John Brown House Slave Tunnels

http://www.projo.com/news/content/SLAVE_TUNNELS_02-21-10_OTH6LDJ_v59.36f5df8.html

The Providence Journal [RI]

21 February 2010

John Brown House ‘slave tunnels’: Fact or fantasy?

By Paul Davis
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — For more than 100 years, Rhode Islanders have wondered: Did businessman John Brown use tunnels to transport slaves from the waterfront to his home? [...]

License Plate Lure (South Africa)

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=181&art_id=vn20100219062630860C121093

The Independent [South Africa]
19 February 2010

Hijackers 'trick victims with number plates'

By Thandi Skade

If your number plates are being flashed to you from another car, resist the urge to stop - they might be hijackers.

According to an e-mail doing the rounds, hijackers are removing motorists' number plates in an attempt to get them out of their cars. [...]

Cholera Caused by Powders (Mozambique)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201002190689.html

AllAfrica.com
19 February 2010

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)

Mozambique: Seven Deaths in Cholera Violence in Zambezia

Maputo — Seven people have died in disturbances caused by disinformation about the spread of cholera in the central Mozambican district of Gurue, in Zambezia province, reports the Beira daily paper "Diario de Mocambique".

The rumour has been spread that health workers and traditional leaders, far from fighting cholera, are spreading the disease. [...]

[They spread a white powder in public places, and anyone who steps in it contracts the disease. Many schools have shut down because teachers and students alike fear coming in contact with the mysterious powder.]

http://allafrica.com/stories/201002170965.html

AllAfrica.com
17 February 2010

Mozambique: Crowd Defends Cholera Riot

[...] [A wounded rioter] claimed that health activists carry "blue flasks" which contain cholera, and in the health centre "we found two blue flasks of cholera and these would have been distributed to activists".

"Diario de Mocambique" carries a photograph of one of these "blue flasks" - which is in fact a bottle of the water purifier sold under the commercial name "certeza" ("certainty"), easily available in shops throughout the country, and advertised on national television.

Government Cabs Used in Kidnappings (Nigeria)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201002190182.html

AllAfrica.com
18 February 2010

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Nigeria: Oyo Denies Kidnap Rumour With Govt Cabs

Oladele Ogunsola

Ibadan — Oyo State Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Poverty Alleviation, AbdulJeleel Kehinde Agboola, has debunked the rumour that the recently introduced new cabs by the administration were being used to kidnap people for rituals to aid the fulfillment of the second term ambition of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala. [...]

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004031193923

The Punch [Nigeria]
3 April 2010

Oyo govt, police criticise rumours on corporate taxis

By AKINWALE ABORISADE

[...] He also dismissed the claim that the cabs were used by state agents to kidnap unsuspecting members of the public for ritual purposes.

Agboola said, ”Those who are going about to make cheap allegations against Akala are enemies of progress. That is a lie now. Go to the Police. There has never been a single report with the Police. If someone would use a cab to kidnap would it be wise to paint it in state government colour and with Akala‘s picture? They are blackmailers. We have challenged them to mention even just one case of kidnap.” [...]

Harvesting Haitian Organs

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/01/focus-on-israel-harvesting-haitian.html
SteveLendmanBlog
26 January 2010
Focus on Israel: Harvesting Haitian Organs

by Stephen Lendman

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/27070/tonge-investigate-idf-stealing-organs-haiti

The Jewish Chronicle [London, UK]
11 February 2010

Tonge: Investigate IDF stealing organs in Haiti

By Simon Rocker and Martin Bright

Baroness Tonge, the Liberal peer, said this week that Israel should set up an inquiry to disprove allegations that its medical teams in Haiti “harvested” organs of earthquake victims for use in transplants. [...]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h912YwlhfkTcW2LZzfLv7QJVbspQD9DS26S80

The Associated Press
14 February 2010

UK lawmaker fired for anti-Israel comments

LONDON — A British lawmaker was fired from her job as her party's health spokeswoman after she said that there should be a probe into claims that Israeli relief workers were harvesting organs in Haiti.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said Jenny Tonge was dismissed from the role for her "unacceptable" comments. [...]

