Paradise Driver: 07/18/08

Friday, July 18, 2008

WELL, AT LEAST HE WASN'T ARMED

Earlier today American Airlines flight 725, a Boeing 757, from Boston to Los Angeles had to make an emergency landing in Oklahoma City. A male passenger went to the restroom, removed all his clothing and then proceeded to scamper up and down the aisles of the aircraft. After redressing he thought it was time to make a timely exit by attempting to open an emergency exit at 30,000 feet. He was taken into custody by Oklahoma authorities after being restrained by members of a Boston area professional soccer team aboard the flight. It is unknown if anyone yelled "GOOOAL" when he got the boot.

Gee, I didn't even get an in-flight movie when I flew back from the mainland.

Okay, I'll admit that I would accept free coffee when I was a cop. It was easier than the hassle involved trying to pay. But I did always leave a healthy tip. But this ranking officer down in Florida (sorry June) takes the cake.

Talk about being in a sticky situation.

I wonder if this guy's missing/wanted posters include a picture?

Well, we now know what "we" look like to passing aliens.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

JULY 18TH

Today is Friday, July 18, the 200th day of 2008. There are 166 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 18, 1947, President Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act, which placed the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore next in the line of succession after the vice president.

On this date:

In 64, the Great Fire of Rome began.
In 1792, American naval hero John Paul Jones died in Paris at age 45.
In 1918, during World War I, American and French forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans during the Second Battle of the Marne.
In 1932, the United States and Canada signed a treaty to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began.
In 1940, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated President Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term in office.
In 1969, a car driven by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard; passenger Mary Jo Kopechne died.
In 1984, a gunman opened fire at a McDonald's fast food restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif., killing 21 people before being shot dead by police.
In 1984, Walter F. Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination in San Francisco.
In 1988, Texas Treasurer Ann Richards delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, skewering presumed Republican nominee George H.W. Bush as having been "born with a silver foot in his mouth."

Ten years ago:

South African President Nelson Mandela capped his 80th birthday by marrying Graca Machel, the widow of a Mozambican president and black liberation leader.

Five years ago:

Basketball star Kobe Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman at a Colorado spa; Bryant denied the charge, saying he was guilty only of adultery. (Prosecutors later dropped the case.)
The body of British scientist David Kelly, a weapons expert at the center of a storm over British intelligence on Iraq, was found a day after he'd committed suicide.

One year ago:

Senate Republicans torpedoed legislation to force the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
An underground steam pipe exploded on a New York City street, swallowing a tow truck and claiming the life of a woman who suffered a heart attack.
Armed men kidnapped two Germans and five Afghans working on a dam project in central Afghanistan. (One of the Germans, Ruediger Diedrich, was found shot dead three days later; the others were later released.)
Opera tenor Jerry Hadley, 55, died at a hospital in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., a week after he'd shot himself with an air rifle.

Today's Birthdays: