Watercooler Stories

Woman finds 'Virgin Mary' on pancake

GLENDALE, Ariz., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- An Arizona woman said she was given peace and comfort from an unlikely source -- a pancake bearing an image she said resembles the Virgin Mary.

Bianca Lopez said she was cooking Batter Blaster pancakes for her family a few days before Thanksgiving at their Glendale home and she noticed the image of Jesus' mother looking back at her from the final pancake of the batch, KNXV-TV, Phoenix, reported Thursday.

"I think it's God's way of telling us that the holidays aren't just about presents. It's about ... spending time with your family and friends and telling us to not forget about him, that he's always there watching over us and taking care of us," Lopez said.

Lopez said she is keeping the pancake safe in her freezer until she can decide what to do with it.

Decorated vet in flagpole row

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Medal of Honor winner in Virginia said his community's homeowner association is threatening him with legal action if he does not remove his flagpole.

Col. Van T. Barfoot, 90, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II and served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, said the Coates & Davenport law firm in Richmond sent him a notice on behalf of the Sussex Square community's homeowner association ordering him to remove the flagpole by 5 p.m. Friday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Thursday.

The letter informs Barfoot that a failure to comply means he would face "legal action being brought to enforce the Covenants and Restrictions against you."

Barfoot's daughter, Margaret Nicholls, who lives a few houses away from her father, said she is trying to rally support behind Barfoot, who put up the flagpole during the summer. The homeowner association said Barfoot was denied permission to erect the flagpole but ignored the ruling.

Couple decorate home with 60,000 lights

PALM CITY, Fla., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Florida woman whose Christmas display features 60,000 lights coordinated with a handful of songs said the spectacle requires about a half a year of planning.

Danielle Copeland of Palm City said she and her husband, John, browse Dec. 26 sales each year to expand their yearly displays with ever-increasing numbers of lights and decorations, WPTV, West Palm Beach, reported Thursday.

"We work on it during the summer, so it can take 10, 20 hours a song and that's only three minutes," she said. "So I think we have about six or seven songs this year."

The Copelands, who are switching on the display from 6 to 10 p.m. weeknights and 6 to 11 p.m. weekends through Jan. 1, said people come back year after year to see the new additions.

"Watching their faces to see what's different between this year and last year, that's a lot of fun," John Copeland said.

Calif. man campaigns to ban divorce

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A California gay marriage supporter says he is pushing an initiative to "protect traditional marriage" -- a statewide ban on divorce.

John Marcotte, a Sacramento Web designer, said the California secretary of state has certified the 2010 California Marriage Protection Act, which would ban divorce in the state, for statewide circulation, McClatchy Newspapers reported Thursday.

Marcotte, who is married with two children, said the initiative was inspired by California's Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban he opposed, and a similar initiative in Maine that narrowly overturned the state's legalization of same-sex marriage.

"We're going to enforce morality in California and then we'll spread from state to state, the same way the Prop. 8 backers moved to Maine," Marcotte said.

"If you want to protect traditional marriage, don't stop gay people from getting married," he said. "Stop straight people from getting divorced."

Marcotte took exception to claims that his campaign is not serious.

"It does hurt my feelings when people doubt my sincerity," he said. "If you're saying what I'm doing is ridiculous, then you're also saying Proposition 8 is ridiculous. I have more faith in the California voters. To not vote (for the divorce ban) would be a little hypocritical."