Watercooler Stories

Address changes leave residents lost

TAMPA, Fla., July 14 (UPI) -- Eight homeowners in Tampa, Fla., say they are thoroughly confused by the city's decision to change all of their addresses without advance notice.

Cecilia Aziz said she does not understand why she and other residents were assigned new addresses, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune reported.

"Not only did they not inform us they were doing this," she said, "but, boom, it was done."

The address changes were made necessary when a developer decided to build single-family homes on the residents' block, city officials said.

Carroll Jackson, whose house number changed from 4613 to 4623, told the Tribune the switch is forcing people to spend money to change the numbers of their houses and driver's licenses -- and that's not to mention the lost mail, Jackson said.

Woman's yard junk legal if not pretty

SYKESVILLE, Md., July 14 (UPI) -- A Maryland woman has annoyed her neighbors in a Baltimore suburb with her plastic reindeer, lampshades and the raised middle finger sticking from her mailbox.

But repeated visits by fire inspectors, police officers and other Sykesville and Howard County officials have found nothing illegal in Erin Alban's yard, the Baltimore Sun reported.

"We don't do pretty," said George Beisser, who heads zoning enforcement for Howard County. "What's one person's junk is another person's art."

Alban had little to say to a Sun reporter.

"It's like the choice of a car," she remarked enigmatically.

Neighbors complain that she won't talk to them either. Jackie Costello said Alban began filling up her yard almost as soon as she moved in two years ago.

Roger Pilon of the libertarian Cato Institute said he thinks people have broad rights to do as they wish on their private property. He suggests the neighbors "lighten up."

Cemetery to accommodate eternal Cubs fans

CHICAGO, July 14 (UPI) -- Chicago's Bohemian National Cemetery plans to construct a replica of Wrigley Field's centerfield wall to store deceased fan's ashes, the project's creator said.

Dennis Mascari, who created the "Beyond the Vines" memorial, said he wants to secure a dozen restored Wrigley Field seats to be used in funerals or reflective moments at the memorial.

"Going to visit loved ones at a cemetery is pretty sad and depressing. Here, you'll see your loved ones in a home away from home. They're back at the ballpark," Mascari said.

Deemed "skyboxes for the afterlife" and "an eternal season ticket," the memorial will stand 24 feet tall and feature a stained-glass representation of crowds cheering at a game, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

People will have to fork over anywhere from $1,200 to $5,200 for spaces to place their loved one's ashes at the site, which will store as many as 280 urns, the newspaper said.

Church cancels teen gun giveaway

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 14 (UPI) -- An Oklahoma City church called off plans to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle at a weekend gathering of teenagers, the church's pastor said.

Plans called for Windsor Hills Baptist to give away the weapon as a way of encouraging attendance at the gathering but plans changed when one the event's organizers was unable to attend, KOCO 5, Oklahoma City, reported Sunday.

The church's pastor, Bob Ross, said officials anticipated hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada would attend.

"We have 21 hours of preaching and teaching throughout the week," Ross told KOCO 5.

The church Web site featured a video showing the shooting competition from last year's conference. A gun was given away last year, but this year organizers decided to highlight the giveaway in promotions for the conference.

Ross told the TV station the church was not "putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn't respect it who are then going to go out and kill."

The gun giveaway has been taken down from the Web site, but Ross said the church will give the gun away next year.