Sunday, September 27: The A.D.D. Detective
NEWS at 11
by Leigh Lundin
I bookmark interesting news items that may (or not) relate to writing, words, crime, or nothing at all, but simply catch my fancy. Over time, some are no longer topical and fall off my list and others work their way into longer articles. Some find their way into potluck articles such as this one.
Bear with me… the last one is fun! Click on the headlines for stories.
The first three stories are from Florida.
When you’re "5000% sure" you want your new groom dead, a Florida Boynton Beach Police officer might not be the best person to hire. The reality of realtor Dalia Dippolito’s plot still hasn’t hit the husband, Michael Dippolito. That might be a good thing. The cops called, well, COPS who got the arrest on video.
Putting Foot in Mouth (perhaps)
When I saw the headline of this first item, I said to myself, "Poor woman," because I thought the headline read "Woman Charged for Stealing Food." I misread.
You know those boots firemen push at you at intersections? Be careful what Cynthia Economou has in hers.
The amazing Japanese auto marketing machine manages to convince Americans only the Japanese can make cars, despite evidence to the contrary. During the Bush administration, Congress gave each American up to $30,000 in tax deductions if we’d buy a new SUV weighing at least 6000 pounds and in the Obama administration,
Congress saw fit to give us between $3500 and $4500 to ditch those gas guzzlers. The top ten cars turned in were all American; the top ten purchased under the program were all Japanese or Korean. Go figure.
Rachel Veitch of Orlando, Florida isn’t having any of it. She still drives her 45 year old Mercury Comet. At 91 years old, she has a little mileage herself. A retired nurse and a professional parliamentarian, she volunteers at the Orlando Police Department, packs a pistol, teaches parliamentarian procedure to students, and displays her beloved Mercury at car shows.
We should have HER running government programs!
From one age to another, à propos of absolutely nothing to do with Criminal Brief, New Jersey residents called in a complaint about "an old scruffy man acting suspiciously" and a police officer nearly arrested Bobby Dylan, having no clue who he was.
Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
You know the publishing industry is in trouble when Reader’s Digest files for bankruptcy protection.
This last item is refreshingly guileful. Be sure to read the crafty captions.
Leigh, a good question would be “What is an American car?” Honda’s plant in Marysville is one of Central Ohio’s largest employers. Same with Toyota in Lexington, KY and Subaru in Princton, IN. I’ve been stung by buying cars from GM, Chrysler and Ford but not with two Volkswagens and our three latest cars, all Camrys.
There are legends about ‘Monday cars’, supposedly cars that roll off assembly lines when workers are half-awake, half-soused, or suffering from hangovers. A girlfriend bought a Toyota Camry with all the bells and whistles and it turned out to be the Monday car from hell.
It was hard to think of a part that wasn’t replaced at one time or another and mechanics regularly reported parts that had been left off (radiator fan, for example) and parts not bolted down (like the front seat). The electronic dashboard sometimes fell asleep and the electric mirrors pointed where they had a mind to. Knobs fell off the radio. The headliner collapsed around her ears. Like the Toyota Land Cruiser I used to have, the Camry hated starting in humid weather.
Several times she tried to sell it and each time it would either fail to start or some part would fail or fall off. She finally took it to auction. Two weeks afterward, she said her biggest fear was she’d wake up and find the Camry still in the driveway.