Happy Place

A 94 year old WWII veteran developed a life long love of Juicy Fruit gum from when he served in the war. Wrigley took their gum off the market in the US during the war to direct all their product to the servicemen and Suttie Economy brought the love for Juicy Fruit home with him,he always carried several packs so he could share with whoever he might meet. He recently made it known that he wanted his casket to be painted like a pack of Juicy Fruit,so his friend,the owner of a funeral service, contacted Wrigley to get permission and was turned down. He turned to Facebook with the story and it was seen by someone who knew contact information for the Wrigley president. A few days later permission was granted plus Mr. Economy was sent 250 packs of Juicy Fruit. Presently they are looking for a painter willing to tackle the job,but no hurry,after all Mr. Economy is only 94!

"Fresh" Veggies

A London woman decided to try Oddbox,a service providing fresh fruit and veggies direct from the farms that don't always look like their store perfect cousins. She thought during the virus lock down would be a good time to try new things plus they delivered the produce to her door. Apparently the woman hadn't been exposed to homegrown veggies and was surprised to get an eggplant that featured a Pinocchio nose,which she posted a picture of online. People were quick to point out that it looked more like a part of the male anatomy. Then of course others began posting photos of other produce oddities and it was all downhill from there,but in these trying times everyone can use a good laugh. 

My Way

 It's odd how the phrase "gentle giants" is often used to describe animals who are several times the size of humans yet allow themselves to be used and abused for our benefit. Elephants come to mind as a particularly good example in fact only days ago a hunter was boasting about killing several elephants because it was such a rush...I wonder if he would experience the same rush if the tables were turned? But once again,I digress. A Pakistan court has ordered the Islamabad zoo closed and the animals either set free or transferred to a better environment. The decision came after a 4 year campaign by Cher (an American singer) who is involved in many animal causes. One of the animals was a 36 year old elephant who had lived most of his life in the small enclosure and recently lost his companion. One of his rescuers bonded with the elephant by singing Frank Sinatra's "My Way"which enabled testing to be done to determine if he would be healthy enough to survive the move to a refuge in Cambodia. His physical found him in good enough health though it is unknown if he will hear "My Way" on his long trip. 

Blast From the Past

The pyrophone is a musical instrument that was played during the mid to late 19th century and involved gas being ignited in glass tubes to make the sound. AKA the fire organ the pyrophone never really took off,if you'll pardon the pun,though that didn't stop an inventor/artist from reintroducing it into modern music in 2014. This latest rendition of the pyrophone stands 13 feet tall and incorporates 24 glass tubes and is described as sounding like a humpback whale fronting a death metal band.

Life's a Beach

A French tourist to the island of Sardinia was fined $1,200 for trying to smuggle 4 1/2 lbs of sand off the island. The white sand from the island's pristine beaches has been federally protected since 2017,fines range from $600 to $3,550 and some come with jail time depending on the quantity. Authorities found a website featuring the sand for sale and the removal of the sand was becoming problematic so they have been steadily cracking down on the sand thieves. After the sand is confiscated it is held in an operating room with other items,though try as I might I couldn't find out if they eventually return the sand to the beach,if not why would they bother other than to collect the fines to maintain other aspects of the beaches?