is on bottled milk.
"I wanted to raise it (the pup) with my baby," she said. "I wanted to bring it up with a baby. It will protect her as they grow up," said Tumanako, who lives in Hastings in New Zealand's North Island.
"He drinks more than the baby. It doesn't hurt, but it's a little bit ticklish."

My lunchtime thought today

2004-11-17T13:50:00.000-05:00

Overall, yes I agree, my blog is boring. I just don't have the time to compose though I would like to do so. So here's my general thoughts on things as of late. I find there are true friends and people who say they are your friends. At first, it's hard to tell the difference, but when you do, it's worth it and you know better. I've found kindness in strangers, truly a wonderful thing. Not every day, but on occasion, it restores my faith in humanity.

Also, I know that my life doesn't really suck, generally, as I work in a cancer hospital and in walking the halls for various reasons, I know that I'm not sick with cancer, and that even in a small measurement working on the business side, I'm helping people. It does suck that we haven't had raises in 2 years, but that is the nature of a non-profit. Thus the moniker - NON-profit. But hey, we all just got a bonus as part of our separation from another organization, so who am I to complain?

At the moment, I'm testing software, which in this case, is really painful. I'm taking delight in the fact that as I enter test people in the system, I'm giving them Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and Star Wars names. Frodo Baggins will go in for a mammogram. Samwise Gamgee will volunteer in the hospital and Luke Skywalker has won the silent auction spa package. Yes, it's the little things that make my day.

Couple things to say 'YAY' over - going to the symphony with Kathleen tonight - looking forward to that (Tchiakovsky) and dinner at downtown hangout.

YAY to knitting - I'm finishing several scarves and I just started knitting about a month ago (I knitted & crocheted as a kid.)

Ok, time to go, Middle Earth as captured in my software testing is calling (a non-YAY.)

Until next time.

Naked bid to fly Down Under

2004-11-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A Canadian man, angry that he was refused a plane ticket to Australia at Los Angeles International Airport, stripped naked, sprinted across the tarmac and climbed into the wheel well of a moving jumbo jet, officials said on Wednesday.
Pilots of the Qantas Airways flight stopped the plane. The man was coaxed out of the wheel well and arrested for trespassing, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
"This was an extremely dangerous thing for him to do. If he had continued to cling in there with the aircraft taking off at over 200 miles (320 kph) per hour, he might have fallen out and could have been sucked up by an engine," she said.
"If he had survived that and was in the wheel well when the landing gear was retracted, he could have been crushed by the mechanism. And if not he very likely would have frozen to death during the 15 1/2 hour flight at 30,000 feet (9,150 metres) while wearing no clothes."
The man, Neil Melly, 31, tried to buy a one-way ticket on the Qantas flight on Monday evening, but was turned down because he could not supply a valid credit card, Castles said.
Later, he managed to climb over an airport fence, topped by three strands of barbed wire, without injury and was spotted by a ramp worker "running, naked, full-speed" toward the plane.
Castles said a check by authorities found that Melly had been reported missing to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was suffering from bi-polar disorder, a manic-depressive illness.

Votes From the Dead May Still Be Counted

2004-10-31T18:57:00.000-05:00

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - An untold number of ballots from people who have died since casting them will be counted this year because of the haphazard and cumbersome process of enforcing laws in many states to weed out these votes. With millions of voters taking advantage of new, in-person early voting in at least 30 states this year, it's even more likely that such ``ghost'' votes will be counted because, in most cases, those ballots are impossible to retrieve. Besides, it could be days or weeks after the election before local officials get word someone has died. Earlier this month, in what would be her last conscious act, 90-year-old Trixie Porter gripped a pen in her weak, trembling hand, checked the candidates of her choice and scrawled a squiggled signature on her absentee ballot. Within an hour, the petite woman who had been suffering from heart problems lay back in her hospital bed, closed her eyes and never woke up. Her ballot arrived at her local elections board two days later, Oct. 5 - the day she died.
``We commented that day that it probably won't count,'' said daughter Cheryl McConnell. ``But she went to her grave not knowing any different. It counted with her.''

(I will post her picture here shortly...)

