What a Bunch of Malarkey!
In Ohio in 2004, 6-year-old Alex Malarkey spent two months in a coma after a car accident, awaking as a quadriplegic and telling his family he had visited heaven, saw angels and met Jesus. Alex and his dad, Kevin, co-wrote the best-selling 2010 book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, but five years later, Alex admitted he had made up the story to get attention. “I did not die; I did not go to heaven,” he told The Guardian. In a recent effort to set the record straight, Alex filed a complaint Monday, April 9, in DuPage County, Ill., against the book’s publisher, Tyndale House, alleging that “any reasonable person would have realized that it was highly unlikely that the content of the book was true.” The Washington Post reported that while Kevin Malarkey is not a party to the suit—which cites several Illinois statutes regarding the right to privacy, defamation and financial exploitation of a person with a disability, among others—it does allege that Alex’s dad concocted and sold the story to Tyndale. The younger Malarkey did not receive any royalties from the sales of the book.
Maybe She’s a Furry?
Richland Carrousel Park in Mansfield, Ohio, a family oriented destination, just wanted to provide a seasonal attraction for kids who wanted to pose for pictures with the Easter Bunny. But Ladonna Hughett, 54, had other things in mind when she plopped into the bunny’s lap, grabbed him in “inappropriate ways” and made “lewd comments,” reported Fox 8 Cleveland. She then moved on to ride a horse on the carousel, also in ways witnesses described as “lewd.” “I’ve never heard of somebody performing those types of acts on the Easter Bunny,” said Mansfield Assistant Police Chief Keith Porch. Hughett was arrested for public drunkenness and is no longer welcome at the amusement park.
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Sauced on the Special Sauce?
On Saturday, March 17, police officers called to a McDonald’s restaurant in Okeechobee, Fla., found Derril James Geller of West Palm Beach had passed out in his car while waiting in line; he was arrested for driving on a suspended license and DUI. The Okeechobee News reported that in January, a local woman was charged with DUI after passing out at a different area McDonald’s drive-thru, and in December, a Texas man also received a DUI for nodding off in the line at that same McDonald’s.
Is the McArachnid Next?
At Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, N.C., April is Exotic Meat Month. This year, according to WTVD, the restaurant offered a “Tarantula Challenge,” where by customers were invited to enter their name in a raffle, and, if chosen, could claim a $30 tarantula burger, which included a pasture-raised beef patty, gruyere cheese, spicy chili sauce… and an oven-roasted zebra tarantula. Those who finished the burger received a commemorative T-shirt.
Zero-Tolerance Gone Weird
In Manchester, England, 75-year-old Peter Vipham of Rawtenstall, Lancashire, was shocked on Wednesday, April 11, when he was approached in the city center by two women who identified themselves as law enforcement. The officers told Vipham, a retired shoemaker, that he had been filmed littering—a small crumb of the pork pie he had been eating fell to the ground, and he flicked another crumb off his coat. Vipham offered to pick up the crumbs, but told Metro News he was not given the opportunity to view the video footage, and he refused to pay the fine. “If I had dropped litter, I would pay the (50 pound) fine, but I would never drop litter. I am against litter 100%!” Vipham declared. A Manchester city council spokesperson said the city would review the evidence and contact Vipham to discuss his case.
© 2018 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION
