Swimming with sharks
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - Swimmers in an ocean race off Sydney faced their worst nightmare when a 3.5 meter (10 feet) shark was spotted heading straight for them, forcing race officials to quickly pluck competitors from the water.
Swimmers in the Cole Classic ocean swim, a 10-km (six-mile) race out through the heads of Sydney Harbor to the city's northern Manly Beach, were around the halfway mark Sunday when the shark was spotted, local newspapers reported on Monday.
Safety boats following the swimmers out of the harbor quickly pulled competitors onboard, while officials on jet skis chased the shark out to sea.
The race was immediately called off, but a shorter race for amateur swimmers off Manly Beach went ahead.
Australia has had a spate of shark attacks in recent months.
A scuba diver off the Western Australian city of Perth survived an attack by a great white shark in January after fighting it off with his speargun and then his hands.
A 21-year-old woman died in January after she was attacked by three sharks while swimming off an island on Australia's northeast coast. She lost both forearms and suffered wounds to the legs and torso.
Australia's first recorded shark attack was in 1791. As of January 2006, there had been a total of 659 attacks in Australian waters, 193 of them fatal, according to the Australian Shark Attack File at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.
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Artist paints worlds no one has ever seen
By Deborah Zabarenko
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What if ET isn't cute? What if extraterrestrial life doesn't even touch the surface of a faraway planet, but instead floats above its hostile surface like a hot-air balloon?
Scientists say this is possible, based on data they have about the big gassy planets detected around stars other than our sun, but no one has actually seen this.
To make this data come to life, astronomers turn to Lynette Cook, space artist extraordinaire.
Since astronomers detected the first planet outside our solar system in 1995, Cook has been illustrating what their instruments reveal about distant unseen worlds -- and these worlds aren't always pretty.
Take, for example, her vision of the astronomical carnage around a sun-like star called HD 82943, in the constellation Hydra (The Water Snake). A couple of Jupiter-size planets circle benignly as the star swallows another planet, which spews a fiery-looking tail as it crashes into its sun.
Then there is the eerie green light that pervades planets orbiting a pulsar, which belches out so much radiation that no life could survive. If, against all logic, a sentient being did live on the planets around pulsar PSR 1257 + 12, it might enjoy the green and ochre mountains and the celestial aurora.
But what if living things do exist on a faraway planet? Cook imagined a Jupiter-style gas giant planet harboring life, but not on its gassy surface. Instead, there are hypothetical floating life forms, a cross between jellyfish and hot-air balloons, drifting along on air currents.
These pictures -- which illustrate a new book about extrasolar planets called "Infinite Worlds" -- may seem surreal, but Cook stressed in a Reuters interview that they are grounded in science.
FAR-OUT -- BUT PLAUSIBLE
"This is not science fiction," she said. "These planets are so far away we cannot look at them with a camera close up, so we can't have the assurance at this point of time that it's 100 percent accurate. And that's fun for me because I can use some imagination as long as it is scientifically plausible. It can't be too far-out or I can't do it."
Cook, 45, always wanted to be a scientific illustrator.
As a child, she would draw birds, mushrooms and other flora and fauna. She got a double degree in art and biology at the Mississippi University for Women and then a master of fine arts at the California Academy of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.
Internships, freelance work and then a job at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco followed.
She made her first rendition of an unseen extrasolar planet in 1995, when scientists spotted one around the star 51 Pegasi. This was thought to be a Jupiter-like gas ball, orbiting very close to its sun.
"I was pretty good at planets in our solar system, so I thought, well, it's not much of a stretch to do another planet around a different sun-like star -- so I did," Cook said.
Most of the 170 extrasolar planets detected so far were discovered by watching for a characteristic wobble in the stars they orbit. The planets remain unseen but astronomers can learn a lot about them, including how massive they are, how far they are from their stars and how long it takes them to orbit.
The majority of these planets are big ones like Jupiter, though a few rocky Earth-like planets have been detected.
ARTISTIC SCAPEGOAT?
One of the foremost planet-hunting scientists, Geoffrey Marcy, used Cook's illustrations to present some of his findings, and gave her a rave in the new book's foreword: "How wonderful to have a book that combines the best explanations of modern astrophysics with the best artistic extrapolations."
Ray Villard, who is news director at the Space Telescope and Science Institute in Baltimore and wrote the text for "Infinite Worlds," said he was mesmerized by Cook's work at a 1998 scientific talk on extrasolar planets. He was expecting "a bunch of squiggly graphs" and instead saw fully realized versions of how the planets might look.
Sometimes, Cook said, all she has to work with are the squiggly graphs provided by astronomers. However, she said her work with Marcy involves detailed discussions on the planet's possible appearance, based on the data available.
She said some astronomers encourage her to go out on a bit of an artistic limb.
"They might want to talk about volcanoes and lakes and oceans and icebergs and whatever (on an extrasolar planet), but they don't feel that they can say as scientists that these things exist," Cook said. "I'm kind of a scapegoat. I'm useful because it gives them entree to talk about it credibly."
She was able to get more fanciful in recent illustrations for the work of Dava Sobel, who gave a tour of our solar system in the recent book "The Planets."
Her work can be seen online at http://extrasolar.spaceart.org. She lives in northern California.
By Deborah Zabarenko
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What if ET isn't cute? What if extraterrestrial life doesn't even touch the surface of a faraway planet, but instead floats above its hostile surface like a hot-air balloon?
Scientists say this is possible, based on data they have about the big gassy planets detected around stars other than our sun, but no one has actually seen this.
To make this data come to life, astronomers turn to Lynette Cook, space artist extraordinaire.
Since astronomers detected the first planet outside our solar system in 1995, Cook has been illustrating what their instruments reveal about distant unseen worlds -- and these worlds aren't always pretty.
Take, for example, her vision of the astronomical carnage around a sun-like star called HD 82943, in the constellation Hydra (The Water Snake). A couple of Jupiter-size planets circle benignly as the star swallows another planet, which spews a fiery-looking tail as it crashes into its sun.
Then there is the eerie green light that pervades planets orbiting a pulsar, which belches out so much radiation that no life could survive. If, against all logic, a sentient being did live on the planets around pulsar PSR 1257 + 12, it might enjoy the green and ochre mountains and the celestial aurora.
But what if living things do exist on a faraway planet? Cook imagined a Jupiter-style gas giant planet harboring life, but not on its gassy surface. Instead, there are hypothetical floating life forms, a cross between jellyfish and hot-air balloons, drifting along on air currents.
