The Beatles, Lincoln & Jackie Robinson

Good morning my fellow Rotarians! This week in history had some big things happen that are worth noting…

April 10, 1970… The legendary rock band the Beatles spent the better part of three years talking about breaking up in the late 1960s, and even longer than that hashing out who did what and why. And by the spring of 1970, each of the Beatles was pursuing their own musical interests with solo album projects with no plans to record together as a group. The public thought it was a temporary thing, but Paul McCartney’s "self-interview" immediately attracted media from around the world as he made the official announcement of the Beatles breakup on April 10, 1970.

April 14, 1865… John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally shoots President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered, effectively ending the American Civil War. The president was mortally wounded and died at 7:22 a.m. the next morning. Lincoln was 56, our 16th president and the first to be assassinated. Booth was eventually found and committed suicide when troops set fire to the barn he was trapped in. Eight others were charged with the conspiracy, four were hanged and four were jailed. Lincoln was buried on May 4, 1865, in Springfield, Illinois.

April 15, 1947… Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African-American major league baseball player playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The sport had been segregated for more than 50 years and then exactly 50 years later, on April 15, 1997, Robinson's ground breaking career was honored when his uniform #42 was retired in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City's Shea Stadium. Robinson's #42 was the first-ever number retired by all teams in the league to honor Robinson for his accomplishments. Pretty cool.

And that is this week in history as our Bottom of the News on this April 8th 2011! ###

Dumb & Dumber People!

Good morning my fellow Rotarians!  You know there is no shortage of people who do dumb things and today I have three examples…

Palm City, FL – Breaking Up is Hard to Do:  Derick Culberson, 22, told sheriff's deputies in Palm City, FA, he had been robbed at gunpoint. They found him with his hands and feet tied up, but his story didn’t make sense.  The deputies noticed that "zip ties" he was bound with were the same ones they found in his car.  After further questioning, Culberson finally admitted to tying his own hands and feet, and further, he invented the suspects' vehicle and weapon descriptions that he gave to sheriff's deputies. He admitted he made up the robbery "in an attempt to make his girlfriend feel bad for leaving him." He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of making a false report.  And yes, his former girlfriend does feel bad; she regrets not leaving him sooner!

York PA – Grading Parents of Athletes:  The parent of a student athlete from York PA complained at a local school meeting that it was overzealous that students have to carry ‘very high’ scores through every class.  High School parents are lobbying the school to relax its requirements that student athletes maintain a minimum grade to be eligible for athletics.  York's ‘very high’ standard requires a 70 percent or "C-" for athletes to be able to participate. Parents want to drop the minimum to the state’s requirement, which is 60 percent, or a "D-" grade.  So, let’s grade the parents…  how about an "F"?

Houston, TX – I Played a Lawyer on TV:  A man in Houston, TX has been arrested on felony charges of practicing law without a license. The Harris County District Attorney's office says there's no record that the 43-year-old man has been admitted to the Texas Bar, but has allegedly been working as an attorney.  His real name… Perry Mason and he faces some big trouble.  The character "Perry Mason" began in a series of novels that were published from 1933 to 1973.  They were adapted to several movies for 30 years, a radio series for 12 years and finally the very popular TV series (1957-1966).  The Perry Mason who was arrested said he should be commended for his accurate portrayal of Perry Mason as a scrupulously honest and ethical attorney.  Right, well as he spends the next 10 years in prison he can think about how both he and the character Perry Mason were fiction.    

And no, these stories are not fiction, but are real stories as our Bottom of the News on this April 8^th 2011!  ###

It’s April 1^st…  Don’t be Fooled!

Good morning my fellow Rotarians!  Today is ‘All Fools Day’ the official day for practical jokes and fun at the expense of the innocent and gullible.  April 1st and foolishness can be found as far back as 1392 in a play called ‘Canterbury Tales.’  It became a recognized holiday in the mid 16^th century.  Ya wanna here some good April fools jokes that went public over the past few decades?  Well, here you go…

Smell-o-vision: In 1965, the BBC announced they were conducting a new technology trial called “smell-o-vision” allowing the transmission of odor over the airwaves through TV’s. Many viewers called in to report the trial's success.

Iceberg in Australia:  In 1983, Australian millionaire Dick Smith claimed to have towed an iceberg from Antarctica to Sydney Harbor. He used a barge covered with white plastic and fire extinguisher foam to convince witnesses.

Space Shuttle lands in San Diego: In 1993, KGB-FM radio told listeners in San Diego the Space Shuttle Discovery was being diverted from Edwards AFB to Montgomery Field, a small municipal airport. Thousands went to watch causing major traffic jams.  And guess what, no shuttle was in orbit that day.

Taco Liberty Bell: In 1996, Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in The New York Times announcing they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt."   They renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". At that day’s White House briefing, press secretary Mike McCurry replied tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Lefty Whoppers: In 1998, Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a left-handed Whopper with condiments designed to drip out of the right side.  Not only did customers order the new ‘lefty’ burgers, but many specifically requested the "old" right-handed burger.

Diet Tap Water:  In 2004, a British morning show host announced that the Yorkshire Water Co. had a new 'diet water' that had helped one customer lose 15 pounds in two months. Yorkshire was rolling this new water and customers could request a third faucet be added to kitchen sinks.  The water company received over 10,000 requests from viewers within the first 24 hours.

Tiger Woods Name Change:  Last year, ESPN reported that Tiger Woods announced at the Masters that he wanted to be referred to by his given name of ‘Eldrick’ in an attempt to distance himself  from his recent troubles.  The hosts debated the pros and cons of that move before finally revealing that the story was a joke.  Tiger didn’t see the humor in it.

Clean Phone Lines:  And finally, one of my all time favorites, which was a nationwide radio stunt (and here on KRNA) I believe.  The phone company was appealing to all customers to help them clean out their phone lines.  It had been years & they needed a good cleaning.  Customers simply had to call the station and then blow into their phone until a station person confirmed their line was clean.  And guess what, tens of thousands of people called in only to learn that the joke was on them! 

Can you spell gullible?  And that is our Bottom of the News… Happy April 1^st, 2011!  ###

In Honor of St. Patrick!

Good morning my fellow Rotarians!  Yesterday was St Patrick’s Day and I wonder how many people really know the significance of this special day…  Had it not been for a band of Irish marauders in the fifth century, March 17 might've been plain old Maewyn's Day — because Maewyn wouldn't have changed his name to Patrick, and he likely wouldn't have become a saint. In fact, it wouldn't have been a Day at all. 

But as it happened, a certain 16-year-old Welsh lad was kidnapped by those Irish marauders, and young Maewyn was a slave sent to the mountains as a shepherd where he learned how to pray.  Six years into his bondage he had a dream, some calling it his religious awakening.   

He escaped to Europe to spend years studying in monasteries and he changed his name to Patrick.  Eventually the Pope sent him to evangelize England and then Ireland.  Amazingly, within 33 years he converted the entire country of Ireland to Christianity; Ireland became known as the Land of Saints.   

He was also successful in founding schools and churches and was a great teacher.  The shamrock, a trifoliate clover, became his cleverest teaching tool.  He used it to explain the Trinity — each leaf representing the father, son and Holy Spirit while forming one union.  It was simple, powerful and very effective.

There is some blarney in the stories about St. Patrick; the most notable example being where he was delivering a sermon on a hilltop and banished the country's snakes.  This may have been symbolic to pagan practices, but it cannot be true because the island of Ireland never had any native snakes.

Saint Patrick died on March 17^th, 461 AD, and this date was declared a religious feast day where they waived traditional Lenten prohibitions including dancing, drinking, and eating meat.  Today in Ireland, most businesses, excluding restaurants and pubs, are closed on March 17^th.   A St. Patrick's 6-day festival is celebrated in Dublin from March 13-19 and features music, theater, dance, comedy, fireworks and more - they draw more than a million spectators from around the world each year.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade did not take place in Ireland; it was in New York city in 1872 to serve as an occasion for downtrodden Irish immigrants to declare their pride in their Irish heritage.  Today St. Patrick’s Day parades take place across Europe, the Americas and in Asia.  It is the world’s largest celebration of a single nationality.  Over 34 million people in the US claim Irish heritage and yet Ireland is a country of just under 6 million people. 

So, for a moment, let's put aside the beer, corned beef and cabbage and the candy from thousands of kids we say yesterday in our parade, but rather let's lift a glass to honor that patron saint, Patrick… a man on a mission from God to save a country and who's work preserved the Irish heritage for centuries.  And that is our Bottom of the News on this Friday, March 18, 2011.  ###

Why Parents Drink 

Good morning my fellow Rotarians, well today’s story kind of hit home in our house this week since it was the end of a semester for our son Logan.  After a few days of scrambling to prep for finals and a couple of late nights to finish projects it was interesting to see how he fared with his final grades. 

This story is all about the infamous ‘report card’...

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to 'Dad.'  With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter. 

