Tag Archives: fire

There’s Something Funny Going On

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It’s been awhile since I paid a visit to the odd and strange going’s on in the news. I confess, I had a long, tough day and my mind would not function hence my desperate search for something to write  about.

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So a check to my favorite “odd” site did not disappoint. The first story that caught my eye is about a bicycle theft. This just proves that thieves are not smart.

Thief steals pricey electric bike, then accidentally calls owner for help on how to recharge it.

Would you like to know the “rest of the story”? The owner ultimately got the bike back. For more details click here: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/thief-steals-pricey-electric-bike–then-accidentally-calls-owner-for-help-on-how-to-recharge-it-212029453.html

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 Remember I said before a trip I always start to hear about the place I’m going. Well May is right around the corner and I’ll be heading to Tennessee . So here’s another Tennessee Headline for you : Tennessee man breaks into civil rights museum, then falls asleep.I wonder if that Tennessee moonshine or the “sippin’ whiskey” had anything to do with it. The museum is in Memphis and I don’t expect to be in that area of Tennessee.

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Let’s see what else I can find…. This one is right up my alley..cat that is.

Indiana cat missing 5 years reunited with owner

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A cat that went missing five years ago has been reunited with its owner in Indiana thanks to an implanted microchip.

WOWO-AM and WANE-TV report the 10-year-old cat named Charlie showed up at Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control on Monday. Workers there scanned the cat and discovered Charlie had a microchip that identified Virginia Fryback of Fort Wayne as his owner.

Fryback says Charlie disappeared from her home five years ago and she thought she’d never see him again. She thanks the veterinarian who convinced her to get a microchip when Charlie was a kitten

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The last headline is for all the hungry people …

Extra crispy: French fry truck burns in Maine

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — Bring on the ketchup: A tractor-trailer carrying 40,000 pounds of french fries caught fire in a Wal-Mart parking lot in the Maine city of Waterville.

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At least with Walmart right there ketchup would be in good supply.

Well my friends, it isn’t a pretty post but it keeps my “string” unbroken. I hope you got a chuckle out of some of these stories.

 

 

 

 

 

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Well Once again I am counting my lucky stars! Sandy and I had a great trip on the Island Princess only to come home to news that Royal Caribbean passengers aboard the Grandeur of the Seas are not having such a good time!

John Bacon and Gene Sloan, USA TODAY10:59 a.m. EDT May 27, 2013

MIAMI — A fire broke out Monday aboard a cruise ship on its way to the Bahamas, but the blaze was quickly extinguished and no serious injuries were reported, Royal Caribbean Cruises said.

The ship Grandeur of the Seas did not require evacuations and continued under full power, reaching Freeport, Bahamas, this morning. Royal Caribbean said that after the fire on a rear mooring deck, passengers had to report to evacuation stations. The ship is being “evaluated,” the company said.

“Grandeur of the Seas experienced a fire this morning. Captain mustered all guests. No injuries of guests or crew reported,” the line said on Twitter.

Royal Caribbean Cruises owns several cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

The fire is the latest in a series of cruise ship mishaps that has shaken the industry. In February, fire in an engine room of the cruis ship Carnival Triumph left the ship dead in the water in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to a lack of propulsion, the ship was without power for essential services such as food preparation and, for a time, running water. Toilets stopped working, as did air conditioning and lighting. The vessel eventually was towed to Mobile, Ala., but not before passengers had to spend four days on board in what was described as miserable conditions.

America’s trust in cruise lines has dropped significantly in the wake of problems aboard the ships, according to a Harris poll released in March.

The survey of 2,230 U.S. adults, which took place between Feb. 19 and 21, found a 17% drop in a measurement of America’s trust in Carnival Cruise Lines following the much-publicized February incident.

Measurements of trust in rival lines including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Holland America also dropped, though not as sharply.

The Smartest Kitties in the World

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Everyone thinks they have the smartest pets  in the world and I will admit that my cats don’t jump though fiery hoops or anything like that. Still my babies are pretty smart.

You’ve all met Rocky, our editor  in chief.

Editor in Chief

 In addition to “editing” he also types and points where the cursor should go on the screen. He opens doors and cupboards and linen closets. He even  figured out how to open the “trifold” doors on the closets. He also likes to watch TV, especially sci-fi and nature programs. He comes when called and will play “fetch” when he feels like it.

He even helps me pack for my trips!

 All in all he’s pretty entertaining.

Smokey is a bit more laid back but I don’t think he should be short-changed in the smarts department. Smokey knows his name and comes when called. He is a natural alarm clock and starts poking me in the face with his paw about 5 minutes before the alarm goes off.

Smokey will play a little but would much rather cuddle up on the couch. He’s not as interested in watching the computer screen or the TV but he’ll sit and try to type all day if I let him. Those little keys really fascinate him.

Now I want to take a trip back in time to when Rocky was a kitten and Smokey was a newcomer to my household. I lived in an apartment in Randolph and the fire alarm was always going off. We even had fires. When that alarm would go off the cats would disappear to parts unknown and my fear was that if we really had to escape, I’d never find them. I did not want Smokey living up to his name or Rocky turning into a “crispy critter”.

So I practiced (with lots of chicken and turkey bits) to get them to run to their carriers when the alarm went off. Rocky, being a kitten, learned the quickest.

 Smokey , in his rebellious teenage cat years, still preferred the far corner under the bed but sometimes he’d cooperate. They got pretty good at it too. Then I moved to Taunton and life went on but I never got back into the “fire drill” mode.

So we’ve been living in Taunton now for around 6 years and I’ve never  once practiced those old skills. In fact, as long as I’ve lived  in this condo the building fire alarm has never gone off …at least not when I’ve been around…until Saturday night!

The alarm went off about 11:30 pm. The cats jumped and I jumped and then both cats just looked at me. I said “Fire” and pointed toward the bedroom where I keep their carriers. They started in that way  with me right on their heels. I put both carriers on the bed and they hopped right in.

I zipped them up, pulled on my shoes and jacket and we were out of the place in less than 5 minutes. When the fire department gave the all clear and we were back inside, I gave them some treats because I was so impressed!

Well it wasn’t over. About 1:30 am the alarm went off again. Once again as soon as I put the carriers down, pointed and said fire they were in them! Once again we bundled up and headed out into the cold. Once again the fire department declared a false alarm and once again we returned to the warmth of our little beds. But I can’t get over how, amid all the noise of the alarm bells and the sirens, my little kitty cats followed my instructions and hopped right into those carriers. They didn’t bolt for a closet  or under the bed even though they looked scared enough.

They say cats have the memory of a 3 year old and sometimes I think it’s even shorter but in this case when the chips were down they not only remembered that long ago training, they responded  right away. I am so proud of them 🙂 ( Can’t you tell?)

Oh the night wasn’t over. About 3-3:30 am the alarm went off one last time. I stuck my nose out the door. No smoke so went back to bed. The cats looked at me as if to say  “What? No carriers?” then they curled up and went back to sleep too. I heard the Firemen come in and give the a”all clear”. So glad we didn’t pack up and go out again.