These pictures -- which illustrate a new book about extrasolar planets called "Infinite Worlds" -- may seem surreal, but Cook stressed in a Reuters interview that they are grounded in science.
FAR-OUT -- BUT PLAUSIBLE
"This is not science fiction," she said. "These planets are so far away we cannot look at them with a camera close up, so we can't have the assurance at this point of time that it's 100 percent accurate. And that's fun for me because I can use some imagination as long as it is scientifically plausible. It can't be too far-out or I can't do it."
Cook, 45, always wanted to be a scientific illustrator.
As a child, she would draw birds, mushrooms and other flora and fauna. She got a double degree in art and biology at the Mississippi University for Women and then a master of fine arts at the California Academy of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.
Internships, freelance work and then a job at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco followed.
She made her first rendition of an unseen extrasolar planet in 1995, when scientists spotted one around the star 51 Pegasi. This was thought to be a Jupiter-like gas ball, orbiting very close to its sun.
"I was pretty good at planets in our solar system, so I thought, well, it's not much of a stretch to do another planet around a different sun-like star -- so I did," Cook said.
Most of the 170 extrasolar planets detected so far were discovered by watching for a characteristic wobble in the stars they orbit. The planets remain unseen but astronomers can learn a lot about them, including how massive they are, how far they are from their stars and how long it takes them to orbit.
The majority of these planets are big ones like Jupiter, though a few rocky Earth-like planets have been detected.
ARTISTIC SCAPEGOAT?
One of the foremost planet-hunting scientists, Geoffrey Marcy, used Cook's illustrations to present some of his findings, and gave her a rave in the new book's foreword: "How wonderful to have a book that combines the best explanations of modern astrophysics with the best artistic extrapolations."
Ray Villard, who is news director at the Space Telescope and Science Institute in Baltimore and wrote the text for "Infinite Worlds," said he was mesmerized by Cook's work at a 1998 scientific talk on extrasolar planets. He was expecting "a bunch of squiggly graphs" and instead saw fully realized versions of how the planets might look.
Sometimes, Cook said, all she has to work with are the squiggly graphs provided by astronomers. However, she said her work with Marcy involves detailed discussions on the planet's possible appearance, based on the data available.
She said some astronomers encourage her to go out on a bit of an artistic limb.
"They might want to talk about volcanoes and lakes and oceans and icebergs and whatever (on an extrasolar planet), but they don't feel that they can say as scientists that these things exist," Cook said. "I'm kind of a scapegoat. I'm useful because it gives them entree to talk about it credibly."
She was able to get more fanciful in recent illustrations for the work of Dava Sobel, who gave a tour of our solar system in the recent book "The Planets."
Her work can be seen online at http://extrasolar.spaceart.org. She lives in northern California.
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Arcade Claw Offers Live Lobster Prizes
By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer
SCARBOROUGH, Maine - You don't have to be a fisherman to catch lobsters anymore. At a neighborhood store in this Portland suburb — and at restaurants and bars in more than a dozen states — customers can plunk down $2 for a chance to catch their very own lobster using a mechanical claw in an arcade-style game.
The apparatus is a new version of the old-style amusement game where players put in a quarter or two in hopes of grabbing a stuffed animal. But instead of plush toys, the Love Maine Lobster Claw game has a water-filled tank full of lobsters.
When a lobster is caught, the restaurants cook it for free and serve it with side dishes.
"He looks like a keeper," said Frank Margel of Westbrook, eyeing a mottled-green crustacean at Eight Corners Market before giving the game a try.
It's easier said than done, however.
Unlike stationary stuffed animals, the lobsters flap their tails, flail their claws and squirm this way and that, making them elusive prey.
"Those lobsters are lively. They're ready for competition," Margel said a minute later — and $2 poorer — after the crustacean slipped away.
Marine Ecological Habitats in Biddeford has been making the Love Maine Lobster game for just over a year and sold a couple of dozen, said Joe Zucchero, the company president.
The Maine-made machines can be found in restaurants and bars in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maine, Zucchero said. A Florida company, The Lobster Zone Inc., makes a similar machine that it says can be found in more than 20 states.
The game has its critics. Animal rights activists contend it's cruel to toss a lobster into a boiling pot of water. And playing with the creatures before sending them to their deaths rubs some people the wrong way.
"Turning animal cruelty into a game is absolutely hideous," said Karin Robertson of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
A restaurant in Pittsburgh removed its lobster game last week in response to PETA's campaign against the machines.
Paul Carrozzi, owner of Roland's Seafood Grill, said he doesn't agree the machine is inhumane, but removed it after receiving threatening e-mails and calls. "It just wasn't worth it," he said.
Zucchero maintains that the machine has a gentle claw that won't hurt the animals.
"If it did," he said, "we'd have problems because then it would be destroying our inventory."
At Eight Corners Market, customers typically play the game 25 to 30 times a day and catch about eight or so lobsters a week, said store owner Peter Walsh, who also plans to sell lobsters out of the tank.
When the game's in play, it usually draws a crowd. A lighthouse-style beacon flashes on top of the machine when somebody catches a lobster.
"If somebody's playing this game and someone else walks in the store, I guarantee they'll play because they'll see how fun it is," Walsh said.
In Louisiana, Bill Bodin owns two of the machines, which he placed in seafood and Mexican restaurants in Lafayette. The machines do a brisk business, he said, especially when there are lines and people are looking for something to do — or for their kids to do — while waiting for a table.
At Eight Corners Market, Margel gets 30 seconds to catch a lobster for $2. Or he can get three plays for $5 or seven plays for $10.
Working a joystick and a pair of buttons, Margel lowers the claw, clamps it around the lobster and attempts to lift it out of the water. But the lobster fights back and escapes before he can deposit it in an opening and down a chute into his possession.
Margel leaves empty-handed, but he had good time.
"Who cares if you get a lobster for two bucks?" he said.
___
On the Net: Marine Ecological Habitats
A lobster dangles in a claw of a game machine that has a tank full of live lobsters in a neighborhood store in Scarborough, Maine, on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006. Customers pay $2 for a chance to catch their own lobster by using a three-pronged claw in the 'Love Maine Lobster Claw' arcade game. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer
SCARBOROUGH, Maine - You don't have to be a fisherman to catch lobsters anymore. At a neighborhood store in this Portland suburb — and at restaurants and bars in more than a dozen states — customers can plunk down $2 for a chance to catch their very own lobster using a mechanical claw in an arcade-style game.
