Arkansas Family Expecting 16th Child

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050617/ap_on_fe_st/sixteen_kids

Arkansas' best-known big family will be getting bigger in the fall. Michelle Duggar and her husband, former state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar, say they're expecting their 16th child.

Michelle Duggar was honored in April 2004 with the state's Young Mother award. At the time, she was pregnant with young Duggar No. 15, a boy named Jackson born May 23, 2004.

The next child, a girl, is expected in October.

"We love children," Jim Bob Duggar says. "We consider each one a blessing from the Lord and we would both love to have some more."

Michelle adds, "They're a gift."

Baby girl Duggar will join her family in a new, 7,000-square-foot house that the Duggars have been building for the last two years. When it's complete, the home will have a commercial kitchen, 10 bathrooms, master and guest bedrooms, a laundry room with four washers and eight dryers, and two dormitory-style bedrooms — one for the boys and one for the girls.

The Duggars say No. 16 might not be their last.

Dog subpoenaed as witness in murder case
Suspect wrote his pooch a letter from prison, prosecutors say

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7138572

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Prosecutors hoping for a witness in a murder case to roll over were barking up the wrong tree.

They sent out a batch of subpoenas for anyone who had contact with Albert K. Smith while he was jailed awaiting his murder trial. One of those subpoenas went out to 5-year-old Murphy Smith — Smith’s dog, it turned out.

The defendant had written his dog a letter from his cell, and that is how the shih tzu’s name got on the witness list.

Prosecutors realized the mistake on Tuesday after the defendant’s brother brought in Murphy to answer the subpoena and a deputy would not let them into the courthouse because no dogs were allowed.

Prosecutor Robin Green said she apologized to the brother for any inconvenience, and added: “The dog was friendly enough and probably would have been a very cooperative witness.”

Albert Smith is accused of shooting to death his ex-wife’s boyfriend.

Floral Cigarette Wreath for 105-Year Old Smoker

URL:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&e=3&u=/nm/20041215/od_nm/odd_britain_smoker_dc

LONDON (Reuters) - Nursing home staff paid tribute to
a 105-year old British woman who had smoked since the
age of 15 by cremating her with a packet of cigarettes
and laying a large floral cigarette on her coffin.

Marie Ellis died -- of natural causes -- at the Eaton
Lodge Nursing Home in Kent, southeast England, in
early December and was cremated on Tuesday, clutching
a packet of her favorite Benson and Hedges cigarettes.

"We will always remember her for her smoking because
the first thing she asked when she got up was 'Can I
have a cigarette,'" said matron Maria Kallis, who
commissioned a large wreath in the shape of a
cigarette, made with white and yellow chrysanthemums,
for the spinster's coffin.

The enigmatic Ellis, an ex-typist, arrived at the
nursing home 15 years ago.

Apart from her 15-a-day habit, she was also notorious
among staff for her unhealthy eating habits, often
asking for sugar in her soup and always demanding
three sugars in her coffee.

Staff played the song Smoke Gets in Your Eyes at
Ellis' funeral and are planning a memorial concrete
ashtray for her in the nursing home garden, where her
ashes will also be buried.

Man Admits to Vaseline Vandalism in N.Y.

URL:  http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=816&ncid=816&e=15&u=/ap/20041207/ap_on_fe_st/brf_vaseline_vandalism

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - A Virginia man admitted Monday to smearing 14 jars of petroleum jelly all over an upstate New York motel room.

Robert F. Chamberlain, 45, of McLean, gave no reason for his actions when he appeared in court to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.

A Broome County judge sentenced Chamberlain to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $3,886 in damages to the Motel 6 in Chenango.

Authorities said Chamberlain coated every object of the motel room with petroleum jelly in May. A cleaning crew discovered the mess after he checked out, and he was arrested at another motel covered in the greasy stuff.

Chamberlain declined comment after the proceedings.

 Calif. Man Has 1,497 Valid Credit Cards

URL: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...astic_fantastic

PISMO BEACH, Calif. - The man known as "Mr. Plastic Fantastic" has great credit. So great, in fact, that it takes a wallet nearly as long as a football field to carry his credit cards.

Walter Cavanagh owns 1,497 valid credit cards (he assumes a card is valid until he hears otherwise) with a potential credit line of about $1.7 million.

The retired real estate broker, who lives in the small San Luis Obispo County community of Shell Beach, said his collecting began with a bet more than three decades ago.

He and a friend were sitting in his apartment in 1969 and bet who could collect the most credit cards. The loser would buy dinner.

Cavanagh managed to obtain 143 cards in a year and got a rib-eye steak dinner. He also caught the plastic bug.

He has become so good at collecting the cards that he has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, which gave him his nickname.

He also holds the title for the world's longest wallet — a 38-pound monster that is 250 feet long and can hold 800 cards.

Most of his collection is kept in bank safe deposit boxes, however.

His cards include antiques in paper and aluminum. A number are from long-defunct department stores, gas stations and bars. They come from as far away as Germany and Spain.

"Most cards are from such obscure places, you've never heard of them," Cavanagh said Tuesday.

One treasure is a sterling silver credit card offering "unlimited credit privileges" from the Mapes Hotel, the first hotel-casino in Reno, Nev. It closed in 1982.

"Maybe they gave out too many," Cavanagh joked.

He said the only company that ever denied him a card was the JJ Newberry department store chain in the early 1970s.

"They said I had too much credit," he said. "And to this day I don't have a Newberry's card in my collection."

 Mo. Man Legally Changes His Name to 'They'

URL: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._st/name_change

BRANSON, Mo. - A Branson man has put a face to the anonymous references people often make to "they" by changing his name to just that: "They."

