What Overeating Will Do To You.......

From Kevin Saylor at the Knoxville News-Sentinel.......

The Lowest Form of Life.......

I abhor the thought of serious felonies being committed.  Murders and other acts of violence are terrible to ponder, but at least I understand how they can occur.

On the other hand, I have no earthly idea how a human being can sink so low as to take candy out of the mouths of their own children.  There must be a special place in hades for folks like that.

As is often the case in these strange stories, the location of this serious crime is right here in east Tennessee in the friendly burg of Oak Ridge.

As reported today by Kevin Saylor in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the feds have been called in on the case and the thieving mother is under serious charges.  I'm sure, however, that her children will be emotionally scarred for life.

Senior U.S. District judge Rita Whitt commented at the hearing that "It's a sad day when a mother slowly siphons away candy from her own flesh and blood."

Candy Corn Crop is Decimated By Storms.......

Candy Corn After Removal From the Cob

The big news around here is the revelation that the constant rainstorms, floods, hail storms and heat we have experienced over the past few months have ruined one of east Tennessee's biggest agricultural crops:  candy corn.

As reported in the Knoxville News-Sentinel by reporter Kevin Saylor, this important crop is a mainstay of this region's autumn economy, and its destruction is a terrible blow to   employment and farm income.  Severe heat has truly wreaked havoc, for the corn has a high sugar content and cannot survive in hot fields on the cob because the crop simply melts.

Saylor reports that the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization is warning of severe shortages of the crop.  This is especially devastating as we near Halloween.

The U. N. also warns that the United States could be threatened as the leading diabetes nation because of this crop shortage.

Saylor reports that trick-or-treaters are aleady making plans to compensate for the shortage of candy corn by planning on eating more Three Musketeers bars, M & Ms and SweetTarts to compensate.

News of the Weird.......

I swear you can't make this stuff up.  Yes, truth is stranger than fiction.  And, once again, as regular readers of this blog will attest, I have included the newspaper article to document the story as being authentic.......straight from the pages of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, August 19, 2011.

Click to Enlarge

It seems that Mark Evry of West Knoxville left his home the morning of April 15 to walk his dog, Jack, around the neighborhood.   Evry, who had his dog on a leash, did not think to take along his cell phone or billfold or house keys, figuring he would be back home within 30 minutes or so.

But Jack got away from Evry and began to run off.  Evry gave chase through the large neighborhood and soon became hopelessly lost.  The dog was nowhere to be found, and Evry was all alone and without a clue as to how to return home.  Evry and his wife had just moved into their West Knoxville home; and the four bedroom, brick and vinyl siding, short driveway, well manicured lawn home looked exactly like all the other hundreds just like it in the large, upscale neighborhood.

Evry said he wasn't too concerned at first, but because he had just moved in, he had not had time to get to know his neighbors, and he had not memorized his address.  He spent the next four months roaming the neighborhood, looking in vain for his home.  He subsisted on grass clippings and water he collected in an old boot.

Then one day last week, he was overjoyed to see his wife, Janet, emerging from the front door of their home.  He had been gone four months, however, and she had thought him gone for good and had remarried.

His advice:  "be sure you memorize your address and your wife's phone number if you move to a new home.  And above all, make sure you are wearing pants."