The apparatus is a new version of the old-style amusement game where players put in a quarter or two in hopes of grabbing a stuffed animal. But instead of plush toys, the Love Maine Lobster Claw game has a water-filled tank full of lobsters.
When a lobster is caught, the restaurants cook it for free and serve it with side dishes.
"He looks like a keeper," said Frank Margel of Westbrook, eyeing a mottled-green crustacean at Eight Corners Market before giving the game a try.
It's easier said than done, however.
Unlike stationary stuffed animals, the lobsters flap their tails, flail their claws and squirm this way and that, making them elusive prey.
"Those lobsters are lively. They're ready for competition," Margel said a minute later — and $2 poorer — after the crustacean slipped away.
Marine Ecological Habitats in Biddeford has been making the Love Maine Lobster game for just over a year and sold a couple of dozen, said Joe Zucchero, the company president.
The Maine-made machines can be found in restaurants and bars in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maine, Zucchero said. A Florida company, The Lobster Zone Inc., makes a similar machine that it says can be found in more than 20 states.
The game has its critics. Animal rights activists contend it's cruel to toss a lobster into a boiling pot of water. And playing with the creatures before sending them to their deaths rubs some people the wrong way.
"Turning animal cruelty into a game is absolutely hideous," said Karin Robertson of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
A restaurant in Pittsburgh removed its lobster game last week in response to PETA's campaign against the machines.
Paul Carrozzi, owner of Roland's Seafood Grill, said he doesn't agree the machine is inhumane, but removed it after receiving threatening e-mails and calls. "It just wasn't worth it," he said.
Zucchero maintains that the machine has a gentle claw that won't hurt the animals.
"If it did," he said, "we'd have problems because then it would be destroying our inventory."
At Eight Corners Market, customers typically play the game 25 to 30 times a day and catch about eight or so lobsters a week, said store owner Peter Walsh, who also plans to sell lobsters out of the tank.
When the game's in play, it usually draws a crowd. A lighthouse-style beacon flashes on top of the machine when somebody catches a lobster.
"If somebody's playing this game and someone else walks in the store, I guarantee they'll play because they'll see how fun it is," Walsh said.
In Louisiana, Bill Bodin owns two of the machines, which he placed in seafood and Mexican restaurants in Lafayette. The machines do a brisk business, he said, especially when there are lines and people are looking for something to do — or for their kids to do — while waiting for a table.
At Eight Corners Market, Margel gets 30 seconds to catch a lobster for $2. Or he can get three plays for $5 or seven plays for $10.
Working a joystick and a pair of buttons, Margel lowers the claw, clamps it around the lobster and attempts to lift it out of the water. But the lobster fights back and escapes before he can deposit it in an opening and down a chute into his possession.
Margel leaves empty-handed, but he had good time.
"Who cares if you get a lobster for two bucks?" he said.
___
On the Net: Marine Ecological Habitats
A lobster dangles in a claw of a game machine that has a tank full of live lobsters in a neighborhood store in Scarborough, Maine, on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006. Customers pay $2 for a chance to catch their own lobster by using a three-pronged claw in the 'Love Maine Lobster Claw' arcade game. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
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"No joint smoking" sign sparks global interest
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Amsterdam's new street signs banning cannabis smoking in parts of the city have sparked global interest.
The sign shows a red circle around a fat cannabis joint in a cloud of smoke sparked by white marijuana leaves. It has been installed at one square and surrounding streets in Amsterdam where young cannabis smokers are a nuisance (http://www.baarsjes.amsterdam.nl).
Soon after the installation on February 1, the first signs were stolen after which the Amsterdam council of De Baarsjes decided it would start selling what it believes is the world's first anti-cannabis road sign.
Over 400 consumers have approached the council to buy one of the "no joints" signs for 90 euros ($108), excluding shipping, a spokesman said.
"About 75 percent of the requests come from the United States," he said, adding interest is also coming from Singapore, Australia, Scandinavian countries and Germany.
The profits will be donated to a charitable cause that has yet to be chosen.
It is legal to own and use small quantities of soft drugs in the Netherlands whose relaxed position on the issue has brought it into conflict with other European countries like France which claims the Dutch undermine the global fight against drugs.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Amsterdam's new street signs banning cannabis smoking in parts of the city have sparked global interest.
The sign shows a red circle around a fat cannabis joint in a cloud of smoke sparked by white marijuana leaves. It has been installed at one square and surrounding streets in Amsterdam where young cannabis smokers are a nuisance (http://www.baarsjes.amsterdam.nl).
Soon after the installation on February 1, the first signs were stolen after which the Amsterdam council of De Baarsjes decided it would start selling what it believes is the world's first anti-cannabis road sign.
Over 400 consumers have approached the council to buy one of the "no joints" signs for 90 euros ($108), excluding shipping, a spokesman said.
"About 75 percent of the requests come from the United States," he said, adding interest is also coming from Singapore, Australia, Scandinavian countries and Germany.
The profits will be donated to a charitable cause that has yet to be chosen.
It is legal to own and use small quantities of soft drugs in the Netherlands whose relaxed position on the issue has brought it into conflict with other European countries like France which claims the Dutch undermine the global fight against drugs.
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Kangaroo Has Lip Surgery After Bite
MOORPARK, Calif. (AP) - Feznick, an aspiring celebrity kangaroo, underwent lip surgery because he was bitten by a wolf at a Hollywood animal farm.
The 75-pound kangaroo underwent plastic surgery on Sunday and veterinarians say the marsupial will soon be ready to resume his acting career.
Feznick is an aspiring actor who often appears at corporate events and was on the red carpet for the opening of last year's movie flop "Kangaroo Jack," his owner Eadie McMullan said.
Last year, Feznick stuck his snout under a fence at a Kern County farm for Hollywood animals and was bitten by a wolf, leaving the 4-year-old kangaroo with a toothy, Billy Idol-style sneer, veterinarian Scott Amsel said.
Surgery on Sunday turned Feznick's muzzle back into a fuzzy, made-for-TV, face.
Westlake Village plastic surgeon Dr. Theodore Corwin performed the two-hour lip surgery, the first time he's ever worked on an animal. He didn't charge for Feznick's lip repair.
"It looks like people surgery in a way," said surgical nurse Jeanine Rich, "except the patient is a little hairier."
MOORPARK, Calif. (AP) - Feznick, an aspiring celebrity kangaroo, underwent lip surgery because he was bitten by a wolf at a Hollywood animal farm.
The 75-pound kangaroo underwent plastic surgery on Sunday and veterinarians say the marsupial will soon be ready to resume his acting career.
Feznick is an aspiring actor who often appears at corporate events and was on the red carpet for the opening of last year's movie flop "Kangaroo Jack," his owner Eadie McMullan said.
Last year, Feznick stuck his snout under a fence at a Kern County farm for Hollywood animals and was bitten by a wolf, leaving the 4-year-old kangaroo with a toothy, Billy Idol-style sneer, veterinarian Scott Amsel said.
Surgery on Sunday turned Feznick's muzzle back into a fuzzy, made-for-TV, face.
Westlake Village plastic surgeon Dr. Theodore Corwin performed the two-hour lip surgery, the first time he's ever worked on an animal. He didn't charge for Feznick's lip repair.
"It looks like people surgery in a way," said surgical nurse Jeanine Rich, "except the patient is a little hairier."
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Robbers on School Worksheet Draw Criticism
BALTIMORE, Mlnd. (AP) - An elementary school worksheet that tells the story of four people who get away with robbing a house and describes how to do a card trick has drawn criticism from a Baltimore mother who sees it as promoting criminal activity.
The worksheet, called "The Four Robbers," is part of a booklet designed to prepare children for Maryland's standardized tests in March. It is intended to teach fourth-graders about sequence of events.
But Kenyona J. Moore, whose 9-year-old brought the worksheet home last week, said it promotes criminal activity to youngsters.
"This is being given out to inner-city children," she told The (Baltimore) Sun. "The assumption is they can relate to this, and that's wrong."
Moore's, Musthapha Muhammad, told her: "I don't wanna rob a house, Mommy." Moore said the underlying message of the worksheet to inner-city children is, "This is all you'll be able to do anyway."
The worksheet describes a card trick with four jacks, instructing the person doing the trick to say, "Imagine that the four jacks are robbers. They're going to rob a house." The first card, slipped into the bottom of the deck, represents the first robber, going into the first story of the house. The second and third cards are the robbers on the second and third stories. The fourth card, on top of the deck, is the robber on the roof looking out for police.
The person doing the trick is supposed to say: "Just then, the wail of a siren is heard. The robber on the roof says, 'Cops! Let's get out of here!'" The person peels off the top cards in the deck, showing that "the robber-jacks have magically migrated to the top of the deck!"
On Monday, Jeffery N. Grotsky, Area Academic Officer, told principals at 27 elementary schools he oversees to stop using the worksheet about the robbers, a Baltimore schools spokeswoman said.
The booklet, "MSA Finish Line: Reading," is published by Continental Press, based in Elizabethtown, Pa.
The lesson on the robbers makes no mention of race, but Moore said that it could have a damaging effect on the self-esteem of children in majority-black city schools.
A Continental Press official pointed out that there are no pictures of African-Americans on the lesson.
"It's just pictures of cards," said Beth Spencer, vice president of publications for Continental Press. She said she could see Moore's point, but "we certainly never looked at it that way."
___
Information from: The Sun
BALTIMORE, Mlnd. (AP) - An elementary school worksheet that tells the story of four people who get away with robbing a house and describes how to do a card trick has drawn criticism from a Baltimore mother who sees it as promoting criminal activity.
The worksheet, called "The Four Robbers," is part of a booklet designed to prepare children for Maryland's standardized tests in March. It is intended to teach fourth-graders about sequence of events.
But Kenyona J. Moore, whose 9-year-old brought the worksheet home last week, said it promotes criminal activity to youngsters.
"This is being given out to inner-city children," she told The (Baltimore) Sun. "The assumption is they can relate to this, and that's wrong."
Moore's, Musthapha Muhammad, told her: "I don't wanna rob a house, Mommy." Moore said the underlying message of the worksheet to inner-city children is, "This is all you'll be able to do anyway."
The worksheet describes a card trick with four jacks, instructing the person doing the trick to say, "Imagine that the four jacks are robbers. They're going to rob a house." The first card, slipped into the bottom of the deck, represents the first robber, going into the first story of the house. The second and third cards are the robbers on the second and third stories. The fourth card, on top of the deck, is the robber on the roof looking out for police.
The person doing the trick is supposed to say: "Just then, the wail of a siren is heard. The robber on the roof says, 'Cops! Let's get out of here!'" The person peels off the top cards in the deck, showing that "the robber-jacks have magically migrated to the top of the deck!"
On Monday, Jeffery N. Grotsky, Area Academic Officer, told principals at 27 elementary schools he oversees to stop using the worksheet about the robbers, a Baltimore schools spokeswoman said.
The booklet, "MSA Finish Line: Reading," is published by Continental Press, based in Elizabethtown, Pa.
The lesson on the robbers makes no mention of race, but Moore said that it could have a damaging effect on the self-esteem of children in majority-black city schools.
A Continental Press official pointed out that there are no pictures of African-Americans on the lesson.
"It's just pictures of cards," said Beth Spencer, vice president of publications for Continental Press. She said she could see Moore's point, but "we certainly never looked at it that way."
___
Information from: The Sun
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Human Chain Pulls Hunter From Crocodile
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - A human chain of villagers pulled a hunter from the jaws of a man-eating crocodile in northeastern Zimbabwe, state media reported Monday.
Letikuku Sidumbu, 32, was attacked by the crocodile while trying to cross the swollen Mubvinzi river in the Goromonzi district, about 25 miles east of Harare, during an early morning hunting expedition with his uncle.
As the crocodile clenched it jaws on his right arm, a human chain of villagers tugged him from its grip in a struggle that also left him with a broken leg and chest and stomach injuries, Sidumbu told the state Herald newspaper from his hospital bed in Harare.
Crocodiles are the most dangerous animal to man in Zimbabwe. In recorded cases last year, they dragged away and ate 13 people — including children — according to the Communal Areas Management Program, a conservation group.
"I called out to my uncle to hit the crocodile with an ax," The Herald quoted Sidumbu saying.
But, he said, commotion by the two men's hunting dogs enraged the crocodile. He heard the voices of fellow vilalgers arriving from nearby Chitana Mafengu to help.
Before rescuers dragged him free, "one thing was clear that they wanted to salvage at least a piece of my flesh for burial should the crocodile get the better of them," Sidumbu said.
The Communal Areas conservation group, in its annual report for 2005, said wild animals killed at least 27 people last year in cases reported across Zimbabwe, but scores of other attacks in remote areas would not have been recorded.
Elephants, hippopotamuses and buffaloes accounted for most other attacks.
The Herald did not say when the hunter was attacked.
Sidumbu said he knew the river was crocodile infested but "I had safely crossed it many times before, especially at dawn."