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=168621
Jerusalem Post
14 February 2010
'Haiti organ harvesting claims false'
BY JONNY PAUL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
Baroness Tonge sacked after accusing Israel of exploiting victims.

Missing Swans (Bridgwater, UK)

http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/4991885.The_mysterious_case_of_Bridgwater_s_missing_swans/

This is The West Country [UK]
5 February 2010

The mysterious case of Bridgwater's missing swans

By David Hemming

A FAMILY of popular swans have mysteriously vanished from Bridgwater's docklands area with rumours circulating they have been killed and eaten. [...]

[See also some earlier reports of disappearing swans.]

Organ Theft Rumors (Turkey)

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100204/FOREIGN/702039952/1002

The National [UAE]
3 February 2010

‘Organ snatcher’ fears over rash of child abductions in Turkey

Thomas Seibert, Foreign Correspondent

Attempt to Kill Christians by Poisoning Food (Nigeria)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/02/03/hausa-traders-deny-rumour-of-food-poisoning-in-p-harcourt/

Vanguard [Nigeria]
3 February 2010

Hausa traders deny rumour of food poisoning in P-Harcourt

By George Onah

Port-Harcourt — Hausa traders in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, have complained about series of “wicked and damaging text messages” making the rounds to the effect that Hausa traders planned to poison suya, carrots and green peas to kill Christians. [...]

Breast Implants of Death

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=123758

WorldNetDaily
1 February 2010

MI5 hunting breast implants of death
Authorities alarmed by possibility of surgically placed bombs

LONDON - Agents for Britain's MI5 intelligence service have discovered that Muslim doctors trained at some of Britain's leading teaching hospitals have returned to their own countries to fit surgical implants filled with explosives [....]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/qaeda_surgical_strike_breast_butt_3b7thvAVUmH8N2Lxhpx6QO
New York Post
1 February 2010
Qaeda's surgical strike: Breast & butt bombs
By CATHY BURKE

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2903793/Radicals-deadly-booby-trap.html
The Sun [UK]
23 March 2010
Radicals' deadly 'booby trap'
By RHODRI PHILLIPS

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/7510350/Terrorists-could-use-exploding-breast-implants-to-blow-up-jet.html
The Daily Telegraph [UK]
24 March 2010
Terrorists 'could use exploding breast implants to blow up jet'
Breast-implants packed with explosives could be used by terrorists to blow up an airliner, experts have reportedly warned.
By Heidi Blake

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=132433
WorldNetDaily
27 March 2010
About that exploding breast-implant story
Farah reveals all about his non-quote that went around the world

School Principal's Letter

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2010/02/02/20100202litchfield-letter-angry-parents-020210-CR.html

The Arizona Republic [Phoenix, AZ]
2 February 2010

'Joke' letter from principal sent to parents
Principal on administrative leave; parents angered

A fake letter to parents of Litchfield Elementary School sent as a joke from the principal to teachers last week found its way home to some parents, but few are finding the punchline funny.

Principal Ron Sterr distributed a fake letter heavy on hyperbole and sarcasm to teachers but addressed to parents mocking students who could not complete their "easy" math assignment. The letter was passed out to teachers as a joke, but a second-grade teacher who received it in an e-mail thought it was a real letter and sent it home to the parents. [...]

Acid Rain Rumors (India)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Acid-rain-rumours-unfounded/articleshow/5511130.cms

Times of India
30 January 2010

Acid rain rumours unfounded

CHENNAI: Rumours of impending acid rain in the city, which did the rounds via text messages, are unfounded, said Met officials and academics. The forwarded message claimed that acid rain could occur due to formation of a black ring around the moon on January 17. [...]