Dear Dad: 

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.  I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. 

But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it’s not only the passion...  Dad, she's pregnant.  Stacy said that we will be very happy. 

She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children.  Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. 

We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy.  In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. 

Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself.  Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren

Love,

Your Son John 

PS. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house.  I Just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a bad report card.  It is in my center desk drawer.  I love you.  Call me when it's safe to come home.

And that is why parents drink…  It’s our Bottom of the News on this Friday, 3-11-2011!  ###

Man has Knife in Brain for 4 Years!

Yunnan Province, China -- A man in China complaining of headaches was found to have a 4-inch knife buried in his brain.

Doctors examining Lee Fu realized the blade had been in his head for four years without him knowing it.  The 37-year-old suffered a stabbing during a robbery in 2006 while he worked as a cab driver.  Lee just had the blade removed this week and is recovering in stable condition. According to reports the robber stabbed Lee in the head following a September, 2006, robbery attempt and at the time Lee was treated at a local hospital where doctors cleaned his wound and gave him disinfectant shots.  His skin and hair grew over the wound, which gradually healed and Lee didn't think anything else of it.

Police later apprehended the suspect in the case and retrieved a broken knife handle, but never found the blade until they reviewed Lee's recent x-ray.

John Daly's Caddy Shack Golf Bag

Pebble Beach, CA - John Daly sported his new golf bag this past week as an opportunity to entertain his golf partners and the galleries.  Daly’s new golf bag that looks like something straight out of the movie Caddy Shack.

"My new bag was built w/flat screen, video player & music," said Daly, “Rodney Dangerfield inspired me and now I’m working on his dance."  The bag also has a loud red pattern that matches the Daly trousers he wears on the golf course.  The bag looks very much like the one owned by Rodney Dangerfield's character in the cult-favorite movie Caddy Shack. All that is lacking is the beer tap and it does not have clubs that shoot out of the bag.

NY Limo Driver Scams Passenger

New York, NY -- A New York City limo driver has admitted illegally scamming a multi-millionaire Hong Kong feng-shui master by running up unauthorized credit card purchases.  Peter Rahhaoui pleaded guilty to credit-card fraud in a Brooklyn federal court.

In 2008, the limo driver drove businessman Tony Chan 13 miles from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to Manhattan. However, after Chan used his credit card to pay for the ride, the cabby retained the number and used it for several months to buy things for himself.  All told, Rahhaoui racked up $800,000 in charges using Chan's American Express credit card number.  Chan reportedly did not notice the fraudulent activity on his credit card until his bank's security department contacted him about the charges.

And there you have em, strange, but true as our Bottom of the News on this Friday, 2-25-2011!  ###

Famous Guys in History this Week

Good morning my fellow Rotarians on this Friday, February 18th.  Thought I would share with you a few 'famous guys' from this week in history...

In 1801...  Thomas Jefferson was finally elected the 3rd US president after one tie vote in the Electoral College and 35 indecisive ballot votes in the House of Representatives.  He defeated running mate, Aaron Burr. The election took five months to complete with Jefferson not inaugurated until March 4th.  This clearly exposed the need for change with the electoral process and that led to the 12th Amendment. The formation of political parties happened this year as well; Jefferson formed the Democratic-Republicans (forerunner of the Democratic Party) and Alexander Hamilton started the conservative Federalists Party.

In 1885...  Mark Twain published "the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" which was a follow up to his tremendously successful novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published 9 years earlier in 1876. Twain saw Huck's story as a kind of sequel to his earlier book, but this new novel was far more serious, focusing on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life in the South.  The book was took a look at racism, religion and other social attitudes of the time and thus is became very popular and yet controversial, long after Twain's death in 1910.  Today it is required reading in most US high schools and is considered a masterpiece.

In 1933...  Adolph Hitler came up with the Volkswagen Beetle idea.  The car became the highest production vehicle in history, in 1972, when 15,007,034 Beetles were produced.  For over 40 years Ford Model T held the record during 1908 thru 1927. Hitler wanted a small, inexpensive 'people's car' and he hired Austrian-born engineer Ferdinand Porsche as the designer.  When the Beetle arrived in the US In the 1950s it was not well received, but with a new ad agency in the early '60s and with some help from the 'Love Bug' Disney movie, the Beetle eventually became the #1 US import. 