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - A human chain of villagers pulled a hunter from the jaws of a man-eating crocodile in northeastern Zimbabwe, state media reported Monday.
Letikuku Sidumbu, 32, was attacked by the crocodile while trying to cross the swollen Mubvinzi river in the Goromonzi district, about 25 miles east of Harare, during an early morning hunting expedition with his uncle.
As the crocodile clenched it jaws on his right arm, a human chain of villagers tugged him from its grip in a struggle that also left him with a broken leg and chest and stomach injuries, Sidumbu told the state Herald newspaper from his hospital bed in Harare.
Crocodiles are the most dangerous animal to man in Zimbabwe. In recorded cases last year, they dragged away and ate 13 people — including children — according to the Communal Areas Management Program, a conservation group.
"I called out to my uncle to hit the crocodile with an ax," The Herald quoted Sidumbu saying.
But, he said, commotion by the two men's hunting dogs enraged the crocodile. He heard the voices of fellow vilalgers arriving from nearby Chitana Mafengu to help.
Before rescuers dragged him free, "one thing was clear that they wanted to salvage at least a piece of my flesh for burial should the crocodile get the better of them," Sidumbu said.
The Communal Areas conservation group, in its annual report for 2005, said wild animals killed at least 27 people last year in cases reported across Zimbabwe, but scores of other attacks in remote areas would not have been recorded.
Elephants, hippopotamuses and buffaloes accounted for most other attacks.
The Herald did not say when the hunter was attacked.
Sidumbu said he knew the river was crocodile infested but "I had safely crossed it many times before, especially at dawn."
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Police Arrest Pastor During His Sermon
CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) - Some members of a Lutheran parish on Chicago's far South Side said they are outraged police arrested the Rev. Jimmy McCants in the middle of his sermon.
McCants, 54, has been the focus of a dispute between rival factions at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The church's board of directors told police the board fired McCants on Christmas Eve, and a woman affiliated with the church signed a complaint against him for trespassing on church property, said Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond.
But a Lutheran Church official said the board fired McCants without going through the proper steps to resolve disputes.
"They have removed a pastor inappropriately," said the Rev. William H. Ameiss, president of the Northern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. "The real tragedy is the ministry gets put on hold for a power struggle."
McCants was not handcuffed when police led him out of the church Sunday. He was booked on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing and released in lieu of $1,000 bond.
"My church is the house of the Lord, and I had not committed a criminal act," McCants said. "We're going to see what the lawyers say. I intend to go back next Sunday."
CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) - Some members of a Lutheran parish on Chicago's far South Side said they are outraged police arrested the Rev. Jimmy McCants in the middle of his sermon.
McCants, 54, has been the focus of a dispute between rival factions at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The church's board of directors told police the board fired McCants on Christmas Eve, and a woman affiliated with the church signed a complaint against him for trespassing on church property, said Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond.
But a Lutheran Church official said the board fired McCants without going through the proper steps to resolve disputes.
"They have removed a pastor inappropriately," said the Rev. William H. Ameiss, president of the Northern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. "The real tragedy is the ministry gets put on hold for a power struggle."
McCants was not handcuffed when police led him out of the church Sunday. He was booked on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing and released in lieu of $1,000 bond.
"My church is the house of the Lord, and I had not committed a criminal act," McCants said. "We're going to see what the lawyers say. I intend to go back next Sunday."
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"Joint" venture a sign of the times
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Amsterdam's new street signs banning cannabis smoking in parts of the city have sparked global interest.
The sign shows a red circle around a fat cannabis joint in a cloud of smoke sparked by white marijuana leaves. It has been installed at one square and surrounding streets in Amsterdam where young cannabis smokers are a nuisance (http://www.baarsjes.amsterdam.nl).
Soon after the installation on February 1, the first signs were stolen after which the Amsterdam council of De Baarsjes decided it would start selling what it believes is the world's first anti-cannabis road sign.
Over 400 consumers have approached the council to buy one of the "no joints" signs for 90 euros ($108), excluding shipping, a spokesman said.
"About 75 percent of the requests come from the United States," he said, adding interest is also coming from Singapore, Australia, Scandinavian countries and Germany.
The profits will be donated to a charitable cause that has yet to be chosen.
It is legal to own and use small quantities of soft drugs in the Netherlands whose relaxed position on the issue has brought it into conflict with other European countries like France which claims the Dutch undermine the global fight against drugs.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Amsterdam's new street signs banning cannabis smoking in parts of the city have sparked global interest.
The sign shows a red circle around a fat cannabis joint in a cloud of smoke sparked by white marijuana leaves. It has been installed at one square and surrounding streets in Amsterdam where young cannabis smokers are a nuisance (http://www.baarsjes.amsterdam.nl).
Soon after the installation on February 1, the first signs were stolen after which the Amsterdam council of De Baarsjes decided it would start selling what it believes is the world's first anti-cannabis road sign.
Over 400 consumers have approached the council to buy one of the "no joints" signs for 90 euros ($108), excluding shipping, a spokesman said.
"About 75 percent of the requests come from the United States," he said, adding interest is also coming from Singapore, Australia, Scandinavian countries and Germany.
The profits will be donated to a charitable cause that has yet to be chosen.
It is legal to own and use small quantities of soft drugs in the Netherlands whose relaxed position on the issue has brought it into conflict with other European countries like France which claims the Dutch undermine the global fight against drugs.
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25 MILLION condoms? Who's watching Carnival?
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - The Brazilian government will distribute 25 million free condoms to promote safe sex during the country's Carnival holidays, the Health Ministry said Monday.
The condoms, provided under the government's acclaimed anti-AIDS program, will be given out at health clinics and in sites like public squares and dances.
"It's that time of year when we boost distribution because of the increase in demand," an official from the Health Ministry's anti-AIDS program said.
Carnival kicks off across the nation on February 25, heralding several days of parades, parties, revelry and, for some people, sexual abandon. The Rio de Janeiro carnival is the best known worldwide but every big city has its own celebrations.
The Health Ministry said the purpose of the handout was to prevent the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Last year, it announced a plan to distribute more than 1 billion free condoms nationwide in 2006.
The Roman Catholic Church in Brazil -- the world's largest Catholic country -- routinely denounces such programs as encouraging sex and contravening its stand against contraception.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everybody knows that NO SEX is safe sex.
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - The Brazilian government will distribute 25 million free condoms to promote safe sex during the country's Carnival holidays, the Health Ministry said Monday.