The thousands of lawyers from both parties who will be descending on battleground states Tuesday looking for reasons to pick up a few votes could find the phenomenon of dead voters more than just an Election Day curiosity.
In Florida alone, more than 1.8 million people, many of them elderly and sick retirees, have cast absentee ballots or voted early in person in the past two weeks.
How many of those voters won't be alive on Election Day? Considering that an average of 455 voting-age people die in Florida every day, and that the 2000 presidential election was decided by a mere 537 votes, dead votes that slip through the cracks could become a meaningful bloc.
``There are lots of examples of elections being decided by one vote or 300 votes,'' said Tim Storey, a senior fellow with National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. ``It's the classic policymaking dilemma when you're trying to embark on new methods like early voting.''
The problem has arisen as an unintended consequence of laws meant to prevent a repeat of the 2000 presidential election debacle. Unlike traditional mail-in absentee ballots that are stored in labeled envelopes and can be pulled if someone dies, most of the new ``in-person'' early voting is being done on machines with no paper ballot to tell how those people voted.
So if a person in Florida casts an early ballot, then is run over by a truck right outside the polling place, there's no way to rescind the vote. But the vote of a Florida soldier who mails an absentee ballot from Iraq, then is killed in action, won't - or shouldn't - be counted.
``You've got potentially two people with exactly the same situation being treated differently under the law,'' said John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron in Ohio. ``And on the face of it, that's unfair.''
Some elections officials go to great lengths to purge voter rolls of dead people. In Flagler County, Fla., elections supervisor Peggy Rae Border has staff members scan the obituaries regularly.
``Here we check our newspapers every single day,'' she said. ``We're still a fairly small county, so we're able to do that on a regular basis.''
In Florida and other states, the vital statistics agency sends local elections officials monthly computer lists of people who have passed away to be checked against the voter rolls.
But if that data dump occurs at the beginning of the month, as in North Carolina, the death of a voter may not be caught until after the election, when it's too late to take it back.
In Missouri, absentee voting began Sept. 21, but the latest state-provided list of dead people was only current through Oct. 15 - and only went out late this past week.
``I personally know at least two absentee voters who are in hospice care and their minds are clear and they know what they want when they vote,'' said Christian County Clerk Kay Brown. ``But who knows if they will be alive Election Day?''
Pennsylvania Secretary of State's spokesman Brian McDonald said enforcing that state's disqualification of dead voters is just impractical on the eve of a big election. ``How the heck is the county supposed to know if an absentee voter has died?''
Several states - including California, Texas, Tennessee and the presidential battlegrounds of Ohio and West Virginia - specifically allow absentee votes from those who die before the election. This patchwork of state laws also means two identical sets of circumstances can lead to very different results.
Take the hypothetical of two Fort Campbell soldiers who cast absentee ballots and were killed in the same incident overseas. The vote of the soldier who lived on the Tennessee side of the base would be counted. The vote from the soldier who lived on the Kentucky side should be pulled because an attorney general's opinion in that state says those ballots should be tossed.
But such opinions are not legally binding - allowing the Christian County, Ky., clerk to count them with impunity.
``As far as I'm concerned, Christian County will count their vote,'' says Clerk Mike Kem, who is also chairman of that Kentucky county's election board. ``I think if somebody votes, their vote ought to count.''
North Carolina structured its early voting process specifically to address this situation, with a retrievable ballot that is not counted until Election Day. So if election officials are notified that an early voter has died, that ballot can be removed.
The only two ways those ballots can be removed is if the computer crosscheck catches it, or the family submits written proof to election officials that the voter has died.
``We don't check the hospitals on the day before the election,'' said Don Wright, general counsel for North Carolina's Board of Elections. ``We're not at the morgue.''
Cheryl McConnell won't say how her mother voted before she died, but she made a copy of the ballot to keep.
As for the real absentee ballot, election officials hadn't pulled it because the family had yet to notify them of her death. McConnell says she's in no hurry.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Allen G. Breed is the AP's Southeast regional writer, based in Raleigh. AP writer Scott Charton in Columbia, Mo., contributed to this report.

Caregiver Stores Dead Woman in Freezer

2004-10-28T13:01:00.000-04:00

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - What should he do about the dead woman in the freezer? the 59-year-old man inquired of Spokane police. Detectives who responded to the Chateaux Apartments found the body of a 57-year-old woman inside a chest-style freezer, Capt. Bruce Roberts said.

Police did not identify the man but said he was the woman's caregiver. He told them he arrived at the woman's apartment about a week ago and found her dead, then put her in the freezer.

``His underlying motivation, at least what he told us, was he wanted to preserve her dignity,'' Roberts told The Spokesman-Review. ``It's unique and unusual, but at this point there is nothing criminal.''

The man was sent to a local hospital for a mental evaluation.

