Fun_People Archive
11 Jun
WhiteBoardness - 6/11/97

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 22:49:20 -0700
To: Fun_People
Subject: WhiteBoardness - 6/11/97

Excerpted-from: WhiteBoard News for Wednesday, June 11, 1997

Boston, Massachusetts:

Lights! Camera! You're busted!

Police used a phony movie to make some real arrests over the weekend. They
sent letters to 3,800 people wanted on charges ranging from shoplifting to
drug dealing, and invited them to be extras for a movie.

The deal sounded legitimate: $200 a day if they showed up at Boston's South
Station bus terminal Sunday morning for the filming of "The Rocky Marciano
Story," police spokesman Jim Browning said.

He said 97 responded to the mailing by calling for instructions, and 54 of
them showed up.

They were met by policemen posing as employees of the fictitious Crown
Productions and escorted onto buses which took them to police headquarters.

"The criminals come to us now," Browning said.
==========

Gastonia, North Carolina:

A man who decided not to drive after drinking but handed the keys to his
10-year-old grandnephew faces several charges, authorities said.

Police caught Ronald Mercer, 10, driving his great-uncle, Morris Evans
Strong, around the streets of Gastonia on Sunday.

Strong, 64, of Shelby, blew a .23 on a breathalyzer test after his arrest,
said Officer J.P. Hansen. Under state law, a person with a blood-alcohol
content of .08 is considered intoxicated.

Mercer said his great-uncle let him climb behind the steering wheel of his
1983 Ford Escort in Shelby. He said he then drove toward Gastonia on U.S.
74.

"I'd never driven a car before. I was scared," Mercer said Monday.

Strong faces charges of contributing to delinquency, misdemeanor child abuse
and impaired instruction.  District Court Judge Harley Gaston released
Strong on an unsecured bond Monday after he spent the night in jail.

The child will not face any charges, magistrates said.

Strong admitted drinking Sunday night but denied that he was impaired at
the time the child was driving.

He also said the boy drove only two miles before Gastonia Police stopped
them.
==========

Stephenville, Newfoundland, Canada:

It was an unforgettable landing strip.

A jet bound for Europe was forced to land in Newfoundland over the weekend
when a male exhibitionist stripped and pranced about in front of passengers.

The crew aboard the Toronto-to-Paris flight restrained the high-altitude
nude and had rendered him presentable by the time the Boeing 757 landed in
Stephenville.

After Mounties charged the man in connection with the indecent incident, he
was released from custody - only to be arrested again a short time later
after a disturbance at a local hotel.

Police say additional charges will be laid.

Linh Van Phan, 32, a Canadian citizen, faces a charge of indecent exposure.
==========

Santa Monica, California:

Some people celebrated the premiere of the film "Dream With The Fishes" by
engaging in one of its plot twists - nude bowling.

The independent film starring David Arquette is about a pal trying to honor
the wish of a dying friend. One of the wishes was to bowl in the nude.

People moved over to a rented bowling alley after the premiere Monday and
some celebrants stripped down to honor the exuberant spirit of the film,
said publicist Ziggy Kozlowski.

"It was co-ed and when I left about 11 p.m. there were about six bowlers
out there in the nude," Kozlowski said.

Not everybody was nude. Some wore boxer shorts with the film's logo.

© 1997 Peter Langston