The condoms, provided under the government's acclaimed anti-AIDS program, will be given out at health clinics and in sites like public squares and dances.
"It's that time of year when we boost distribution because of the increase in demand," an official from the Health Ministry's anti-AIDS program said.
Carnival kicks off across the nation on February 25, heralding several days of parades, parties, revelry and, for some people, sexual abandon. The Rio de Janeiro carnival is the best known worldwide but every big city has its own celebrations.
The Health Ministry said the purpose of the handout was to prevent the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Last year, it announced a plan to distribute more than 1 billion free condoms nationwide in 2006.
The Roman Catholic Church in Brazil -- the world's largest Catholic country -- routinely denounces such programs as encouraging sex and contravening its stand against contraception.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everybody knows that NO SEX is safe sex.
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Tots hit fashion runway in New York
By Ellen Wulfhorst / Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - There aren't too many jobs where missing teeth are a plus.
For child models, gap-toothed grins and bony knees can make a career, or at least a start of one. Looking for their start in the world of modeling were dozens of children at Child magazine's fashion show, staged Monday during New York's semi-annual gala Fashion Week.
Ranging in age from 4 to 12, the models wore miniature outfits by such top design names as Bill Blass and Kenneth Cole, all of which will be auctioned off for charity.
Many of the tiny models smiled, some tentatively, as they walked down a catwalk normally reserved for experienced professionals. A few blew kisses, although several looked frightened and one small boy walked the runway with a tear running down his face.
The 50 models were selected from 250 candidates by editors at Child in casting calls in recent days. A few celebrities' children -- those of rapper 50 Cent and of music producer Russell Simmons and wife Kimora Lee Simmons -- were thrown into the mix, along with actress Lindsay Lohan's younger sister Aliana and brother Dakota.
"It's basically about personality, being comfortable in clothes and not being forced to be here," said Gay Morris Empson, a Child editor helping select models at one audition. "It's really about being comfortable with themselves."
Sex, for once, doesn't sell. Not making the cut was any girl who struck a grown-up model pose, swinging her hips and jutting her pelvis.
"Above all, it's kids not looking sexy," said Empson. "No JonBenets."
The still-unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in 1996 triggered shudders as the public saw photos of the tiny blond girl in heavy makeup and coiffed hair competing in children's beauty pageants.
CHILD MODELING CRITICS
Plenty of criticism of child modeling remains among developmental experts and academics.
"It's disturbing that we're presenting children as tiny adults. They're like little puppets or dolls," said Suzanne Ferriss, co-editor of the book "On Fashion."
"It's for the adults. It's not for the children," she said. "There's something disturbing about co-opting them and making them a spectacle for our own amusement."
New Yorker Isla Ng, 11, was chosen by juicemaker Welch's to be its company spokeschild when she was 6 years old. Looking back, she says now, she didn't realize at the time that she would be appearing in television commercials shown around the world.
"That's probably why I was good at it," she said. "I was just drinking juice."
At 11, Cameron Carr of Harlem, who appeared in the Child show, has a huge portfolio of print advertising work. "What he gets from the experience is great. It does nothing but complement what he is," said his mother, Christina Clements-Carr.
But working with child models has its quirks, Empson said.
Little boys often don't like to work near little girls, she has found, and children won't wear just anything.
"You can't just say, 'Squeeze into this size shoe,'" she said. "If it's the wrong size, they won't wear it."
For most children, of course, becoming a successful model is unrealistic. Ng was chosen from some 1,300 candidates by Welch's.
But at 5, Diani Ferguson, who has commercial print ads and the Child runway show in her portfolio, does not plan to be a model when she grows up.
"I want to be God when I grow up," she explained at her audition. "He helps us."
By Ellen Wulfhorst / Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - There aren't too many jobs where missing teeth are a plus.
For child models, gap-toothed grins and bony knees can make a career, or at least a start of one. Looking for their start in the world of modeling were dozens of children at Child magazine's fashion show, staged Monday during New York's semi-annual gala Fashion Week.
Ranging in age from 4 to 12, the models wore miniature outfits by such top design names as Bill Blass and Kenneth Cole, all of which will be auctioned off for charity.
Many of the tiny models smiled, some tentatively, as they walked down a catwalk normally reserved for experienced professionals. A few blew kisses, although several looked frightened and one small boy walked the runway with a tear running down his face.
The 50 models were selected from 250 candidates by editors at Child in casting calls in recent days. A few celebrities' children -- those of rapper 50 Cent and of music producer Russell Simmons and wife Kimora Lee Simmons -- were thrown into the mix, along with actress Lindsay Lohan's younger sister Aliana and brother Dakota.
"It's basically about personality, being comfortable in clothes and not being forced to be here," said Gay Morris Empson, a Child editor helping select models at one audition. "It's really about being comfortable with themselves."
Sex, for once, doesn't sell. Not making the cut was any girl who struck a grown-up model pose, swinging her hips and jutting her pelvis.
"Above all, it's kids not looking sexy," said Empson. "No JonBenets."
The still-unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in 1996 triggered shudders as the public saw photos of the tiny blond girl in heavy makeup and coiffed hair competing in children's beauty pageants.
CHILD MODELING CRITICS
Plenty of criticism of child modeling remains among developmental experts and academics.
"It's disturbing that we're presenting children as tiny adults. They're like little puppets or dolls," said Suzanne Ferriss, co-editor of the book "On Fashion."
"It's for the adults. It's not for the children," she said. "There's something disturbing about co-opting them and making them a spectacle for our own amusement."
New Yorker Isla Ng, 11, was chosen by juicemaker Welch's to be its company spokeschild when she was 6 years old. Looking back, she says now, she didn't realize at the time that she would be appearing in television commercials shown around the world.
"That's probably why I was good at it," she said. "I was just drinking juice."
At 11, Cameron Carr of Harlem, who appeared in the Child show, has a huge portfolio of print advertising work. "What he gets from the experience is great. It does nothing but complement what he is," said his mother, Christina Clements-Carr.
But working with child models has its quirks, Empson said.
Little boys often don't like to work near little girls, she has found, and children won't wear just anything.
"You can't just say, 'Squeeze into this size shoe,'" she said. "If it's the wrong size, they won't wear it."
For most children, of course, becoming a successful model is unrealistic. Ng was chosen from some 1,300 candidates by Welch's.
But at 5, Diani Ferguson, who has commercial print ads and the Child runway show in her portfolio, does not plan to be a model when she grows up.
"I want to be God when I grow up," she explained at her audition. "He helps us."
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A llama for your mama...