And finally, in 1962...  John Glenn Jr. was the first American astronaut to go in to space and orbit the earth aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft.  Glenn, a Marine lieutenant colonel, was a decorated pilot who flew nearly 150 combat missions during World War II and the Korean War.  Glenn endured many mechanical and functional issues during his five hours in space, but in the end he was considered a national hero because his flight put the US back as the leader in the space race, which had been led by the Russians who had put two men in space two years earlier.  Glenn did not fly any other space missions until 38 years later when he was designated as a payload specialist on the space shuttle Discovery. On this flight the 77-year-old Glenn became the oldest human ever to travel in space.

And there you have it, famous guys this week in history as our bottom of the news on this Friday, February 18th, 2011.  ###

Kids Defining ‘Love’

Good morning my fellow Rotarians.  How many guys in the room know what month this is???  (It’s the LOVE month, hint, hint!)  To honor this holiday let’s hear what a group of 4 to 8 year-old kids had to say to the question…  “What does love mean to you?” 

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy – age 4

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss” Emily – age 8

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy – age 6

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny – age 7

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri – age 4

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and then he wears it everyday.” Noelle – age 7

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” Mark – age 6

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy – age 6

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris – age 7

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her now, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca- age 8

As the Beatles said…  ‘All you need is love...’  Happy Valentine’s Day!  That’s our Bottom of the News on this Friday, 2-11-2011!  ###

The Day the Music Died

Good morning my fellow Rotarians. Yesterday, February 3rd, 1959 was a notable day in music history… it was “the day the music died.” Don McLean’s 1971 folk hit “American Pie” was a tribute to the three rock ‘n rollers who were killed in a cornfield just 6 miles north of Clear Lake, IA. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in an airplane crash following their show at the Surf Ballroom.

"The Winter Dance Party" tour was set for 24 cities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas over three weeks. Unfortunately tour organizers did not take in account the travel time needed between cities and so it was a grueling pace. Their transportation was on a bus ill-equipped for the cold weather and the bus heating system stopped working shortly after the tour began. Holly's drummer had to be hospitalized with frost bitten toes.

The Surf Ballroom was not originally on the tour, but the promoters were able to fill an open date on Monday, February 2nd. By the time Buddy Holly arrived in Clear Lake that evening he was very frustrated with the tour bus and he was mad when he learned that the Clear Lake Laundromat was closed because he was out of clean clothes. Holly told his other two band mates Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup to book a charter plane to their next show 380 miles away in Moorhead, MN.

Flight arrangements were made with a 21-year-old local pilot from Mason City with room for three passengers. Jennings gave up his seat to the Big Bopper, who had the flu, and Allsup lost his seat to Ritchie Valens, who had never flown in a small plane before, on a coin flip. When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said in jest, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up" and Jennings responded, also in jest, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes". This exchange would haunt Jennings for the rest of his life.

Holley, known as a rock ‘n roll pioneer, influenced many who followed him, including the Beatles, The Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones and the Hollies (named in tribute to him). Holley was 22, newly married, with a career less than two years old. His best known song was “Peggy Sue”. Valens was the youngest at age 17, his career was only 8 months old, his big hit was “LaBamba.” The Big Bopper, known for “Chantilly Lace” and “White Lighting” was 28, with a 4-year old daughter and son yet to be born. Big Bopper, Jr. followed in his dad’s footsteps with a very successful lifelong music career.

Don McLean’s “American Pie” was notable to me, not at first because of his tribute, because in early 1959 I wasn’t even in school yet and I even lived just a few miles from Clear Lake. But rather, in my early days of radio, I loved the long-play version of this song because it was 8 ½ minutes long, a perfect bathroom break song! However, as my interest in music grew, I came to know these rock ‘n roll legends, their place in music history and the significance of that day when their music died.

And that’s our Bottom of the News on this Friday, February 4, 2011!

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New Year's Resolution from my Grandsons

Good morning my fellow Rotarians and Happy New Year! After spending a lot of time with my two grandsons (5 and 3) over the holidays and watching how they drive their mom nuts, I thought maybe they could use some new year’s resolution ideas to help out their parents.

Caleb… the ‘all-knowing always right’ five-year old

1. I will try to not have girlfriends every day on the bus ride to Pre-School.

2. I will try to accept the fact that at the age of five I don’t know everything yet and that I am not always right, even though I kinda think I am and I like telling people that.

3. I will work on not making little kids cry because apparently its not nice to tell the truth about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny by saying they are only a figment of someone’s imagination made up to trick little kids.

4. I will stop telling my mom that, as a girl, she needs to do a better job of understanding the perspective of an overly active, very intelligent five year old boy.

5. I will stop telling everyone that Javin still has to wear a pull up at bed time and cannot yet wear big boy pants (yes, that makes him really mad and he punches me every time I say it).

