NUTTY,WACKY REAL NEWS!! ;-)>

One thing that can be said about life is it isn't boring, at least not to those who pay attention. Just a few of the more bizarre items in the news wires recently: � No free rides. Winning a big sweepstakes prize, such as the ride into space won by Brian Emmett of San Francisco, Calif., quickly hit a sour note when Emmett realized he couldn't afford the $25,000 taxes he owed on the prize. The news Tuesday was that a space tourism company agreed to pay the taxes in exchange for some consulting work by Emmett. � Vertical marathon. 290 people raced up all 86 floors of the Empire State Building this week. The fastest time was 10 minutes, 25 seconds. Movin' up is hard work. � Pedicure bandit caught. A man accused of not paying for more than 20 pedicures he received at various spas in Illinois and Wisconsin was apprehended this week. He led police on a foot chase. � Two-headed calf dies. A Virginia calf born just after Christmas died this week. The dairyman who owned her refused to have Star on display while she was alive, but shipped her body to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum for taxidermy. � Bouncing down the street. While they wouldn't really cause bouncing, rubber sidewalks may be in Philadelphia's future. A city councilman is proposing the idea of recycled tire rubber for the city's sidewalks because they last longer than concrete and are safer in the event of a fall. � College on eBay. Sick of the rising cost of tuition? Try eBay, where Oklahoma Weslayan University is auctioning tuition. A year of tuition, room and board reached $4,425 on Monday and runs through Saturday. The non-eBay price is $23,000. � Chewie's back, and mad. A man dressed as Chewbacca from Star Wars was arrested for battery in Hollywood this week. The wandering wookie head-butted a tour guide. � That's one honest cop. The Kewaskum, Wis. police chief cited himself for a traffic violation. After he accidentally drove past a school bus with its lights flashing, the chief wrote himself a $235 ticket and paid the fine the following day. � The worried wife. A woman in New York was arrested after spiking her NYPD-husband's meatball with marijuana. She wanted him to test positive so he'd lose his job, because she was afraid he would be killed in the line of duty. She figured a prison sentence was better than a funeral. � Wrong anthem. A local band in Grenada, in honor of a China-financed stadium on the Caribbean island, played the Taiwanese national anthem for a group of visiting Chinese dignitaries. Oops, or political commentary? � Oops again. A similar gaffe occurred at The White House last spring when an American announcer called China by Taiwan's formal name. ~~PLEASE SUPPORT, HONOR,RESPECT,PRAY & THANK OUR ARMED FORCES AND FIRST RESPONDERS & THE FAMILY WHO SACRIFICE THEM FOR US!GOD BLESS THEM & US =^.^= ~