Friday, October 2, 2009 10:25 PM CDT
COLUMN: Sometimes, even Coles County can 'Top This'
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
This just in:
“LAKE WORTH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a 91-year-old South Florida man jumped out of bed naked and held an intruder at gunpoint until deputies arrived.
“The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Robert E. Thompson woke up Saturday morning after a would-be burglar climbed his backyard fence and was met by his charging dog, Rett, a Rotweiler and Doberman pinscher mix. Thompson heard the commotion, grabbed his .38-caliber revolver and phoned police without ever getting dressed.”
There’s so much odd stuff that comes across the news wire, I sometimes wish the newspaper had more room for “Top This” each day. I don’t know how long that brief report of some kind of oddity has been an everyday feature of page one, but it’s been there longer than I’ve been here.
I don’t remember hearing about any naked men keeping burglars at bay in or around Coles County, but our own part of the world isn’t without its little quirky stories, of course. In fact, there have been a couple of times in my 20 years working for the newspaper that we’ve used a local piece for “Top This.” I can only remember it happening twice; maybe the paper did it more in years past, I don’t know.
Without bragging (OK, maybe just a little), I’ll tell you that those two local “Top This” pieces in the last two decades came from yours truly. I can’t brag, though, about tracking down some weird story either time. Each one fell right into my lap.
Once, it was nothing more than my daily trip to the sheriff’s department. I saw a report on an accident that happened because an animal ran out into the road. One vehicle ran into the back of the other after the lead driver stopped to try to keep from hitting the critter.
But when I read that the animal was a black cat and that the deputy who wrote the report said the accident happened “in unlucky fashion,” I couldn’t resist.
“At least it didn’t happen on Friday the 13th,” I started out my brief story on the incident. “But still, Jane Doe and John Jones might be feeling a little more superstitious after their accident.” I included the comments from the deputy and wrapped it up by saying not everyone was unlucky because the cat got away unharmed.
By the way, that deputy has a bit higher position in the sheriff’s department now. It was Darrell Cox, our sheriff. Last week, I asked Darrell if he remembered the accident. He said he wasn’t sure but he thought including the “unlucky fashion” description in the report sounded like something he’d do.
The next time, the circumstances were slightly more exciting but only slightly. It happened during jury selection for a murder trial I was covering. Which murder case it was, I can’t really remember, which might say something by itself, though the judge was Ashton Waller, who retired six years ago.
One potential juror told Waller that she didn’t think she could do a good job at a trial that was supposed to last a week because she had trouble remembering things from one day to the next. Waller agreed and excused her, but not before reminding her that her jury duty hadn’t ended and she had to return the following week.
He then added a bit of advice.
“You might want to write that down.”
Top that? I’m sure we can.
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Mama says wrote on Oct 6, 2009 9:42 PM: