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Since 1994, this is the 1606th issue of Randy Cassingham’s...
| 23 March 2025: The Last of The Few | Copyright ©2025 https://thisistrue.com |
Oops, Easy Mistake: The family of Brittany Guillory Fontenot was quite distressed when she died in April 2023, at 31; investigators from the Evangeline Parish (La.) Sheriff’s Office said it was suicide, and the coroner agreed. Her family didn’t. “Three gun shots to the face and head, with two guns,” summarized her mother, Yvonne Malveaux. “How is this possible?” But for month after month for nearly two years, the family heard nothing. Brittany’s husband, Ray Charles Fontenot Jr., hadsaid he had found her dead. Now, investigators have reached a different conclusion, and have arrested Ray, 33, for murder. He is being held on $2 million bail, and the sheriff says the investigation is continuing. (RC/KLFY Lafayette, Baton Rouge Advocate) ...Mainly focusing on the training of the investigators.
Sssstop Thief: Mayur Raval and his brother were working at a Denmark, Tenn.,truck stop when two men walked in with two women. Raval was suspicious. “They pulled their car up to the front of the door,” he said, thinking they were there to rob him. “The snake is a weapon, you know.” The men had two “weapons” — pythons — and “were just waving them around and putting them on the counter,” Raval said. The group eventually left, he says, with $400 worth of CBD oil they lifted while the snakes held everyone’s attention. Police are asking for help locating the suspects.(MS/WREG Memphis) ...They are described as long, thin, and really mellow.
10-Year Airtag Battery Life!
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Airliner Takeoff Roll Aborted because the pilot wasn’t on the runway (d’oh!) in Florida (naturally). Florida Woman says she shot herself, but her story changed once she was away from her husband. The surprising part was who was convicted under the Modern Slavery Act. Daycare loses its license for a forehead-slapping reason. Copyright infringement lawsuit fails spectacularly. A story so breathtaking that the tagline is, “...Health insurance: if you’re not dead, they’llmake sure you want to be.” And a really unusual theme for a blood donation drive. You miss great stories every week — unless you have a Premium upgrade! You choose how much to pay. Upgrade here, and yes you can get the full Issue 1606 by asking in your order.
We’ll Call the Victim Bob: Witnesses on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., posted online to praise the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for their “brave and quick” rescue of a man in the water. It wasn’t a rescue, it was an arrest. The agency says Rafael Agne, 40, swam up to a man who was diving to say he “needed gear”; Agne was not wearing anything. The victim said it appeared Agne was struggling and he tried to help, but Agne grabbed his dive flag, “forcefully took” his polespear, and held it above his head in a throwing position, which “created a well-found fear in the victim that violence was imminent,” the investigator wrote in his report. The unnamed victim called for help, and that’s when the sheriff’s boat responded, found Agne still in the water holding the spear, and arrested him for armed robbery and aggravated assault. (RC/WPLG Miami) ...And carrying an unconcealed weapon.
Orbital Reentry: When NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched to the InternationalSpace Station for an 8-day stay, their Boeing-built space capsule had problems, and they were “stuck” in space for 286 days. Were they upset at being stranded? Nah: “This is my happy place,” Williams said in an interview from orbit. “I love being up here in space. It’s just fun, you know?” Now that they’re back, a New York Times reporter wondered, will they get overtime for those extra 278 days? Nah. They’re on a salary of “about” $152,258 per year, NASA said. However, “While in space,”says NASA spokesman Jimi Russell, “astronauts are on official travel orders as federal employees,” and thus entitled to $5 per day for “incidentals” such as, according to the General Services Administration, “fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, hotel staff, and staff on ships.” None of those exist in space, and astronauts don’t carry money anyway. But the space duo, NASA says, will receive “about” $1,430 for their incidentals. (RC/New York Times) ...In other news, NASA caninsert a probe around Saturn within a minute of schedule, but can’t calculate exact payroll figures.
Not a Daily Occurrence?
Florida Man Points Gun at Man at Karaoke Bar after Getting ‘Upset’ about the Music
WOFL Orlando headline
Did You Find an Error? Check the Errata Page for updates.
This Week’s Contributors: MS-Mike Straw, RC-Randy Cassingham.
Stories This Week were Written/Edited in Belém, our last stop in Brazil (which city was featured in a story last week). We are now heading to the Caribbean again, to go through the Panama Canal again, and then head north. The latest post in our blog is The Mystery of the Traveling Shoes.
Alexander Cohen is off this week.
I’m still running behind on the Honorary Unsubscribe, but I think you’ll enjoy last week’s, which is below: John Hemingway
Freudian Typo: In a story this week, Jen, one of my editors pointed out an interesting typo. That led to a bit of musing in my blog about how I write. What that typo was, and said musing, is yes, at Freudian Typo.
This Weekend a Premium reader (since December 2004) wrote: “Howdy Randy! I just wanted to send you a note to cancel my subscription before the autorenew kicks it in. I have terminal cancer and, at this time, I am not expected to get past December of 2025. (But I am seriously fighting the bitch!). So if you can help me in this, I will be extremely appreciative! Thank you!”
Well damn it, I replied, that’s not the kind of news I like to hear, though it IS the kind of attitude I like to hear, since that’s the kind of thing that helps you enjoy whatever time you have left more. Good on ya.
I of course canceled the autorenewal, writing “you’re paid to mid-December, at which time I hope you can renew. 
” and thanked him for his 21 years(!) of support.
I love the community that Premium creates — that readers love it so much that they take precious time and energy to say farewell. It is humbling and mind-boggling, but (damn it) I have had many similar notes over the years. I’ve chosen not to name this reader, but I welcome new readers who want to be part of that community. Upgrade here.
Ten Years Ago in True: What Garbage!
The False Suicide Finding is the Story of the Week, which means you’re welcome to share it from Telegram, Mastodon, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and/or Facebook, or grab from any of those to post elsewhere.
This Week’s Sunday Reading: When I really push readers to think, sometimes they push back. An example from 2013. Walmart Hostage Situation.
This Week’s Honorary Unsubscribe goes to John Hemingway. This guy knew how to fight Nazis! And almost didn’t live through it again and again. He was “The Last of The Few” and the story is only 3 minutes.
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Copyright ©2025 by Randy Cassingham, All Rights Reserved.All broadcast, publication, retransmission to email lists, web site or social media posting, or any other copying or storage,in any medium, online or not, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the author. Manual forwardingby email to friends is allowed if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety from the “Since 1994” line on topthrough the end of this paragraph and 2) No fee is charged. I request that you forward no more than three copies to any oneperson — after that, they should get their own free subscription. I appreciate people who report violations of my copyright.
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