Carbon Paper Still Has Its Uses

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/for/2010/01/30-52/Customs-agents-seize-7-pounds-of-heroin-during-BWI-search.html

The Capital [Annapolis, MD]
30 January 2010

Customs agents seize 7 pounds of heroin during BWI search
Baltimore man tried to mask drugs by wrapping in carbon paper

By ALLISON BOURG, Staff Writer

[Suleiman Zakaria was arrested at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport after heroin was discovered in his suitcase. The heroin was wrapped in carbon paper, apparently to make it undetectable by X-rays.]

Soldier Refused Service (Montana)

http://www.kmbc.com/news/22355845/detail.html

KMBC-TV [Kansas City, MO]
27 January 2010

Facebook Rumor Hits Gas Station Owner
Businessman Fights Back Against Anonymous Posting

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. -- It started as a post on Facebook – a story that a man who runs a gas station in Excelsior Springs refused to sell to a person in the military. [...]

[Peter Patel, operator of the BP Quick Corner station, is victimized by a false rumor that he refused to service a customer, saying "You are killing my people."]

Bottomless Lakes

http://blogs.forteana.org/node/101

Charles Fort Institute
22 January 2010

'The lake that has no bottom...'

Mike Dash

Decapitated Teacher

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/column-8/column-8-20100124-msii.html

Sydney Morning Herald
25 January 2010

Column 8

Appliance safety, and how a good story can only get better: ''Seeing your item regarding warning notices for ceiling fans reminded me of a time some years ago when my children came home from high school saying a teacher had been decapitated by a ceiling fan,'' writes Peter Pocock of Hornsby (Column 8, Thursday). ''As I knew the teacher in question I thought I'd better call and see if his head was still attached. He was still alive, but he'd had to go to hospital for stitches - obviously he didn't read those directions as he stood on a chair to open a window, not noticing the fan. His blood was sprayed and he received a nasty cut, but the way rumours work it became a decapitation. By the next day the story ran that he was still speaking as his head rolled across the classroom floor."

Bikers Respond to Animal Rights Activists

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_022103710.html

The Tribune-Democrat [Johnstown, PA]
24 January 2010

This hog tale had no substance

BY ARLENE JOHNS

You might have heard about it, but if you didn’t, here’s the gist:

Bikers at Thunder in the Valley, more than a little offended at the actions of some animal rights activists, duct-taped the offenders to a Dumpster at a fast-food restaurant and (horrors!) force-fed them hamburgers! [...]

[The story, which first appeared on The Spoof, a website featuring fake news stories, was picked up by other websites and generated "dozens of inquiries" by callers to the Tribune-Democrat's newsroom.]

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i66233
The Spoof
3 January 2010
Three Reported Missing After Animal Rights Activists Take "War on Leather" to Motorcycle Gang Rally.

Pharm Parties

http://www.slate.com/id/2242212?nav=wp

Slate
21 January 2010

Still More Pharm-Party Phoolishness
The meme lives!

By Jack Shafer

I regret to inform you that this column has failed to eradicate the "pharm party" meme. Since June 2006, I've written five columns ( June 15, 2006; June 19, 2006; March 25, 2008; March 26, 2008; and March 23, 2009) debunking pharm parties, and yet the press keeps on churning out stories that pretend the events are both real and ubiquitous. [...]

Sony Timer Breaks Product When Warranty Expires

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7054587/The-myth-of-the-Sony-kill-switch.html

The Daily Telegraph [UK]
22 January 2010

The myth of the Sony 'kill switch'

In Japan, a surprising number of consumers really do claim to believe that Sony products are programmed to break as soon as the warranty expires.

By Hunter Skipworth

Gangs Use Child Seat Lure

http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/01/22/970238

The Fayetteville Observer [NC]
22 January 2010

E-mail about alleged gang-related threat is said to be fake

CLINTON - An e-mail purportedly sent out by a Sampson County deputy warning of a new gang-related threat is fake. [...]

[The e-mail, claiming to be sent by Sgt. Robert Stroud, says a gang practice is to put a child's seat on the roadside to lure women out of their cars. Any woman who stops to examine the seat is raped and attacked.]

