Believe it or not there is rain in the forecast for the DFW area. And a healthy chance as well. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 70% chance of heavy rain tonight and a 60% chance tomorrow. Considering that we haven’t had any measureable rain for at least a month, the rain will be very welcome.
The downside or course is that I am flying out tomorrow afternoon and storms can really mess up travel plans. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Police in St. Paul, MN were investigating the burglary of a vending machine at a local recreation center when they noticed a bright orange trail of cheesy goodness leading away from the seen of the crime. Officers followed the trail of cheese puffs to a nearby home where they discovered a bounty of stolen Cheetos and other delicious snacks. Shortly thereafter, three young males arrived at the scene and were taken into custody.
We are clearly in the midst of a heat wave down here in Texas. The high yesterday hit 104 (good thing I got the yard mowed early in the day). And the forecast is for a high of 106 degrees today. That means the heat index will probably be up near the melting point for iron. Can’t wait for this month’s utility bill! Even the pool water is hot.
A last drink proved one too many for a 78-year-old Swede who fell asleep while trying to row home – from Denmark.
Reports say the man had been drinking in the Danish town of Helsingor but found he did not have enough money for the ferry home to Sweden.
Instead of waiting until morning, he stole a dinghy and tried to row the 5km (three miles) across the Oresund Strait to Helsingborg, police said.
But he fell asleep half-way and drifted until he was rescued by the coastguard.
The man, who has not been named, was found still asleep in the bottom of the boat, and towed back across the strait – a busy shipping lane – to Denmark.
He was put on the next ferry home after he had sobered up, writes the Danish news service Ritzau.
Police said the owner of the dinghy had decided not to press charges, Reuters reports.
Of all the air rage stories that have made the news recently, this one may be my favorite.
Jacob Kline, a 44 year old resident of New Mexico, was on an American Airlines flight from DFW to Charlotte with his wife, daughter and son. During the flight, Mr. Kline ordered a number of rum and cokes and began constantly switching seats. He would move next to his son, and sometimes he would move near his wife and daughter and then sometimes he would just move to a different section of the plane. Then Mr. Kline reportedly began to disrupt the plane by cursing at which point the flight attendant refused his order for a fourth rum and coke.
According to court documents, at this point Mr. Kline began to throw ice cubes at passengers and then grabbed a flight attendent on the backside when the crew tried to get him to stop.
Police in Charlotte were notified and met Mr. Kline when the plane arrived at the destination.
While most kids often become embarrassed by their fathers on family trips, the Kline kids obviously have good reason.
Lisa Diane Kish was a police office in Sanger, Texas until she was caught switching price tags at a Walmart in Denton, Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, Officer Kish switched the price tags on four pair of panties (normally priced at $3 each) with a clearance tag indicating that all four pair were on clearance for 75 cents. She was arrested on misdemeanor charges after a Walmart employee saw her and her partner in the alleged crime, Stephanie Grant, switching the tags. She was released on $500 bond and submitted her resignation from the Sanger Police Department.
Elizabeth Szele, 35, of Woodside, N.Y was on a flight from New York to San Francisco on Tuesday when apparently she had an attack of the nicotine fits. At that point she apparently decided it was a good idea to light up a cigarette at her seat. Ms. Szele is apparently not a frequent flyer or she would have probably realized that smoking on commercial flights hasn’t been legal since the 1980’s.
After being confronted by a flight attendant, she allegedly because cursing and yelling racial epithets. At that point the flight crew tried to restrained her with flex cuffs, but she somehow broke free and punched one of the flight attendants in the face. She was finally restrained and the flight diverted to Denver.
Ms. Szele now faces federal criminal charges which could potentially put her away for 20 years. See, smoking really is bad for you.
A 19-year old male managed to shoot and kill himself early Tuesday morning while trying to break into a home in Grand Prairie, Texas. It seems that Cameron Sands of Fort Worth shot himself in the stomach after kicking in a door of the residence while trying to pull the gun from his waistband.
Reportedly, Mr. Sands intended to shoot the homeowner. However after his unfortunate accident he instead dropped the gun and fled. His body was found in a nearby driveway.
Traveling on American Airlines from DFW is always an adventure. That has been especially true this year. There are the usual spring delays for weather. Then there was the famous MD-80 fiasco. And then there was today.
Headed to DFW after lunch for a 3:00PM to Baton Rouge. Rain and storms were expected to move through later, but all was clear as we taxied to 17R for the quick trip to bayou country. Weather radar indicated a mass of small storms moving down from the north, but far enough away that it seemed we would easily get out ahead of them.
However, after a long wait the Captain announced that departing traffic was being slowed due to the incoming weather. And then it hit. A nice little cell. Nothing too bad but enough to screw things up. Soon enough it passed on to the south. That prompted another announcement that air traffic control was reversing departures and we would need to taxi to the south end of DFW. Of course the main taxiways were clogged with jets, so we joined another half dozen or so planes straight down 17R towards the south and then over the bridge towards 36R, where another logjam of jets waited.
Suddenly we started heading north. It hit me that we were headed back to the gate, but there was no announcement. Sure enough we pulled back up to B36 where we were informed that we needed a bit more go juice to make it to B.R. But seconds later, the Captain informed us he had gotten the word that the flight was canceled.
Good thing the AA Platinum desk is on speed dial. I was quickly rebooked on the 6:00PM which was leaving in a hour just 10 gates down. All I needed to do was head down to the gate for my boarding pass and I would have enough time to grab a bit of dinner. As would luck would have it though, as soon as I made it to the new gate I was informed that the new flight was canceled as well. Speed dial. But this time I was on hold a lot longer only to be informed that all remaining flights to BR or even NOLA were booked solid all night. Best shot. Next day.
Wish me luck.
AP News Plano, Texas News