The former Andrew Wilson, a 43-year-old self-employed inventor, was granted legal permission last week by a circuit judge to change his name.

It's just They, no surname.

He also has changed his driver's license to reflect his new name.

They said he did it for humor to address the common reference to "they."

"'They do this,' or 'They're to blame for that.' Who is this 'they' everyone talks about? 'They' accomplish such great things. Somebody had to take responsibility," he said.

Now, his friends are getting used to his new name.

"They call up and say, 'Is They there?'"

He acknowledged the name could drive grammarians crazy.

"Not only is he making a statement about his name, but he's messing with the entire English language," friend Craig Erickson said.

They holds 14 patents including Ground-Effect lighting, used to create a neon glow beneath vehicles and patented in 1987.

His newest product is "Shades Eyewear," which have a built-in visor over each sunglass lens. The visors protect the eyes from glare without having to wear a hat, he said.

 Blind man kills Deaf man over noise

Deaf man killed over noise
From correspondents in Brisbane
20sep04

From URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/Backpage/Crim...1592166,00.html

A BLIND man was jailed for eight years today for killing a deaf man by slashing his throat because he was enraged by the noise coming from his stereo and television.

George Gerard Goeldner, 49, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court for the manslaughter of Francis John Butcher, 54, on January 4, 2002.
Both men lived at the Aid For The Blind Complex at Fairfield on Brisbane's southside.

Prosecutor Michael Byrne said the men's units were 20 metres apart and Goeldner had made numerous complaints to management about the noise from Mr Butcher's unit.

Mr Byrne said Mr Butcher had been given head phones but wasn't using them because they were uncomfortable in the extreme summer heat.

Goeldner is 90 per cent blind and Mr Butcher was profoundly deaf, and had worked as a city based charity collector for the Aid For The Blind Association for decades.

Mr Byrne said Goeldner snapped when he heard Mr Butcher at the administration office telling staff he intended to have a good weekend, believing this meant he would be making a lot of noise.

Goeldner rushed out with a serrated kitchen knife and saw Mr Butcher at the letter boxes and put it to his throat.

He claimed Mr Butcher who had a prosthetic limb and depended on crutches, slipped from his grasp and his throat was slashed after he could no longer support his weight.

Justice James Douglas said psychiatrists agreed that Goeldner was of impaired mental capacity because of brain damage, depression and inadequate epilepsy medication.

 Online Casino Buys Ghost Cane for $65K

URL: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...t/ghost_auction

By CHARLES WILSON, Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - An online casino offered $65,000 Monday for a metal walking cane that an Indiana woman put up for sale in hopes her son would believe his grandfather's ghost would leave their house with it.

GoldenPalace.com will add the "ghost cane" to a collection that already includes a grilled cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary. The Antigua-based casino paid $28,000 last month for the sandwich, which it bought — like the cane — on eBay.

"It's just the new Americana thing," said Monty Kerr, a spokesman for the online casino.

Kerr said the cane — which Mary Anderson auctioned to ease her 6-year-old son Collin's fears that his grandfather's ghost was haunting their home in Hobart — likely will go on tour like the famous sandwich.

The cane — and the story behind it — attracted 132 bids, dozens of imitators and landed the Andersons on NBC's "Today" show Monday.

"It becomes a pop culture phenomenon," said Hani Durzy, an eBay spokesman. "It may be just a few days or whatever, but it's all everybody is talking about."

San Jose, Calif.-based eBay Inc. does not allow sellers to offer intangible items such as spirits or souls where delivery cannot be confirmed, said Durzy. He said Anderson's auction made it clear that she was selling her late father's metal walking cane as a ploy to ease her son's fears.

Anderson made one request of the winning bidder: "I would like to ask you to write a letter after you've received the cane (and the ghost) to my son letting him know that he's there with you and you're getting along great."

Kerr said the company would do so. The Andersons did not immediately return a call Monday seeking comment.
___
On the Net:
GoldenPalace: http://goldenpalaceevents.com/charity/ghost01.php

 Three Wives Attempt Suicide After Argument

URL: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ran_overdose_dc

TEHRAN (Reuters) - All three wives of a 67-year-old Iranian man took overdoses in an unsuccessful triple suicide attempt after the youngest wife bought an expensive pair of boots, a news agency reported on Sunday.

"My two other wives were very jealous after my 27-year-old wife bought a pair of boots for $450," the husband was quoted as saying by the ISNA student news agency.

"After they had an argument about the price, they all attempted suicide together," he added.

All three women, now in stable condition in the hospital, have separate apartments and cars.

Men in Iran, where Islamic law has been in force since 1979, can marry up to four wives, although polygamy is fairly rare.

Woman sells father's ghost on eBay

Says she did it to ease 6-year-old son's fears
The Associated Press

HOBART, Ind. - A woman’s effort to assuage her 6-year-old son’s fears of his grandfather’s ghost by selling it on eBay has drawn more than 34 bids with a top offer of $78.

Mary Anderson said she placed her father’s “ghost” on the online auction site after her son, Collin, said he was afraid the ghost would return someday. Anderson said Collin has avoided going anywhere in the house alone since his grandfather died last year.

In a description titled “This isn’t a joke,” Anderson told Collin’s story on eBay:

“I always thought it was just normal kid fears until a few months ago he told me why he was so scared. He told me ’Grandpa died here, and he was mean. His ghost is still around here!”’

Lest the boy’s fears scare off potential bidders, Anderson added, “My dad was the sweetest most caring man you’d ever meet.”

To read rest of article:
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6651230

UPDATE - "ghost" and the cane has been sold for a little over $15K! - see link below:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1523&item=5541542621&rd=1