Missing Genitals (Nigeria)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201001190581.html

Allafrica.com
18 January 2010

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Nigeria: Missing Genitals - How I Was Framed - OPC Leader

Gbenga Abegunrin

Ibadan — Chairman of O'odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, Muritala Adekola Ifawale, has explained his involvement in the disappearance of a woman alleged to have used charms to remove the genitals (manhood) of an Okada rider (commercial motorcyclist) plying Omi-Adio area, Ibadan. [...]

Earthquake Panic (Ghana)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8465619.stm

BBC News [UK]
18 January 2010

Ghana text hoax predicting earthquake prompts panic

["Today's night 12:30 to 3:30am COSMO RAYS entering earth from Mars. Switch off ur mobiles today's night.?NASA BBC NEWS ? Plz pass to all ur friends." This text message was interpreted by many Ghanaians as a warning against an impending earthquake. See also this earlier item from India.]


http://gbcghana.com/news/31058detail.html
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
18 January 2010
Earthquake rumour spread throughout Ghana

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/artikel.php?ID=175303
GhanaWeb.com
18 January 2010
Earthquake rumour shakes Brong-Ahafo Region


http://www.graphicghana.com/news/page.php?news=6152
The Daily Graphic [Ghana]
19 January 2010
Quake Hoax - Nation Forced To Keep Vigil

http://www.modernghana.com/news/259942/1/a-tale-of-all-night-long-in-ghana.html
ModernGhana.com
19 January 2010
A tale of all-night long in Ghana
By Stephen Yeboah


http://www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=9377&section=1

The Statesman [Ghana]
18 January 2010

Koforidua not left out of earthquake scare

Ghana News Agency

[...] A trader, Adwoa Afriyie, told GNA that she had information around 2300 hours from her daughter at Aburi Presbyterian Training College that disaster was looming so all should switch off their mobile phones.

She said she quickly switched off her mobile phone but around 02.00 hours she heard noisy people moving from their rooms and she came out only to be told there was a looming earthquake therefore people should run to safety. [...]


http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_features/r_11958/
Ghana News Agency
3 February 2010
The text message that robbed Ghanaians of sleep
by Nana Kodjo Jehu-Appiah

AIDS Mary Hoax (Detroit)

http://detnews.com/article/20100115/METRO01/1150368/1409/METRO/Video-of-woman-who-claims-to-have-spread-AIDS-stirs-panic

The Detroit News
15 January 2010

Video of woman who claims to have spread AIDS stirs panic

Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

Detroit -- A viral video of a woman claiming to have intentionally infected several Metro Detroit men with the virus that causes AIDS has prompted frantic phone calls to the Detroit Police Department. [...]

http://detnews.com/article/20100115/METRO/1150438/AIDS-video-a-hoax--woman-admits

The Detroit News
15 January 2010

AIDS video a hoax, woman admits

Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

Detroit -- The woman who caused a stir on the Internet this week with a video in which she says she has infected more than 500 people with HIV told The Detroit News today that she does not have the virus.

"I don't have AIDS," Jackie Braxton, 23, said in an interview. [...]

http://www.mediatakeout.com/2010/38185-killer_beauty_woman_admits_to_having_aids____claims_that_shes_infected_hundreds_of_men_with_the_virus____and_shes_naming_names_mto_exclusive.html

Mediatakeout.com

KILLER BEAUTY!!! WOMAN ADMITS TO HAVING AIDS...CLAIMS THAT SHE'S INFECTED HUNDREDS OF MEN WITH THE VIRUS...AND SHE'S NAMING NAMES!!!

http://www.freep.com/article/20100115/NEWS01/100115022/?imw=Y
The Detroit Free Press
15 January 2010
Woman: AIDS video hoax meant to be public service
By NAOMI R. PATTON and TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA

Kill a Tourist Day (South Africa)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242110/It-kill-tourist-day--way.html
Daily Mail [UK]
10 January 2010
Victoria Smurfit: 'It was kill a tourist day - and we were in the way'
By Victoria Smurfit

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1241996/Ballykissangel-star-Victoria-Smurfit-shot-Kill-Tourist-Day-South-Africa.html
Daily Mail [UK]
11 January 2010
Ballykissangel star Victoria Smurfit shot at on 'Kill a Tourist Day' in South Africa
By James Tapper, Mail on Sunday Showbusiness Reporter

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20100111081634719C525356
The Independent [South Africa]
11 January 2010
Cops baffled by actress' account of shooting
Quinton Mtyala

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=180&art_id=vn20100112121502529C687209
The Independent [South Africa]
12 January 2010
'No such thing as Kill A Tourist Day'
By Thandanani Mhlanga

Monkey Brains

http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/take-a-bite-on-the-wild-side/352043

The Jakarta Globe
11 January 2010

Take a Bite on the Wild Side

Marcel Thee

[The food stalls lining the main road of Mangga Besar in West Jakarta offer a diverse range of meats, including monkey. All the cooks and vendors there that the reporter questioned said the practice of eating the brains of live monkeys no longer occurs. One food stall owner was quite happy to recount how monkey brains were served "back in the day."]

“The monkeys are strapped into a wooden cage, where their heads pop out of a hole about the size of their neck [so that their heads are secured in position]. The cooks bring them out and either cuts the top part of their head in half, or drills a hole in it, so that the brain is exposed.”

That made my stomach turn, but I bravely continued and asked him how the monkey brain was served.

He said that sometimes the cook would scoop out the brain onto a plate and mix it with strong wine or herbs to hide the smell. But there was also another, even more grotesque, method.

“The cook pours some wine onto the brain, and then you take a straw and suck out the brain juices.”

He eagerly noted that while all of this happened, the monkey retains consciousness as it dies slowly.

It is worth mentioning, however, that this description of serving monkey brains seems very close to the urban legends promulgated by depictions in popular culture, with films such as “Indiana Jones” portraying it on screen. [...]

Mountain Lions Intentionally Released (Oklahoma)

http://www.newsok.com/mountain-of-a-tale/article/3430931

The Oklahoman [Oklahoma, OK]
10 January 2010

Belief that mountain lions are released into woods to kill deer doesn't make sense

By Ed Godfrey
The Oklahoman

Where did this rumor get started that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation intentionally releases mountain lions to roam free in the state to control the deer population? [...]

http://www.newsok.com/article/3429730?searched=mountain%20lion&custom_click=search

The Oklahoman [Oklahoma City, OK]
5 January 2010
Trail camera near Atoka snaps a mountain lion
BY ED GODFREY

[Two reader comments.]

[...] When I was a kid there were the rumors that a circus train had derailed somewhere here in SW OK and that some big cats had escaped [including a black panther] and that they had eventualy breeded with the native wild cats.
David, Altus - Jan 6, 2010 at 3:27 am

[...] I have heard a story for years that a "circus train" crashed between Shawnee and Seminole and all the cats got loose and set up housekeeping out there. Not believeable, but an interesting story nonetheless. [...]
Paula, yukon 73099 - Jan 5, 2010 at 11:57 am

Lincoln Park Brown

Jay Lynch, "Introduction," in James Danky & Denis Kitchen, eds., Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix (New York: Abrams ComicArts, 2009), p. 14.

In '67, Skip Williamson and I started an underground humor mag called the Chicago Mirror. By the third issue of the Mirror, we were getting a little bit discouraged, though. It seemed that the hippies just didn't seem to grasp the concepts of satire. This was driven home to me one day when I was selling copies of the Mirror on the streets of Chicago's sixties hippie neighborhood known as Old Town.

At this time, the press had been reporting that some hippies had been drying and curing banana skins to smoke for a legal high. In the Mirror we ran a piece satirically stating that smoking dog poop would provide an excellent psychedelic experience. We went on to say that the best variety of dog poop was something called "Lincoln Park Brown," and we gave tongue-in-cheek instructions for preparing the poop for smoking. We said that the new breed of dog-poop smokers were known as "shit heads." Get it? "Pot heads"? "Shit heads"? It's satire, right? But then when I was selling the mag on the street, this hippie came up to me and said, "Hey, man! Thanks for the tip on how to cure dog poop! We've been smoking it all week, and it's groovy!" I tried to explain to the kid that it was satire and that he shouldn't really be smoking dog poop, but he wouldn't listen. Apparently he was too blissed out of his mind on the nitrogen content of dog feces to grasp my explanation.

Pumas Secretly Introduced to Pennsylvania

Fortean Times #257 (January 2010), p. 73.

Letters

Pennsylvania pumas

[Tamy Kay Thompson of Newport News, Virginia, writes that the Pennsylvania Game Commission once tried to cut down the deer population by secretly introducing pumas outfitted with tracking device collars. Although the cats were probably responsible for the subsequent spate of missing pets and livestock, authorities denied that any pumas were in the area. -- bc]

A short while later, a farmer shot and killed a puma as it prepared to maul his cattle. He removed its tracking device and buried the carcass under his manure pit. The next day, officials with the Game Commission showed up on his porch, demanding to know where the puma was located. The famer looked them straight in the eye and used their own words against them, "There aren't any pumas around here."

Heart Recipient Acquires Donor's Food Cravings

http://www.news.com.au/national/donors-heart-goes-on-with-burger-rings-craving/story-e6frfkvr-1225812992551

The Daily Telegraph [Sydney]
23 December 2009

Donor's heart goes on with Burger Rings craving

Richard Noone

[...] [Kaden Delaney's] parents Greg and Shelley spent two years finding David Waters, whose life was saved when he received their son's heart after he died in a car crash. But in an exchange of emails they learned Mr Waters amazingly had developed a taste for Burger Rings - which was Kaden's favourite snack treat. [...]

The Most Shoplifted Book

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3670336/Jeffrey-Eugenides-Enduring-love.html

The Daily Telegraph [UK]
5 January 2008

Jeffrey Eugenides: Enduring love

By Mick Brown

[...] Jeffrey Eugenides has written just two books in the past 15 years. The first, The Virgin Suicides, a darkly comic fable of five suburban sisters who kill themselves, published in 1993, has sold more than a million copies, but also is said to hold the distinction of being the most shoplifted book of modern times. 'It's my most famous accolade,' Eugenides laughs, 'although Paul Auster claims one of his books is the most shoplifted. It's one of those things authors argue about.' [...]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/books/review/Rabb-t.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

New York Times
16 December 2009

Steal These Books

By MARGO RABB

[...] Although there’s no hard statistical evidence on most-stolen titles, The Telegraph of London reported last year that Jeffrey Eugenides’s novel “The Virgin Suicides” was said to be “the most shoplifted book of modern times.” Eugenides had heard this for many years. “I just assumed that the book appealed to the young and sticky-fingered to a certain extent,” he told me, with some amusement. Years ago, Eugenides was at a literary conference with Paul Auster, another top choice among literary thieves. “Paul and I argued about whose book was stolen more,” Eugenides said. “He claimed he was stolen a lot, I claimed I was stolen a lot. Back and forth. It was one of those deep intellectual conversations.” [...]

The Body in the Snow

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/yule-never-believe-this-story/article1406027/

The Globe and Mail [Toronto]
19 December 2009

Yule never believe this story

Tabatha Southey

[The columnist relates two of many legends told to her by a neighbor. 1) A couple on holiday in Florida made friends with another couple at their hotel and they arranged to babysit each other's kids on alternate nights. On the last night of their stay the Canadians went dining and dancing, but when they returned the other couple and all the children were nowhere to be found. 2) One Christmas Eve a man dutifully shoveling the driveway of his former house -- now his ex-wife's -- looked in a window and saw her and the man who had once been his best friend drinking champagne and dancing. The sight was too much for him; he had a heart attack and collapsed. "And it kept snowing and they never found him until spring."]