According to police, bandanna-clad JasonZacchi, 27, was arrested in Dearborn Heights, Mich., inNovember after pointing a shotgun at a Wendy's employee at the drive-in windowand demanding money. Moments later, the shift manager angrily approached thewindow and yelled at Zacchi, “What the hell are you doing?” The managerrecognized Zacchi through his bandannaZacchi is her son.
Latest Religious Messages
- Carried Away: (1) Since March 2008, the Cathedral of Christ the King inPhoenix has been ringing its bells at least once an hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.Neighbors have become enraged at the constancy of the ringing, and a showdownwith city officials was looming at press time, according to ABC News. (2) Britain'sSevenoaks Magistrates Court sanctioned Martina Rabess, 52, in October afterneighbors complained about her loud, long recitations of the “Lord's Prayer” inthe middle of the night in and around her apartment. (3) Atlanta municipal bus driver Leroy Matthewswas suspended in November for an incident in which he stopped the bus andrefused to open the doors until passengers held hands and joined him in prayer.
- Aggressive Christianity: (1) Pastor Marc Grizzard, leader of the Amazing GraceBaptist Churchin Canton, N.C., staged an October book-burning of"Satan's" literature, which included works by Mother Teresa and Rev.Billy Graham, as well as any Bible besides the original King James version. (2)In October, Mikey Weinstein, a former military lawyer who served in the ReaganWhite House, filed a lawsuit against Gordon Klingenschmitt, head of a Dallas chaplains'association, to stop Klingenschmitt from publicly reciting Bible versesimplying a smiting of Weinstein, along with Weinstein's family and descendantsfor 10 generations. Said Klingenschmitt: "I never prayed for anyone'sdeath. All I did was quote the Scriptures."
Oddities
(1) Shannon Broome, 15, of Jacksonville, Fla.,still recovering from injuries she suffered in a June rollover accident in anSUV, was hurt again in December when an out-of-control SUV crashed through herbedroom wall and caused part of the ceiling to collapse. (2) Recently, at the Abergele Hospitalin North Wales, Geraint Woolford, 52, wasmoved into a room to await a partial knee replacement and discovered that hisroommate was Geraint Woolford, 77, who was awaiting a hip replacement.According to a December report in the DailyMail, they are not related, but both are retired police officers.
The Simplest Musical Instrument
Rajeev Kumar of Calcutta, India,is well known locally for playing the harmonicaspecifically, for playing theharmonica while using only his right nostril. For added show, Kumar plays twoharmonicas simultaneously, one with his right nostril and another with hismouth. A BBC News reporter watching him perform for a December dispatch saidthat the strain of this playing style was obvious. The reporter wrote that"the veins running through his nose and neck bulge, his eyes pop out andhis face looks red and stretched." And at Britain'sWest Midland Safari Park,an African elephant named "Five" spends portions of almost every daypuffing away at a harmonica she found in her enclosure. Said a parkrepresentative, "Five was making tunes within a few weeks." (The talentedFive also paints on canvas.)
Questionable Judgments
Michael Sampson, who was in court in Salina, Kan.,in November on charges of littering and driving with a suspended license, nowfaces more serious charges after a judge spotted him at the defense tablemaking threatening gestures to witnesses. Sampson was seen pointing at awitness and then holding his thumb and fingers in the shape of a gun, and latermaking a slashing motion across his neck.
People With Issues
Sara Foss, 39, the mother of 13 children in Derby, England,and who is scheduled to deliver No. 14 in April, told the Daily Mail in November that she plans to continue getting pregnantuntil she fulfills her desire to have twins. (Foss, apparently a fan ofliterature and movies, has kids named Artemis, Morpheus, Voorhees, Baudelaire,Rogue, Malachai and Frodo.)
Update
Ragnar Bengtsson, 26, the male Swedish studentwho vowed in September to pump milk from his nipples every three hours for 90days, drop by drop, to show that it could be done, quit in November, concludingthat it can't be done. Said a TV producer following Bengtsson around, "Allhe got was sore breasts."
A News of the Weird Classic (May 2002)
In April 2002, the U.S. Patent Office awardedpatent No. 6,368,227 to Steven Olson, age 7, of St. Paul, Minn.,whose father helped him to file for a method of swinging on a swing. TheOlsons' discovery: While seated, if you pull alternately on one side'schain/rope and then on the other side's while gradually introducing aforward-backward thrust, you can swing in an oval-shaped arc, as long as theside-to-side motion is greater than the forward-backward motion. According tothe Patent and Trademark Office, licenses to use the patented method areavailable from the inventor.
© 2010 Chuck Shepherd
