Hello again, adventurers!
What is it about people that makes them abandon a nice safe
life and do something like skydiving or bungee jumping? Now
understand, I'm not criticizing folks that jump out of airplanes.
Why, I'd do it myself - if the plane was on fire and crashing.
But there are people who actively crave adventure and seek it at
every opportunity. This accounts for the popularity of
parasailing, rock climbing and other semi-risky activities. We
view these people in two distinct ways: as bold, decisive and
brave, AND also reckless, thrill-seeking lunatics.
Even everyday life is an adventure. We don't have to climb
mountains, or drive race cars - just getting through a normal day
is often exciting enough. Just ask someone who commutes into LA
every day. That is much more exciting than the average jungle
safari. After all, the animals there don't shoot back.
One curious thing about adventures is how often we use that
label for looking back on some really stupid or scary event.
Only the ones we've survived, of course. It shows that adventure
can also be something that happened to us accidentally, with no
input from us.
But whatever adventures you encounter in your life, you'll
take no risk in thanking our regular SUNFUN contributors. This
week including: Jerry Taff, Fumiko Umino, Sylvia Libin He, Kerry
Miller, Dick Ginkowski, Yasmin and Meredith Leischer, Sarah &
Jeff Morsman, Nnamdi Elleh, John Wallner, Rick & Mary Lou
Santovec, Alison M. Becwar, Beth Butler, Toshiro Kawabata, Kyle
Peterson, Michael and Susan Will and Sue Yan. Be sure to fasten
your seat belts and keep arms and legs inside until the Funnies
stops completely.
Have an Adventurous Week,
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TAKEN FOR A RIDE...
----------------
Lats week, 500 people on a train in Argentina demonstrated
that you don't have to seek out adventure - it often has no
trouble finding you.
As the train pulled out of a local station in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, many passengers noticed the man running along the
platform and trying to jump on board, finally giving up as the
train pulled away. But until they roared through the next
station without stopping, none of them knew that the man trying
to catch the train as it pulled out had been the engineer.
"He was running but not shouting. How was I to know he was
the driver and that the train had started without him?" said
passenger Veronica Rienzi.
The driver had left his cab to check on some problem with
the electric doors further back in the train. Not realizing that
the engineer was not on board, the conductor closed the doors and
the train immediately started.
Now running out of control and with no engineer, passengers
began to panic and run for the rear cars. The local ran past
five more station stops before a guard managed to get into the
engineer's cab and apply the brakes, stopping the train only a
few meters before the end of track. (Reuters)
[ It's not just a ride home, it's a tryout
for a new attraction at Universal Studios! ]
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A ONE BOUNCE LANDING...
--------------------
Adonis Gomez is only two years old, but he already has just
the trait that most true adventurers really need - incredibly
good luck. A little over a year ago, Adonis was playfully
jumping on the couch of his mother's third floor apartment in New
York City, when he bounced right out of the open window.
Fortunately, the toddler landed safely in the lap of 31-year-old
Barbara Jones, who was sitting peacefully in her wheelchair on
the sidewalk below.
[ Mom always said you shouldn't jump on the
couch. ]
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A LITTLE SPACEY?
---------------
NASA hates to admit these kind of mistakes, but they may
have had a slightly less-then-qualified technician in mission
control during a shuttle flight. Officials at the Marshall Space
Center in Huntsville, Alabama were surprised to find Jerry Allen
Whittredge manning a console as astronauts were attempting to
rescue a satellite in space. Apparently, Whittridge's only
qualifications for the position were that he could speak English
and his heart was beating. Whittredge has been charged in the
incident, but his lawyer claims that the temporary technician is
mentally incompetent. Which does make you wonder why he didn't
stand out from the rest of NASA's technicians...
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WHAT'S IN STORE NEXT?
--------------------
Driving is full of adventures these days, as those of us who
commute daily can easily attest, but sometimes even getting your
license can be an adventure.
Huai Qing of Carrboro, North Carolina was just completing
her road test late last year, when she apparently got a little
nervous as she was pulling into a parking space.
"The examiner thought she was going to hit the brakes.
Instead, she hit the gas," explained police Capt. John Butler.
The car jumped forward across the sidewalk and ended up
three feet (1 meter) inside a store, but caused no injuries.
And Huai Qing didn't pass. (AP)
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POLLING THE MARKET...
------------------
Speaking of driving problems, even people who already know
how to drive can have troubles from time to time. Take the
example of the Ukrainian businessman who had a great idea for a
New Year's present for his staff. He'd present each of them with
their own pager -- all 50 of them. The pager shop was happy to
get such a large order and had them ready in plenty of time for
the holidays.
So far so good.
As the businessman was driving back from the pager shop,
just 100 meters from his office, all 50 pagers started screeching
at once. The loud noise from the back seat surprised the
businessman so much that he swerved off the road into a light
pole.
After checking the damage to his car, he happened to look at
one of the pagers. The message said: "Congratulations on a
successful purchase!" (Reuters)
[ Any guess about how far he threw the pager
on reading the message? ]
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A-HUNTING WE WON'T GO...
---------------------
At it's best, a hunting party is like a ballet. That's the
way things are supposed to go. But sometimes life in the woods
begins to resemble a Three Stooges movie.
Brad Davis of Milledgeville, Georgia was out training his
new hunting dog while on a hunting trip with his friend, Donnie
Lamb. After seeing a raccoon climb up a tree nearby, Davis
decided to show the puppy how to tree a raccoon, so he led the
dog to the spot and around the tree. This is supposed to be step
one in hunting raccoons.