Javin… the ‘energizer bunny and sports nut’ three-year old

1. I will try to find other clothes to wear other than my Hawkeye stuff or my Payton Manning jersey (I WANT to wear them every day!).

2. I will stop telling my mom that her macaroni and cheese is fake and that I love Papa’s Kraft mac & cheese and that we should eat it every day at our house.

3. I will try to remember to not keep yelling ‘go Hawks’ when I am with Papa at UNI and Mount Mercy games.

4. I will try to stop pounding on my brother and screaming at him every time he enters the room, especially when my mom and dad are no where in site.

5. I will stop asking my mom every morning when I wake up ‘do the Hawkeyes play today?’

6. I promise to stop sneaking out of the house to pee in the front yard when my mom is not looking.

There you have ‘em, resolutions for my grandsons. You think there’s any chance of this stuff ever happening? Happy New Year from the Bottom of the News on this Friday, January 14, 2011! ###

Mom's Dear Santa Letter

Good morning my fellow Rotarians.  As the Christmas season is upon us I wanted to a Dear Santa Letter from a Mom…

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned, and cuddled my two children on demand, visited the doctor's office too much, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground and figured out how to attach nine patches onto my daughter's girl scout sash with staples and a glue gun.

And Santa I’m writing this list while hiding in my laundry room to get away for a few moments and wanted to quickly jot down my Christmas wishes:  I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache after a day of chasing kids (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that are strong enough to carry a screaming toddler out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like a car with fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music and a television that doesn't show programs with talking animals.

On the practical side, how about a talking daughter doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight. I could also use a recording of a Tibetan monk chanting, "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late for any of these things, I'd settle for time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.  
Santa, would it be okay if we could declare ketchup a vegetable? Also, it would be great if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payments.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think I’ve been discovered. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the chimney and come in and dry off by the fire so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many and please don’t leave crumbs on my carpet.

Yours Always, Mom

P.S. And one more thing Santa...  you can cancel all my requests if you can simply keep my children young enough to believe in you.

So, this is my last newscast for 2010.  May we each of us count our blessings as we spend time with friends and families and most importantly, may we remember the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas – the first coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.  

I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and that is our bottom of the news for 12-12-2010!  

 ###

Drug Teachers, Super Sized Fliers & Old Men Driving

Good morning my fellow Rotarians, here is our latest bottom of the news stories on this Friday, November 12th…

HOUSTON, TX:  Drug Teachers…  Teachers in Houston are crying foul because the Houston School District has decided school "zero tolerance" policies should apply to teachers as well.  At least eight teachers, including a Texas "Teacher of the Year," have been arrested on drug charges, two of them twice, after school police with drug-sniffing dogs were brought in to search teachers' cars and desks. The searches are "a very wide and very destructive dragnet," complained Tom Shahiria, a former attorney, now a fifth-grade teacher.  He says that he has a problem with "using the zero-tolerance laws that show zero compassion and zero common sense."  Hmmm, seems like a classic case of “do as I say, not as I do” example.

QUEENSLAND, AUS: Super Sized Flying…  Samantha Scafe was incensed when she flew Jetstar Airlines recently.  Jetstar made her pay for two seats because she weighs 353 lbs, but Scafe says that when she booked her ticket by phone the airline told her "not to worry about paying for a second seat."  However, when she arrived at the airport the agents told her that “for other people’s comfort” because of her size, she needed to pay for a second seat.  She argued that the agent was discriminating against her, but eventually gave up and paid for the extra seat.  Upon boarding the airplane she quickly realized there was a problem… her two seats were not together. Scafe is now considering suing the airline for discrimination, public embarrassment and severe emotional trauma.

TAMPA, FL:  Old Men Driving…  Stanley Makowski, 79, has lived in Tampa, FL for 30 years and lost his license last year after he drove away after an accident – the police said it was a hit and run. To get his license back he has to take pass the standard written test, which is 20 multiple-choice questions and you need 15 correct answers to pass. The test does not have a time limit, plus you can take it as many times as you need to pass.  "I've been driving for 65 years and, see and they keep making changes to the rules and they never tell me," he explains.  “Maybe I'll try again tomorrow." If and when he passes the written test, then he has to take a driving test.  He can only fail this test five times and then Florida will ban him from driving for life.  And oh, did I tell you, over the past year, Markowski has failed the 20 Question written test 72 times.

And there you have it, that’s our bottom of news this Friday, 11-12-2010.  ###