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Stuck for romantic inspiration with Valentine's Day just a week away?
Then consider llamas.
A charity with the slogan "get calmer with a llama" is offering romantic country strolls for the lovelorn, leading a llama together around the picturesque Lake District in northwestern England.
"Chatting over a llama is certainly a novel way to meet people in a relaxed environment, and participants can enjoy a romantic picnic afterwards -- carried by the ever obliging llamas in their backpacks," said owner Mary Walker.
Walker, whose Lakeland Llamas charity helps the disabled, is keen to assure lonely hearts that contrary to their bad press, the South American relatives of the camel do not habitually spit at or bite people but are in fact friendly and docile.
Anyone interested can click on http://www.lakelandllamatreks.co.uk.
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Stuck for romantic inspiration with Valentine's Day just a week away?
Then consider llamas.
A charity with the slogan "get calmer with a llama" is offering romantic country strolls for the lovelorn, leading a llama together around the picturesque Lake District in northwestern England.
"Chatting over a llama is certainly a novel way to meet people in a relaxed environment, and participants can enjoy a romantic picnic afterwards -- carried by the ever obliging llamas in their backpacks," said owner Mary Walker.
Walker, whose Lakeland Llamas charity helps the disabled, is keen to assure lonely hearts that contrary to their bad press, the South American relatives of the camel do not habitually spit at or bite people but are in fact friendly and docile.
Anyone interested can click on http://www.lakelandllamatreks.co.uk.
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The more bars you eat, the more makeup you need...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cosmetics maven Bobbi Brown may be known for her natural makeup for eyes and lips, but her fall collection is intended to appeal to another body part entirely -- the tongue.
In a first for the cosmetics company, Bobbi Brown will offer specially designed chocolate bars with its line of chocolate-colored eye and lip shades for fall, said founder and chief executive officer Bobbi Brown in an interview.
The cosmetics firm, a subsidiary of beauty and fragrance company Estee Lauder Cos. Inc., has struck a deal with luxury chocolate maker Vosges. Vosges shops, located in Las Vegas, New York and Chicago, will sell some Bobbi Brown makeup next to its chocolates, while Bobbi Brown will offer the healthy "Beauty Bar" to shoppers on its Web site after it officially launches its new line, Brown said.
"I love dark chocolate," she said. "It's a no-brainer."
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cosmetics maven Bobbi Brown may be known for her natural makeup for eyes and lips, but her fall collection is intended to appeal to another body part entirely -- the tongue.
In a first for the cosmetics company, Bobbi Brown will offer specially designed chocolate bars with its line of chocolate-colored eye and lip shades for fall, said founder and chief executive officer Bobbi Brown in an interview.
The cosmetics firm, a subsidiary of beauty and fragrance company Estee Lauder Cos. Inc., has struck a deal with luxury chocolate maker Vosges. Vosges shops, located in Las Vegas, New York and Chicago, will sell some Bobbi Brown makeup next to its chocolates, while Bobbi Brown will offer the healthy "Beauty Bar" to shoppers on its Web site after it officially launches its new line, Brown said.
"I love dark chocolate," she said. "It's a no-brainer."
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TexasStooge
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Woman Does 'Mouth-To-Beak' to Save Chicken
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (AP) - Sometimes a chicken does have lips, just sometimes not her own. Marian Morris saved her brother's exotic chicken, Boo Boo, by administering "mouth-to-beak" resuscitation on the fowl after it was found floating face down in the family's pond.
Morris, a retired nurse, said she hadn't had any practice with CPR in years, but that she was interested to see if she "still had it."
"I breathed into its beak, and its dad-gum eyes popped open," Morris said. "I breathed into its beak again, and its eyes popped open again. "I said, 'I think this chicken's alive now. Keep it warm.'"
Morris said she was pleased to find that the bird she saved was an "exotic," and not just an ordinary chicken.
The chicken is called Boo Boo, because she is easily frightened. The family thought Boo Boo was startled and flopped into the pond.
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (AP) - Sometimes a chicken does have lips, just sometimes not her own. Marian Morris saved her brother's exotic chicken, Boo Boo, by administering "mouth-to-beak" resuscitation on the fowl after it was found floating face down in the family's pond.
Morris, a retired nurse, said she hadn't had any practice with CPR in years, but that she was interested to see if she "still had it."
"I breathed into its beak, and its dad-gum eyes popped open," Morris said. "I breathed into its beak again, and its eyes popped open again. "I said, 'I think this chicken's alive now. Keep it warm.'"
Morris said she was pleased to find that the bird she saved was an "exotic," and not just an ordinary chicken.
The chicken is called Boo Boo, because she is easily frightened. The family thought Boo Boo was startled and flopped into the pond.
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Teen Using Restroom Falls Out Bus Window
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A New York City teenager fell out the window of a moving bus while using the restroom Tuesday and landed on the New York State Thruway.
State police said Jose Gonzales, 17, lost his balance when the chartered bus swerved to change lanes. It was unclear how fast the bus was going.
Gonzales was taken to Albany Medical Center for treatment. Police said he'll recover.
Gonzales fell onto the shoulder of the thruway near Exit 23 southbound.
He had been at the Capitol on Tuesday to lobby with a group on the issue of AIDS.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A New York City teenager fell out the window of a moving bus while using the restroom Tuesday and landed on the New York State Thruway.
State police said Jose Gonzales, 17, lost his balance when the chartered bus swerved to change lanes. It was unclear how fast the bus was going.
Gonzales was taken to Albany Medical Center for treatment. Police said he'll recover.
Gonzales fell onto the shoulder of the thruway near Exit 23 southbound.
He had been at the Capitol on Tuesday to lobby with a group on the issue of AIDS.
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Library Book Overdue for 61 Years
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A public library book issued in 1945 has racked up an overdue fees bill for $6,114 — but the book's borrower has had the fine waived.
"The Punch Library of Humour," borrowed from Rotorua Public Library 61 years ago, was recently found among family belongings in a house attic in the central North Island tourist city.
A building inspector recognized the significance of the book and, using the list of strict borrowing rules pasted to the front cover, calculated what was owed in overdue fines.
Home owner Marie Sushames was presented with the $6,114 overdue book bill recently on her 85th birthday, Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper reported Wednesday.
Rotorua library manager Jane Gilbert said she would be delighted to waive the charges in return for the privilege of displaying a book that has been "out" for 61 years. "It's certainly the longest overdue book I've encountered in my 16 years here," Gilbert said. "It would be very nice to have it on show," she added.
