A Little Friday File Fun (07/18)

Well, here’s a couple of thousand worth…

– – – In Paisley, Renfrewshire, UK , Robert Gailey, 79, was killing some weeds in his yard – – – with what was described as a “mini-blowtorch” – – – it apparently took out not only the weeds in his yard – – – but the weeds in his neighbor’s yards – – – and his neighbor’s yards – – – you can see the aftermath at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00690/blowtorch-weedkille_690266c.jpg

– – – At New Smyrna Beach, Florida – – – photographer Kem McNair snapped a one-in-a-million photo – – – of a black tip shark jumping out of the water near a group of surfers – – – who apparently were oblivious to the shark’s presence – – – you can see this at http://cmsimg.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A9&Date=20080714&Category=BREAKINGNEWS&ArtNo=80714013&Ref=AR&Profile=1086&MaxW=318&Border=0

– – – while I’m not exactly sure of the location, a pair of soldiers were driving a rented SUV at a test and training range somewhere out west one night – – – at a time – – – and place when/where an F-16 pilot was getting some target practice – – – at which point the soldiers, who were not hit by any shots from the F-16, but did suffer minor injuries “while exiting the vehicle in rough terrain” – – – you can see what happened to their SUV at http://safetycenter.navy.mil/PHOTO/images/images-251-300/photo297.jpg

- - - then it must be time for - - - THE FRIDAY FILES:

- - - In Grand Chute, Wisconsin , Debbie R. Miller, 41, got a rude surprise with her meal at The Seasons Restaurant here - - - when she found a rat in her entree - - - and Debbie wanted the restaurant to pay her $500,000 to keep her from alerting the media of her "encounter" - - - however, further investigation revealed that the rat Debbie found was a white rat - - - that's right, the kind used in laboratory experiments, not the kind that tends to run around loose - - - and now Debbie has been charged with one count each of extortion, obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct as a result of the incident - - -

- - - In Tulsa, Oklahoma , Brenda Christine Lee, 47, was pulled over, tested for - - - and found to be - - DUI - - - handcuffed, and put in the back of a police car - - - somehow she managed to slip out of the cuffs - - - and drove off in the cruiser while the officer was talking to a witness - - - the officer tried to get back inside the car as it drove off, but couldn't - - - but another witness offered to give the officer a lift - - - he caught up with Christine a couple of miles down the road - - - and now she's been charged with driving under the influence (third or more offense), assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, larceny of an automobile, escape from arrest and resisting arrest - - -

- - - In Jackson, Mississippi , Mayor Frank Melton and his two police bodyguards ordered, at gunpoint, the occupants of a duplex to leave their house - - - and then directed a group of youths to attack with sledgehammers the house that Frank claimed was a cra.ck house - - - it wasn't - - -

- - - In Flagstaff, Arizona , an unnamed man was angry that new stop signs erected here were causing him to waste gas - - - so he went on a late-night theft spree and removed several of the signs - - - police tracked him back based on a witness' description of the vehicle used in the theft - - - spotting a car matching the witness description outside a nearby apartment - - - then spotting a pile of nut and bolts on the floor of the home - - - a when a man answered the door, it hit a stack of metal stop sign posts - - -

- - - In South Charleston, South Carolina , Karl T. Stewart, 49, broke out the rear window of a car here - - - and removed 11 cans of beer from a cooler in the trunk of the car - - - officers said they were able to track down a suspect by following a trail of water that had dripped off the cans - - -

- - - In Denton, Texas , Stephanie Martinez was working at the Pizza Patron restaurant here - - - when, in the midst of a robbery, she struck one of the would-be robbers, knocking him out - - - and knocking off his wig and sunglasses - - - and revealing that he was none other than Benjamin Ramirez, 41 - - - Stephanie's father - - - who had planned the robbery in collusion with his wife, Sonia Palacios, 38,, and Jose Miguel Martinez, 26 - - - Stephanie's husband - - -

- - - And finally, in Brooklyn, New York , Victor Marin, 20, broke into the window of an apartment here - - - an apartment owned by Yaakov Kanelsky, 49 - - - and made off with about $200 - - - Yaakov arrived home from a shopping trip around 1:30 p.m. - - - and saw Victor at his first-floor kitchen window - - - Victor initially said that he needed to use the bathroom - - - but, pressed as to what he wanted, confessed that he had robbed Yaakov - - - but was now willing to give back the $200 - - - in exchange for the billfold Victor left on Yaakov's bed - - - complete with Victor's identification - - - on Yaakov's bed - - - Yaakov said he would swap, but first insisted that Victor return the $200 by sliding it - - - a bill at a time - - - under the door - - - Victor was still doing that when the police arrived - - -

Have a GREAT weekend, folks!

Two of the Apollo 11 astronauts - Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin - were in the Air Force. 

However,  Neil A. Armstrong was a civilian (he was a Navy pilot during the Korean War, but  was assigned to test the X-15 rocket airplane as a civilian test pilot before becoming an astronaut in 1962).  He made his first space flight in 1966 on Gemini 8 with David R. Scott.