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Car racks up 724 miles at parking lot

NEW YORK, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A New York couple said they returned to their car at a long-term parking lot after a vacation to find it had 724 additional miles on the odometer.

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Mimi and Ulrich Gunthart said they parked their BMW at an Avistar lot near John F. Kennedy International Airport Aug. 11, returned Aug. 22 and discovered the added mileage, WNBC-TV, New York, reported Monday.

"Somebody had a nice vacation other than us," Mimi Gunthart said.

The Guntharts said there was also an unexplained ink stain on a seat and the CD player blasted music when they started the engine.

Avistar Regional Manager David Menter said a review of inventory logs "found nothing out of the ordinary."

"We're definitely going to be examining the procedures to make sure that there's never any question in a customer's mind in the future," Menter said.

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Store sees hope in return of Elvis

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Kentucky store manager said the return of Elvis Presley impersonators after a yearlong lull may be a good sign for the economy.

Rob Baker, manager of the Doo Wop Shop in Louisville, said Elvis impersonators were absent from the store for about a year until last week, when one came in to buy a wireless microphone and another stopped in later to rent portable show lights, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported Monday.

"Elvis is a dipstick, of sorts, for our economy," Baker said. "The party business is coming back. People are not thinking twice about having an event. They are feeling a bit more relaxed."

Uric Dufrene, an economist at Indiana University Southeast, said Baker might be onto something by using Elvis as an economic indicator.

"The increase in Elvis-related consumption items suggests that discretionary spending might be on the upswing," Dufrene said.


Mother cat adopts squirrel

WILMOT, Ohio, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- An Ohio woman said her cat has adopted a baby squirrel as one of its litter of kittens, but experts said the experience may not end well for the squirrel.

Lisa Reichel of Wilmot said the baby squirrel fell from a maple tree in her yard and a naturalist from the Wilderness Center told her on the phone that the animal would likely soon die, the Canton Repository reported Monday.

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Reichel said the baby squirrel rejected an eyedropper full of a milk-replacement substance so she attempted introducing the infant to her cat, Jingles, who had given birth to a litter of kittens about a week earlier.

"I thought maybe, if I snuck that squirrel in there underneath her other kittens, that it could find a place to latch on and nurse from her and that she wouldn't mind, if she didn't notice it," Reichel said.

She said Jingles now nurses and grooms the squirrel as one of her own kittens.

Wildlife experts said the experience may be dangerous for the squirrel later in life.

"If he opened his eyes already, he's going to associate the cat as mother and that's what we don't want," said Stephon Echague, director of animal care at Stark Parks' Sanders Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Perry Township. "Unfortunately, when the squirrel gets older, he's going to recognize cats as something friendly and not worry about being around them. But cats are true hunters and could possibly cause his death. He needs to be with other squirrels so that he knows that he is a squirrel."


Store sells St. Joseph 'Home Sellers Kit'

MANDARIN, Fla., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Catholic store in Florida is selling a "Home Sellers Kit" involving a miniature statue of St. Joseph and instructions on how to bury it.

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The St. Joseph the Worker Home Sellers Kit, available at Queen of Angels Catholic Store in Mandarin for $9.95, includes a 4-inch statue of the saint and instructions on how best to bury the figurine to help a house sell faster, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported Monday.

"It works -- we hear all kinds of miracle stories," said Trisch Broach, a worker at the store.

The Rev. Donal Sullivan, pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fleming Island, said he does not buy into the statue-burying tradition even though some claim it goes back centuries.

"My own thoughts are it's a totally superstitious thing," Sullivan said.

St. Joseph is the patron saint of families and homes and some believe burying a statue of him will expedite the sale of a house.

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