Detectives couldn't remove the woman, so they ``took the whole freezer,'' Roberts said. There were no obvious signs of foul play but an autopsy was planned once the body thawed.

The man walked into the Public Safety Building on Tuesday to ask for help, Roberts said.

The man told investigators that he had a relationship with the woman for several years but was not her husband.

``She apparently had several strokes and other medical problems during that time,'' police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

Roberts said detectives were gathering medical records to see if they could help explain what happened and were trying to locate relatives. The woman's name was not immediately released.

Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com

Friends

2004-10-25T14:31:00.000-04:00

I have great friends. I've directed you to Julie and her husband Glen. Now it's Kathleen's turn. Also, I have a really cool coworker - check out her site. If anyone else has a blog they want me to link (and your blog doesn't suck as badly as mine, lol) let me know, so I can improve the 'blogworthiness' of this blog! Ha!

Odd News Never Ends

2004-10-25T14:12:00.000-04:00

In the years I've been looking at this site, there is NO shortage of odd news. Amazing. Again, truth is stranger than fiction!

Couple Allegedly Has Sex in Shoe Store

2004-10-25T13:47:00.000-04:00

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - Two out-of-towners got caught in a rain shower, and decided to seek refuge by breaking into a shoe store. Then one thing led to another - at least that's what the couple told the officer who found them having sex amid new boots in the store's display window. The officer responding to a burglar alarm at Hacienda Western Wear on Tuesday tapped on the glass door, disturbing Pauline Grace Rainwater, 20, and Brandon Lee Clark, 18. The couple was naked, but Clark managed to cover himself with one hand, and wave at the police officer with the other. The officer told the couple to get dressed. Court records show they did - and then they took off running. A call for backup brought more officers to the streets, and the two were arrested. Clark and Rainwater were charged Thursday with burglary, resisting an officer, assaulting an officer and indecent exposure. Bail for each of the transients was set at $7,500.

N.C. Woman Sells Naughty Barbie Dolls

2004-10-04T22:16:00.000-04:00

PITTSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Barbie's being bad. The wholesome, if sometimes surreal, beauty of the iconic doll is taking on a different twist under the influence of photo lab owner Anne Baker. Baker has coerced Barbie and her friends to ditch the sequin gowns and pink roadsters for sexy outfits, outrageous poses and delinquent behavior. Plastic dolls line four long shelves in Baker's store, called Annie B and the Black and White Guy. There's a cross-dressing male doll with long hot pink hair and a tight miniskirt. A ``Jailbait Barbie'' stands behind bars, wearing a pink and white striped uniform and an identification number. An eight-legged black widow doll crawls up a spider web, with Ken wrapped in her webbing. ``She's a man-eater,'' the sign says. In a scenario that has its parallel in real life, Baker finds down-on-their-luck Barbies - at thrift stores and from friends - then introduces them to a world of sex, drugs and violence.
``I always loved Barbie,'' she said. ``I don't know what led me to this. Barbie was too clean and she needed to be in the real world, so I put her in my world.''
Baker has had jobs both in costume design and toy buying, and figures they inspired her to take up the Barbie habit three years ago. Now she sells the dolls for up to $125 each.
Sometimes they are placed in sets. One features Ken in a clay wolf mask, his tongue flopped across his chin like a dog, his long brown hair kinked sky-high. Barbie, her lips pouted around a perfect smile and head covered by a red cape, drops her basket of fruit in surprise.
Another, called ``Hef and the Bunny and the Mansion,'' features a blue-eyed Barbie in a Playboy bunny outfit, serving drinks to Hugh Hefner (played by Ken).
Baker said children enjoy the dolls sometimes more than parents do.
``Kids actually don't even realize what they are,'' she said. ``They just love them. It's the parents who get upset; the kids don't. ``Most everyone thinks it's funny.''
Information from: The Herald-Sun, http://www.herald-sun.com

Vibrating Sex Toy Shuts Down Airport

2004-10-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - A scare triggered by a vibrating sex toy shut down a major Australian regional airport for almost an hour Monday, police said. The vibrating object was discovered Monday morning inside a garbage can at the terminal cafeteria at Mackay Airport in Queensland state, a police spokeswoman said. Cafeteria manager Lynne Bryant said her staff had been cleaning tables when they noticed a strange humming noise coming from the garbage can. ``It was rather disconcerting when the rubbish bin started humming furiously,'' Bryant said. ``We called security and next minute everybody was being evacuated while they checked it out.''

