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Since 1994, this is the 1587th issue of Randy Cassingham’s...
| 10 November 2024: You've Got Mail | Copyright ©2024 https://thisistrue.com |
Halt! The Hernando County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office pulled a car over for a routine traffic stop. When deputies approached the car, they noticed “a rolled cigar containing a green leafy substance they identified as marijuana.” There were other items in plain view that suggested other drugs; they pulled out the driver and a passenger while they searched the car more thoroughly, finding other alleged drugs and paraphernalia. Deputies say when they turned to arrest the driver, ScottSchwirian, 39, he took off running, but was immediately apprehended — by a utility pole, which he slammed into. Schwirian and his passenger, Heidi Reynolds, 36, were arrested, charged with multiple drug offenses. (RC/WTVT Tampa) ...That utility pole needs to be honored as an example for other utility poles to follow.
Who Should Pay Whom? Columbia River Fire and Rescue in Rainier, Ore., sent William Hoesch a bill for $1,862. The bicyclist hadbeen hit by a large vehicle, and the ambulance service took him to the hospital. Hoesch, in turn, has sued Columbia River Fire and Rescue for $997,000, to cover the ambulance bill, other actual and anticipated medical expenses, and pain and suffering. It was a Columbia River ambulance, his lawyer says, that knocked Hoesch off his bike and injured him in the first place. (AC/Portland Oregonian) ...Apparently when an ambulance injures you, giving you a free ride to the hospital is not the leastthey can do.
No Pressure This Week. It was a great week, with 2 Upgrades, 2 re-Upgrades (one was away for 7 years, the other for 9!), and 2 Contributions. It sounds like it doesn’t make up for the terrible numbers last week, but it does, because the second contribution was for $300. “Since we got ahead with great support in recent weeks,” I said last week, “I’ll go another week without an ad to see what happens.” Well, that’s what happened! If you can help keep the momentum up, you can Upgrade Here or Contribute Here — $300 not required. Thanks as always. True readers rock!
Swimming in the Bathtub: Cole Taschman was surfing at Florida’s Bathtub Beach when he looked back and saw a shark biting his legs. He was able to catch a wave back to shore, where his friends applied a tourniquet and got him to a hospital. Two surgeries and 93 stitches later, Taschman is recovering — and trying to crowdfund his medical bills. “It’s freaky,” he said. “That’s just the heaviest thing ever. You know, you think a lot about family and think a lot about, life. You know, itchanges you.” He should know: this is the second time he’s been bitten by a shark. The first time was 11 years ago, when a 4- to 5-foot-long blacktip reef shark bit his right hand — at Florida’s Bathtub Beach. This time Taschman believes he was bitten by a a tiger or bull shark — that was 7- to 8-feet long. (MS/WPTV West Palm Beach) ...Clearly the first time it didn’t quite change everything.
Big Boast: The Campuestohan Highland Resort in Negros Occidental, Philippines, is crowing over getting recognition in Guinness World Records. “The resort has its ownambulance, a tunnel of lights at night,” said owner Ricardo ‘Cano Guapo’ Tan, “and the biggest playground in the Philippines.” So, what’s the record? It’s “the largest building in the shape of a chicken,” he said. Yet the 6-storey building only has 15 guestrooms. (RC/Philippine Daily Inquirer) ...So like a typical giant cock, it really isn’t that impressive an accomplishment.
Split Verdict
Who Gets the TikTok in the Divorce? The Messy Fight Over Valuable Social Media Accounts
Wall Street Journal headline
Did You Find an Error? Check the Errata Page for updates.
This Week’s Contributors: MS-Mike Straw, AC-Alexander Cohen, RC-Randy Cassingham.
Stories This Week were Written/Edited in the middle of the Atlantic between Africa and the Caribbean.
Alexander Provided Two taglines for the ambulance-vs-bicyclist story. I went with the shorter one, but I like the longer one too: “...They created the problem, and then they wanted to be paid for partially solving it. Is this ambulance company run by politicians?”
I Love Little Coincidences. One coincidence: I wrote a blog post last week about a name confusion (mine!), which doesn’t have a full resolution yet, even though the emails for the other guy seem to have finally stopped. But within hours of writing that, there was an interesting name coincidence with Premium subscribers.
It’s for all of you who don’t like your name: Coincidences. It could be subtitled “Why I Legally Changed My Name” ...because I did.
After Seeing a Post I made on Facebook from our ship, something clicked for Premium subscriber Doug in Colorado: “Every single day an adventure. Priceless. As the rest of the world watches the seasons slowly change you watch your location in the world change. When this started I couldn’t understand it. Your positive approach in the delays was a reminder on how to handle adversity. Now? It’s more amazing than anything I could have everpictured. Never stop enjoying it!”
Kit and I saw the vision pretty clearly even in the conceptual stages. We knew we wanted that life, and knew that by selling our house we could afford it with not “that” much contribution from retirement funds (actually no retirement funds as long as I keep working).
When I created the Residential Cruising web site, the tagline (or slogan) for the site came to mind pretty quickly, capturing the concept quite well: “Travel the World, Go Home Every Night.” (Wait... did I just hear another “click” in Colorado?) Last month, the federally registered trademark for that phrase was granted: ® Sweet!
Ten Years Ago in True: Her name wasn’t Stella, but she was Burned.
This Week’s Sunday Reading: One of the most-trafficked pages in my blog: the bizarre exploitation of an 11-year-old girl, from 2005. Saaya Irie Photos.
The Last Story (giant chicken) 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 Honorary Unsubscribe goes to Elwood Edwards. You’ve heard Edwards’ voice. No really, you have, probably many times. Here’s the story behind the voice of the early Internet for millions in just two minutes.
Basic Subscriptions to This is True are Free at https://thisistrue.com. All stories are completely rewritten using facts from the noted sources. This is True® (and Get Out of Hell Free® and Stella Awards®) are registered trademarks of ThisisTrue.Inc. Published weekly by ThisisTrue.Inc, PO Box 666, Ridgway CO 81432 USA (ISSN 1521-1932).
Copyright ©2024 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 forwarding by email to friends is allowed if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety from the “Since 1994” line on top through the end of this paragraph and 2) No fee is charged. I request that you forward no more than three copies to any one person — after that, they should get their own free subscription. I appreciate people who report violations of my copyright.
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