Step two is when the hunter locates the raccoon on the tree
and shoots it. Davis' hunting partner, Lamb, couldn't see Davis
and the dog below the tree, but he could see the raccoon up on a
branch. He hit the animal with his first shot.
The 15-pound (7.5 kg) animal fell nearly 60 feet (20 meters)
from the branch, landing right on Davis' head.
"I heard him shoot, and the next thing I knew, I was seeing
lights shining in my eyes," said Davis.
Davis suffered three fractured vertebrae and ended up
wearing a neck brace for a few weeks. And he's been teased about
it ever since, even receiving a hard hat and coonskin cap for
Christmas. (AP)
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THE LAST PLACE YOU'D LOOK...
-------------------------
It's every parent's worst nightmare - your child is missing.
That's what happened to the parents of a two-year-old boy in a
small town in Switzerland recently. They immediately alerted
authorities, who swung into action, alerting ninety-five fire
fighters, seventeen police, twenty volunteers from the
neighborhood and three dog teams, as well as a bicycle unit of
the Swiss Army. Medical personnel were also called in, just in
case the child had fallen into a nearby stream. Local radio
stations broadcast bulletins on the progress of the search and
requests for help. They searched everywhere for the small boy.
Well, not quite everywhere. The pajama-clad toddler was
eventually found at home, curled up under a blanket in a little-
used room of his parents' house.
The searchers were apparently relieved and happy that the
small boy was safe, though several could be heard muttering
quietly under their breath as they left. (Reuters)
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OPERATING UNDER A CLOUD...
-----------------------
Some people just seem to attract trouble. You could even
convince yourself that they wander through life under their own
private rain cloud. That's certainly the case with the owner of
a $127,000 home in Maui, Hawaii, whose house was destroyed by
fire recently.
Investigators determined that the fire was caused by the
homeowner's -- newly-installed fire alarm system.
"This is even worse than last year," said the distraught
homeowner, "when someone broke in and stole my new security
system..."
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A TAIL OF THE SEA...
-----------------
A sixteen-year-old boy from Rockford, Illinois was on the
adventure of his young life: a skin diving vacation in the
Florida Keys. The boy and his family were enjoying the clear
waters and abundant wildlife, when the teenager noticed a 3-foot
(1-meter) long nurse shark swimming nearby. Never having been so
close to a real shark, the boy just couldn't resist the urge to
pull the shark's tail.
This was not the best idea - the shark whipped around and
clamped onto the teen's chest. After people on the scene found
it impossible to get the shark to release the boy, they called
the Coast Guard, who transported the teen (and shark) to the
nearest hospital. The shark hung on all the way to the emergency
room where doctors where finally able to release the shark's
jaws. Fortunately, the boy wasn't seriously injured. (AP)
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THE CASE OF THE UNSEEN CYCLIST...
------------------------------
Another kid that had an adventure not completely of her own
choosing was nine-year-old Kristin Loendal of Aalesund, Norway.
As she was riding her bike down a steep hill, she failed to stop
for the intersection at the bottom and was struck by a car. The
driver of the car stopped immediately, but could find no sign of
the girl. She had disappeared.
It was several hours before the story became clear. The
girl had been knocked into the air on impact and landed in the
bed of a pickup truck going the other way. The girl was very
lucky and suffered only minor bumps and bruises.
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HOT TIME...
--------
Maybe it was just a case of smoking after sex. Whatever the
case, the 4 a.m. fire in a swinger's club in Graze, Austria sent
dozens of people out into the streets. And they really weren't
dressed for the November chill. Most of the Happy End Club's
customers had abandoned their clothes long before the fire sent
them into the freezing temperatures outside.
Police and Red Cross workers provided blankets and a bus for
protection against the cold while firefighters worked on the
building. Which was considerably hotter than usual. (Reuters)
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HOW TO TUNNEL INTO PRISON...
-------------------------
Customs officials in London were already suspicious about
the driver of a container truck that they believed to be involved
in drug smuggling. They watched with growing interest as the
driver met in a quiet location with two men in a blue passenger
car. Police followed as the two vehicles then set off in convoy.
But police interest turned to amusement as the caravan
turned into Blackwall tunnel in central London. The smugglers
were so intent in their game of cloak and dagger that they failed
to notice the tunnel's height restriction. Or the height of
their truck.
Either way, their truck got stuck halfway through. Police
quickly sealed the ends of the tunnel and arrested the driver and
the two men in the car.
Customs and Excise officers also discovered over 80
kilograms of heroin on searching the truck, with a value believed
to be over six million pounds (or $10 million, US). The three
suspects recently received sentences of between nine and eighteen
years in jail for their part in the fiasco.
Plenty of time to study those maps of London. (Reuters)
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ALARM CROC...
----------
The 77-year-old man had a habit of sleepwalking around his
house and yard. Since he has had a knee reconstruction and walks
with a cane, he's not as steady on his feet as he used to be.
So, perhaps it's not surprising that eventually James Currens
stumbled into the pond behind his house in Palm Harbor, Florida
while sleepwalking before dawn one morning.
The fall woke Currens up, and suddenly he realized that
others had noticed his fall. Many others. Many other
alligators. To make matters worse, he was stuck fast in the mud
and unable to free himself.
Fortunately for Currens, a neighbor heard his calls and
summoned police. At first, the officers from the Pinellas County
Sheriff's Department could only see the alligators, but they were
soon able to locate Currens, who was just a few feet away.
Police were able to pull the elderly man to safety before he
became a gator's breakfast and he suffered only minor injuries in
the adventure.
[ And he has no more trouble with
sleepwalking. ]
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© 1999 by Bill Becwar. All Rights Reserved.
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