The police spokeswoman said the terminal was evacuated immediately. Passengers who had arrived on a recent flight, check-in staff, cafeteria employees and hire car personnel were all forced to leave. ``Another two flights were expected to land at that stage but alternate arrangements were made for the passengers to collect their luggage away from the terminal,'' the spokeswoman said on the usual condition of anonymity.

She said the emergency alert was canceled after 45 minutes when the package was identified as an adult sex toy. Bryant said in retrospect, the humming sounded exactly like a vibrator, but it was better to be safe then sorry. ``You can't afford to take chances,'' Bryant said.

Side note: This actually happened to me once. I was on a plane (who knows when anymore) and we were ready to shut the doors when a woman was asked to go to the tarmack and check out her baggage as it was 'making noise.' As it turned out, it was her electric TOOTHBRUSH, to which she publically made VERY clear once getting back on the plane!

Some People

2004-10-04T13:25:00.001-04:00

Some people just don't know how good they've got it. And I suppose they never will. They should have to go without - to see what it's like and better appreciate what they have. And self-serving, selfish people suck, too. That goes without saying. What I'm trying to say is that I'm tired of it. Tired of all of it.

If you want some happy happy joy joy, go here, I'm all out.

Oh for Shit's sake

2004-09-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

You want something cool, go here! Or here! That should keep you entertained for SOME time!

lol

Yes I know

2004-09-28T18:17:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know. My blog is boring. I wish I had this 2+ years ago. I could have done daily entries on the crazies that worked here at that time. Now it's not that exciting. I'm still at work and sad as I'm getting ready to walk out my co-worker for the last time. She is the best person i've ever had report to me and we lost her. Alas, these things happen. Then for an exciting evening of eating dinner out of the box and Queer Eye. At least I'm home - usually I don't get home until really late and I'm worn to shit. Oh and did I mention I had the annual dr.'s visit today? Whether you turn your head and cough or are mercilessly probed, it's just not fun. It's gray, overcast and chilly. But at least payday is this week, so I can get that little bit of cash and buy little bitty things like cat litter and garbage bags. Oy, after reading this, visit http://www.paxil.com/ perhaps just seeing it will lift your mood!

Update: Lost Wedding Album

2004-09-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

My friend Luke found the wedding album in the previous log entry. Today they were on the Jane Pauley show. She caught wind of the article in the paper and decided to reunite Luke with the family (to the surprise of the family.) Totally cool. Every now and then something Karmically good like that happens.

Wedding album reunites with couple after 20 years lost

2004-08-31T13:35:00.000-04:00

My friend, Luke:

Sunday, August 29, 2004
By Tom RademacherThe Grand Rapids Press

Of the scant keepsakes commemorating their wedding of nearly 44 years ago, Ray and Marie Duflo treasured their photo album most. So when it turned up missing during a move they made more than two decades ago, they mourned its loss with heavy hearts. Then, one day recently, Marie picked up the phone and heard a stranger's voice asking if a Ray Duflo lived there.
"Yes."
"Is this his wife, the former Marie Huntley?"
"Yes."
"And were you married November 26, 1960, in Marshall, Mich.?
"Yes."
"Well madam, then I have something you might find interesting."
"Oh really. And what is that?"
"I have your wedding album."
The voice on the other end belonged to Lucas McGrail, an architect and history buff who discovered the Duflos' photo album atop a workbench in his wife's uncle's garage near Detroit.
"Bottom line is that Uncle Fred has always been something of a pack rat," said McGrail, noting that more than 20 years ago, Fred Kroll found the wedding album within a box of books alongside Int. 94 as he was driving from Chicago to his home in East Detroit.

Kroll initially made attempts to reunite the album with its owners, but gave up when his search -- unaided then by the Internet -- yielded nothing.
"He set it on top of a workbench with a lot of other junk on top," said McGrail, who discovered the box while helping his relative clean his garage. He asked his uncle-in-law if he might rekindle efforts to find the owners.
"Sure, take it," Kroll told him.
McGrail was further motivated when he gleaned from data contained in the wedding album that his own date of birth in 1974 -- Nov. 26 -- was the same date not only as the Duflos' wedding in 1960, but also the birthday of the Duflos' firstborn son, in 1961. Twenty minutes after firing up his computer, he had narrowed his search to Raymond Duflo of Sand Lake.

Although that's where the Duflos now reside, it's only the most recent in a long line of addresses Ray, 65, and Marie, 63, have owned since they wed and had four children. Business opportunities took them to Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, the Gun Lake area, Grand Rapids and Roscommon.

