From around the corner, down the street, and up your alley, here are some stories that are hitting the headlines…
Dateline: Parks, Louisiana
Holy Condiments! Artist Christie Hebert was asked to recreate DaVinci’s famous Last Supper painting for St. Joseph Catholic Church, but decided to make it “more unique to our area”. It had all the usual elements, plus one regionally iconic extra: a bottle of McIlhenny’s Tabasco hot sauce, conveniently placed in front of one of Jesus’ disciples! When Pastor DuPre confirmed the product placement, Shane Bernard, a curator, and historian from McIlhenny, sent a large commemorative collector’s bottle of Tabasco! Does that pair well with sacramental wine?
Dateline: Japan
A shaggy dog story. A man in Japan identified only as Toko spent $16,000 to make himself look like a collie. Why? “I made it a collie because it looks real when I put it on,” Toko said. “Long-haired dogs can mislead the human figure. The collie is my favorite breed of dog.” Toko contacted a professional company called Zeppet, which makes sculptures and costumes for movies and amusement facilities. After 40 days they made Toko a costume that is extremely realistic. Hmmm. . . I wonder if he likes Kibbles ‘n’ Bits, too.
Dateline: Colton, California
All I ever find is loose change. Vicky Umodu got two free sofas and a matching chair on Craigslist for her new house. When she got the furniture home, something felt kind of hard in one of the cushions. She thought it might be a heating pad, but upon further inspection, she found several envelopes filled with cash totaling a whopping $36,000! She returned the cash to the seller’s family and, as a gesture of thanks, they gave Umodu $2,200. “I was not expecting a dime from them.” Yes, Virginia, there is kindness in this world.