Rotorua, a tourist resort town, is located 288 miles north of the capital, Wellington.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A public library book issued in 1945 has racked up an overdue fees bill for $6,114 — but the book's borrower has had the fine waived.
"The Punch Library of Humour," borrowed from Rotorua Public Library 61 years ago, was recently found among family belongings in a house attic in the central North Island tourist city.
A building inspector recognized the significance of the book and, using the list of strict borrowing rules pasted to the front cover, calculated what was owed in overdue fines.
Home owner Marie Sushames was presented with the $6,114 overdue book bill recently on her 85th birthday, Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper reported Wednesday.
Rotorua library manager Jane Gilbert said she would be delighted to waive the charges in return for the privilege of displaying a book that has been "out" for 61 years. "It's certainly the longest overdue book I've encountered in my 16 years here," Gilbert said. "It would be very nice to have it on show," she added.
Rotorua, a tourist resort town, is located 288 miles north of the capital, Wellington.
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'Desperate' woman walking dogs from Oregon to Texas
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Debra Schwarz and her two dogs are taking the long way home.
The really long way.
The three are stranded in Eugene, with no available transportation. So Schwarz, 46, has decided to walk home to Wichita Falls, Texas, pulling a large cart she built herself and covered with handwritten tirades against people she believes have done her wrong.
The only problem is, she hasn't gotten very far. Every time she hits the road, the police stop her.
Her 4-foot-wide, 7-foot-long cart is a traffic hazard, police said, and puts Schwarz and her dogs, Lucky and Junior, at risk of being hit by a car.
Police in Eugene and Springfield have escorted her off local highways at least three times in the past month after drivers complained that they couldn't get around her.
The police have been kind, towing her cart to nearby churches and letting her camp out until she can get back to her motor home, parked with permission at a business north of Eugene.
And her lawyer and others have offered to buy her a bus ticket from here to Texas.
But Schwarz refuses to abandon her beloved dogs, and so far no one has agreed to take them on until she can return to Oregon in April for a court appearance.
"She's mostly just desperate," her Eugene attorney, Brian Cox, said. "She's a woman whose life has devolved to this point. It's really a sad story."
Schwarz and her late husband, Norris Schwarz, supported themselves in part by selling wrought-iron Christmas ornaments around the country. Each fall, they drove their motor home and a trailer full of goods to a different city and set up shop on open lots.
On her way through Oregon in 2000, Schwarz got a $350 traffic ticket for failing to obey a traffic signal while driving in Lake County. Annoyed, she tucked human feces into the envelope with the money order she sent to the Lake County Courthouse.
Schwarz was convicted of obstructing government administration, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. A judge sentenced her to a year of probation, which she violated when she refused to pay a fine. As a result, she served six months in the Lake County Jail last year.
While she went to jail, her 82-year-old husband was stranded in Lake County. Police found him disoriented and sleeping in a pickup truck.
As a result, she was charged with felony criminal mistreatment. She is scheduled for trial in April.
Her husband's adult children eventually took him back to Texas. He died of a heart attack while his wife was in jail.
After her release from jail in October, Schwarz got a lift from a friend to Eugene, but has since been trying to get home to settle her husband's estate.
She refuses to pay a fine that would restore her driver's license, so she can't drive her motor home back to Texas. She says she can't take a bus, train or airplane because of her dogs.
She spent a month building her cart, which she pulls along by a metal bar at her waist. She attached flashlights to the rear, added a reflective triangle and scrawled "caution" in big, black letters on the back.
Police and her attorney have convinced her, for now, that walking home in winter might not be the best idea. Down to her last $10, she is hoping someone will volunteer to baby sit Lucky and Junior until she returns for trial. Or maybe she can hitch a ride with a trucker.
If nothing else comes through, she said she'll make the cart smaller and try walking out of town again.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Debra Schwarz and her two dogs are taking the long way home.
The really long way.
The three are stranded in Eugene, with no available transportation. So Schwarz, 46, has decided to walk home to Wichita Falls, Texas, pulling a large cart she built herself and covered with handwritten tirades against people she believes have done her wrong.
The only problem is, she hasn't gotten very far. Every time she hits the road, the police stop her.
Her 4-foot-wide, 7-foot-long cart is a traffic hazard, police said, and puts Schwarz and her dogs, Lucky and Junior, at risk of being hit by a car.
Police in Eugene and Springfield have escorted her off local highways at least three times in the past month after drivers complained that they couldn't get around her.
The police have been kind, towing her cart to nearby churches and letting her camp out until she can get back to her motor home, parked with permission at a business north of Eugene.
And her lawyer and others have offered to buy her a bus ticket from here to Texas.
But Schwarz refuses to abandon her beloved dogs, and so far no one has agreed to take them on until she can return to Oregon in April for a court appearance.
"She's mostly just desperate," her Eugene attorney, Brian Cox, said. "She's a woman whose life has devolved to this point. It's really a sad story."
Schwarz and her late husband, Norris Schwarz, supported themselves in part by selling wrought-iron Christmas ornaments around the country. Each fall, they drove their motor home and a trailer full of goods to a different city and set up shop on open lots.
On her way through Oregon in 2000, Schwarz got a $350 traffic ticket for failing to obey a traffic signal while driving in Lake County. Annoyed, she tucked human feces into the envelope with the money order she sent to the Lake County Courthouse.
Schwarz was convicted of obstructing government administration, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. A judge sentenced her to a year of probation, which she violated when she refused to pay a fine. As a result, she served six months in the Lake County Jail last year.
While she went to jail, her 82-year-old husband was stranded in Lake County. Police found him disoriented and sleeping in a pickup truck.
As a result, she was charged with felony criminal mistreatment. She is scheduled for trial in April.
Her husband's adult children eventually took him back to Texas. He died of a heart attack while his wife was in jail.
After her release from jail in October, Schwarz got a lift from a friend to Eugene, but has since been trying to get home to settle her husband's estate.
She refuses to pay a fine that would restore her driver's license, so she can't drive her motor home back to Texas. She says she can't take a bus, train or airplane because of her dogs.
She spent a month building her cart, which she pulls along by a metal bar at her waist. She attached flashlights to the rear, added a reflective triangle and scrawled "caution" in big, black letters on the back.
Police and her attorney have convinced her, for now, that walking home in winter might not be the best idea. Down to her last $10, she is hoping someone will volunteer to baby sit Lucky and Junior until she returns for trial. Or maybe she can hitch a ride with a trucker.
If nothing else comes through, she said she'll make the cart smaller and try walking out of town again.
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