So, the Duflos aren't entirely shocked to reason that they lost their wedding album during a move, presumably around 1980. "But we have no idea how that box ended up on Int. 94," says Marie. What they do know is that they'll be taking better care of the album. It holds about a dozen black-and-white 8-by-10-inch shots of their special day. And nearly as important for Marie is that she's pictured walking down the aisle with her late father, Thomas Huntley.
It's one of just a couple photos she has of a man who was a "kind and gentle" father to Marie and her 13 brothers and sisters as they were growing up in Presque Isle County, located in northeast Michigan.

"I was so devastated because those were pictures we couldn't replace," said Marie. "When we lost it, we searched for hours. Did I shed tears? I'm sure I did." When McGrail mailed the wedding album to the Duflos last month from his Farmington Hills business address, the bound box also contained a raggedy cookbook as well as six yearbooks chronicling the Duflos' respective high school days.

"We spent a whole night going through those yearbooks," Marie said.

McGrail, who describes himself as a "self-educated Detroit historian," said he merely followed the Golden Rule. "I figured that if I ever lost or misplaced ours, I would hope that someone would do that for us."

Although the Duflos say they plan to reward McGrail for his persistence, the Livonia resident says that knowing the Duflos are now reunited with their mementos is thanks enough.

Meanwhile, if the Duflos move again, the wedding album isn't riding out the trip in some box.
It'll rest, said Marie, on her lap.

Tom Rademacher's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. E-mail him at trademacher@grpress.com.

20-Year-Old Horse, Moose Become Pals

2004-08-31T13:25:00.000-04:00

GROTON, Vt. (AP) - A yearling female moose and a 20-year-old horse have become pals at a farm just outside Groton village. The two docile animals have apparently bonded, much to the delight of scads of tourists who come by to observe or yell, clap, honk horns and sing. Such activity has prompted the landowners where the animals now romp to post their pasture against trespassers. The family agreed to speak to the Caledonian-Record about the wild moose and their domestic horse on the condition that their name or exact property location not be specified. For weeks, a young moose was seen wandering around the Groton village area and on July 12 ended up in a field adjacent to Route 302 outside the village. The moose enjoyed the pleasure of having the clear-running Wells River at her back and plenty to eat from nearby hayfields, especially at the farm location that would serve as her new summer home.
And in a hayfield close to that farm, a horse was paddocked. The two animals came together and before long, the moose was following the horse back to the farm yards and barn. They romped together, trotted together and could be seen peering out the barn window or standing side-by-side at the fence just outside the farm's kitchen door.
After more than seven weeks, the two female animals are still attracted to each other. They are both brown, the moose taller and longer. The horse is the leader and the moose follows wherever they go. The moose is about a year old, according to neighbors who have spoken with a Vermont game biologist. The farm children named her ``Mary.''
Mary the Moose and Little Bit, a Welch Cob, enjoy the coolness of the interior in a huge barn located on the property and frequently walk the pasture together, much to the delight of passing motorists. The host family is very careful not to feed Mary, requiring her to live off the land instead of their handouts.
A moose coming in from the wild to visit with a farm animal reminded the host family and visitors of the classic events of Jessica the Hereford cow and a huge male moose dubbed Bullwinkle, who in October 1986 entertained thousands of visitors at the Larry Carrara farm in Shrewsbury for 76 days.

Art Fair Day - Friday July 23rd

2004-08-13T13:09:00.000-04:00

OK, so on my way to my annual trip to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, I make a stop at the payless on 9 Mile near Livernois. I had one quick thing to get and as I was getting in my car, I was stopped by a man that was just in the store. He had on a light colored polo shirt and dockers which I had noticed when he first entered the store. He seemed to have an odd request of the cashier, something about getting socks for a child and the cashier perhaps offered something Spiderman in nature. I was surprised at how quickly he came up to me. He was calling 'Miss, Miss!' ... 'Do you know - you look like Elizabeth on 'Law and Order.' Did you know that?' 'No' I replied. He said 'Have you see the show, you look just like her. She is very pretty.' He then proceeded to give me a hug. It was so very fast and I was literally half in my car and I glanced to make sure that he wasn't taking anything off my body (my purse was already in the car, I was really half in.) He then told me that if I was ever to marry Donny Osmond that he wanted to go to the wedding and proceeded to give me another quick hug.

I thought that this was just the most *perfect* way to start the day. It seems that I always draw this type of behavior - these kinds of things and wacked out people. I was told that maybe I have an invisible scarlett letter and just don't know it. What an interesting concept - St. Suzy, patron saint for the crazies and all things bizarre.

Lizard Head Found In Applebee's Salad

2004-06-25T17:13:00.001-04:00

May 2003

"A customer of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Coralville, Iowa got the shock of a lifetime in a carry-out Santa Fe Chicken Salad: A lizard head that was more than an inch long was nestled in the lettuce leaves. The Associated Press reports that Applebee's quickly had the lizard head tested for salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning; test results proved negative. Officials said the restaurant has switched to pre-cut, pre-cleaned lettuce for its salads. " (article found in Netscape News)

The lizard head in question was just over an inch long according to the Iowa City Press Citizen. While the Johnson County Public Health Department refused to comment other than a complaint had been received, the Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill fessed up. Apple Corp, L.P.'s Dave Phillips issued a statement to the press. The statement read, "Based on our initial investigation, we believe a small lizard managed to deeply imbed itself in a head of lettuce delivered from California." "We regret this and apologize to the affected guests". The vicitm has opted not to pursue legal action. Applebee's has discontinued use of said lettuce and will switch to pre-cut and pre-cleaned lettuce.

Ugh! H.S. Science Lab Goes Very Wrong

2004-06-25T17:13:00.000-04:00

11/20/03 05:22PM

The point of the science experiment led by Jeff Ferguson, a chemistry and physics teacher at Smithfield-Selma High School in Smithfield, N.C., was to test the body's ability to neutralize acids in milk. To do this, Ferguson asked students to drink large amounts of milk. He knew what would happen. The human body can handle only so much--and then a natural reaction occurs. It's called vomiting.

Of the 42 students in two classes who participated in the sadistic experiment, five did vomit. Helpfully, Ferguson had pails standing by. He even videotaped the proceedings for later analysis, while a yearbook photographer shot photos. Now Mr. Ferguson is in big trouble. The Associated Press reports that Ferguson has been suspended without pay pending an investigation by a law firm that was hired by the school district.

Ferguson's attorney told AP that students were not required to participate in the experiment. "If anybody wanted to quit at any time, they could have," Armstrong told the news service. Ferguson is seeking a court order that would allow him to return to the classroom.

Fetus found in 7 year old boy

2004-06-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

05/05/03 02:46pm

Mourat Zhanaidarov was admitted to the hospital suffering from severe stomach pains. But when surgeons at Chimkent Children's Hospital operated on the 7-year-old boy in Kazakhstan late last week, they found it wasn't a cyst causing his pain. Instead, it was the dead fetus of what would have been his conjoined twin brother, reports the BBC News Online. Although the fetus developed into a tumor, it still had hair, nails, and bones.

Doctors at Chimkent Children's Hospital confirmed to the BBC that the tumor was the remains of Mourat's twin brother's fetus. "At first we saw that the boy's organs were squeezed by a large hard swelling covered with black hair," the BBC quotes Valentina
Vostrikova, chief surgeon at Chimkent Children's Hospital, as telling a British newspaper. "As we washed him, we could see that inside him he had his own twin brother. Mourat had been a Siamese twin but nobody knew it. Something had gone wrong during his mother's pregnancy, and the baby grew inside his brother," Vostrikova added. Although the fetus was not living, it did feed off Mourat's blood supply. If it were not removed, it could have threatened the child's life.

Doctors suspect malnutrition in the mother may have cause the extremely rare phenomenon, which has a medical name: fetus in fetu. Just last August, a 6-month-old infant boy in Calcutta, India had surgery to remove a dead fetus lodged within his body. In this
case, the imperfect fetus weighed 2.2 pounds.

Some of the best odd news EVER

2004-06-17T17:54:00.000-04:00

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-RTO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0002/20040616/0743729588.htm

Interesting Fact

2004-06-17T17:17:00.000-04:00

So today my coworker from Korea was talking about 'raining like cats and dogs' as it was pouring outside. I asked him if there is a similiar term in Chinese or Korean, languages with which he is familiar. He said the equivalent is 'wet mouse.' I wrote that on my dry erase board as I thought it was poignant and fascinating. Damn I need a life.

Odd News

2004-06-11T11:51:00.000-04:00

Today's Odd News... News

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

2004-06-07T17:19:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just can't make things up as good as what exists in the world. I'm testing my blog.