Ever worried about falling asleep on the bus or train? You have a night out, one or three too many and you miss your stop ending up in a strange place? Well spare a thought for a woman called Ginger McGuire who fell asleep in a plane.
The somnambulist fell asleep on a late-night United Express flight from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia. She failed to wake up after the 50-passenger plane touched down at 12:27 a.m. local time and everyone else disembarked.
A cleaning crew eventually roused her, but she was kept locked in the plane until federal officers were satisfied that she was not a terrorist. They were clearly concerned that the latest terrorist tactic is making an ass of yourself.
Ginger, exhibiting that uniquely litigious bent that the American legal system supports is now suing for false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
Just when you thought the anti-smoking campaign might be working, along comes a news story that proves otherwise. Ardi Rizal, aged two years, has a 40-per-day smoking habit. His mother has tried to get him to stop, especially since the government has offered to buy the family a new car once the child quits, but she says he is entirely too addicted. His father, on the other hand, doesn't see any problem - "He looks pretty healthy to me..." In the meantime, Ardi's health is such that he can't run around and play with the other kids. Instead he rides around on a plastic toy truck while puffing away, looking like a parody of a middle-aged truck driver.
In other news, it turns out that that a guy who exposed his own Social Security Number in his promotional material in order to sell his "LifeLock" identity-protection service has--oops!--had his identity stolen at least 13 times since he started advertising it, but hey, customers keep coming, at $10-$15 a month.
And this one’s for Thea – how’s the new job? - last Week in Texas . . . lawyer Carolyn Barnes, 53, was jailed for allegedly firing five shots toward a U.S. Census worker who didn't leave her property fast enough. Her plea in mitigation was: "I've been practicing law since 1984, and I haven't shot anybody yet ..." Oh, well, that’s ok then.
