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Since 1994, this is the 1599th issue of Randy Cassingham’s...
| 2 February 2025: The Bells of St. Mary | Copyright ©2025 https://thisistrue.com |
How Kids Learn Decision-Making Skills: Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan, the principal at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Cocoa Beach, Fla., has been arrested after hosting a “White Lie Party” for nearly 200 children at her home. The kids were allegedly provided alcoholic beverages and marijuana. Kids told police the parties have been ongoing, once or twice a month, and students from multiple schools attended. An age range was not provided, but police were called to deal with drunkenchildren fighting in the neighborhood; one teen was arrested after running a stop sign, and found to have a blood alcohol content of .118 percent. Police found a child unconscious in front of the house and called for an ambulance; Hill-Brodigan allegedly looked out on the scene and turned off the lights, which made the rescue more difficult. One video taken at the party shows children playing with a gun. Hill-Brodigan and teacher Karly Anderson were arrested, charged with child neglect andcontributing to the delinquency of a minor. Parents are outraged, and Cocoa Beach Police Detective Sgt. Taylor Payne said he had never seen anything like the event. And what does the school board have to say about it? “This isn’t anything new,” said Board Chair Gene Trent. “When we have thousands of employees, things happen.” (RC/WOFL Orlando) ...When they have hundreds of thousands of angry voters, recalls happen.
The Wrong Body: Ryan Smith, 42, and another employee of Mid America First Call collected the body of someone who died of natural causes in Papillion, Neb. That wasn’t what made Smith’s public defender, Joseph Fabian, call it an “extremely strange situation,” or what caused Sarpy County District Court Judge Nathan Cox to sentence Smith to 90 days in jail. It was what happened later, when Smith contacted the property manager, claiming the sheriff’s office had told him to swab alife-sized — anatomically correct — doll, for “a biopsy.” The property manager refused. A short time later, the manager investigated noises at the residence and discovered the door was locked — and Smith was inside “with his clothing disheveled.” Smith left, promising to return with a warrant, but the manager didn’t wait: he called the cops. Smith pleaded no contest to theft, criminal trespassing, and impersonating an officer. Judge Cox said the theft and trespassing were issues, but “moreconcerning for him is the impersonating an officer.” (MS/WOWT Omaha) ...More concerning than “playing doctor” with the doll?
Yay! No Ad Here ...even though since last week there was only 1 upgrade and 0 re-upgrades (+1 $10 contribution). It takes 5 [re-]upgrades to replace the ad, so...? Well, last week we just missed the goal, and this week’s pushed us over. Meanwhile, Debbie in Kansas wrote to say, “My subscription to This is True was one of the very best gifts I ever gave myself, and you keep reminding me of this every single issue!” She first upgraded in June ...1999. She knows what youhave been missing, and it’s a lot. Upgrade here. You may just kick yourself for not doing it sooner.
It Was Definitely Her: “It wasn’t me,” insisted Sabrina Coyne, 34, after she was stopped by deputies from the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office,who were investigating a disturbance — at her ex-husband’s house. The ex called 911 when he heard a window smash — because a brick was thrown through it. The forward-thinking man had security cameras, which allegedly caught clear images of his ex-wife hurling the brick into the window. Further, the brick was engraved: “First Date. Sabrina & [redacted] Jet Skiing with [redacted]. June 14, 2020.” But still, “It wasn’t me,” she said. Yet they were speaking to her inside the home, where the ex saidshe was not welcome to be. She was arrested, charged with criminal mischief, and “throwing a deadly missile into an occupied dwelling.” (RC/WFLA Tampa) ...Florida has the best laws!
White and Bright: It was witnesses who called the police, not the victim, when a man approached a 13-year-old girl, asked her about her hair, “picked up her hair, placed it in his mouth, and made a flossing motion,” says Sgt. Dwayne English of the Joliet (Ill.) Police Dept. Carlos Martins, of Detroit, Mich., then sat behind the girl in a church “and started growling at her.” Martins is the host of a podcast called “The Exorcist Files” — he’s a Roman Catholic priest at the Companions ofthe Cross Church in Detroit — and styles himself after the priest in the 1973 film The Exorcist. Martins turned himself in at the police department, where he was cited for misdemeanor battery. Companions of the Cross says he is suspended until his criminal case is resolved. (RC/WJBK Detroit) ...Maybe he should have styled himself after the priest in the 1945 film The Bells of St. Mary.
Dam!
Flooding Forces Indefinite Closure of Johnstown Flood Museum
WJAC Johnstown (Pa.) 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 at sea on the way from the southern-most city in South America, Ushuaia, Argentina, known as a starting-off point for expeditions to Antarctica, heading to the tiny (15,000 residents) Puerto Deseado (Port Desire), Argentina, known for wild animal viewing including the Commerson’s dolphin, and Magellanic and Rockhopper penguins.
Referencing the headline, The Flood in Johnstown, Pa., in 1889 was so catastrophic that it led to the reform of the American legal system — “a new definition of ‘strict, joint, and several liability,’ so that even a ‘non-negligent defendant could be held liable for damage caused by the unnatural use of land’,” the linked article notes. So indeed, it’s an important museum. Its flood was caused not by a burstdam, but a burst pipe, and luckily an employee came in on the weekend and discovered it quickly, helping to minimize damage.
I Still Do Randy’s Random posts now and then, and one published Monday. I had to look up when I made that particular meme (I’ll queue something, then push it out if I want to get something published sooner): January 8 ...2024. Anyway, it’s Do Not Pass Go. Presumably you’ll understand why I wondered when I made it when you see it: it was certainly not meant as a reaction toNovember’s election results.
Residential Cruising (dotcom) has a couple of new “life aboard ship” articles for those who are more interested in that than port reports: how we handle time zones as we move around the world, and Q&A time with our two captains, including why we have two captains.
Ten Years Ago in True: Status Doesn’t Always Give You a Leg to Stand On — an exploration of a totally [unfair | justified] tagline in a story by Mike Straw.
This Week’s Story of the Week (you’re welcome to share it), about Florida Woman and her brick, is posted on Telegram, Mastodon, Instagram, Threads, (testing, but giving up on it for now) Pixelfed, Bluesky, and/orFacebook, or grab from any of those to post elsewhere.
This Week’s Sunday Reading: An amazing story I couldn’t put in the newsletter (but it’s definitely safe for work). This Can’t Go in the Newsletter.
This Week’s Honorary Unsubscribe goes to Norbert. Let’s get this out of the way right up front: Norbert was a dog — a mutt, even. But he was a mutt with a message to get out to the world. The story in just 2 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 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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