The Bear and Duct Tape Story

Best duct tape story ever. . .    During a private fly-in fishing excursion into the Alaskan wilderness, the chartered pilot and fishermen left a cooler with bait in the plane. And a bear smelled it.  This is what it did to the plane...    The pilot used his radio and had another pilot bring him two new tires, three cases of duct tape, and a supply of sheet plastic. He then patched the plane together, and FLEW IT HOME! Duct tape. Never leave home without it...

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ELEPHANTS IN HOTEL

It’s nice to see that for once people are not forcing the animals out or trying to kill them. They are actually allowing them to continue their natural trek. Then again I suppose it’s because it draws more customers! What is the   old saying? "Elephants never forget?" Elephants march through hotel lobby after it was built on their migration trail!   The Mfuwe Lodge in  Zambia  happens to have been built next to a mango grove that one family of elephants have always visited when the fruit ripens. When they returned one year and found the luxury accommodation in the way, they simply walked through the lobby to reach their beloved grove of trees. The animals come in two-by-two.  Hotel staff and visitors have gotten used to the elephants' impromptu strolls through the lobby.  Now the family group, headed by matriarch Wonky Tusk, return every November and stay for four to six weeks to gorge on mangos - up to four times a day.  Andy Hogg, 44, the lodge director, has lived in South Luangwa National Park since 1982.  But in all his years of dealing with wild animals he has never seen such intimate interaction between humans and wild animals. "This is the only place in the world where elephants freely get so close to humans," says Andy . "The elephants start coming through base camp in late November each year to eat the ripe mangos from our trees." Living in the 5,000 square mile national park, the ten-strong elephant herd is led to the lodge each day by Wonky Tusk. The hotel was built directly in the path of the elephants' route to one of their favorite foods ..... Mangos. "The most interesting thing about these wild animals," explains Andy , "is that this is the only herd that comes through, and they come and go as they please." Mfuwe Lodge consists of seven camps and the base camp where the elephants walk through.  Employing 150 staff, the management of the lodge report that there have been no incidents involving the wild elephants to date. "The elephants  get reasonably close to the staff, as you can see in the pictures of the elephants near the reception area," Andy explains. "But we do not allow the guests to get that close." "Guests can stand in the lounge but only as long as there is a barrier between the elephants and the guests," he added. "The elephants are not aggressive but you wouldn't want to tempt them.  It is the elephant's choice to be here and they have been coming here for the last ten years.  There are other wild mango trees around, but they prefer ours.  The lodge was unwittingly built upon their path," Andy says, "so we had no idea they would do this.  It wasn't a design error, we just didn't know.  The lodge was built and the elephants started walking through afterward."  "We keep people at a safe distance, but allow them close enough to see what is going on.  These are still wild and dangerous animals, so there must be enough time for people to get away." The hotel is set in an idyllic national parkland. Naturally, the lodge becomes busier for both elephants and guests during November "We find that we get more people visiting us during the elephant migration because of the unique experience of being so close to wild animals in an unusual environment," says Andy "But as I said this is a totally natural phenomenon, as the elephants come here of their own accord. It is certainly a rare but magnificent sight."

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Chinese Wrost in transwation of Enrish!

Must be Good !? ‘Be gone’, I say!.  Not to be confused with ‘Hetero’ sausage.  Insect repellent? Are you sure that’s what it’s for?  For Paris Hilton? Good Luck! Bet it don't taste the same in a can ? Soooo refreshing!  So that’s where SARS came from! Only one thing better than regular Shito – new, improved Shito.  Spicy Hot Shit-o!  Hope thats not the the scent!!!! What are you looking at me for ? Mines Happy anyway! So much better than old, stale ‘cok’!  Well of course, ‘Asse’ just had to be chocolate.  I really shouldn’t find this funny... Wow! MEGAPUSSI!!!! Hard to refuse!  I hope ‘Marie’ knows about this.  And they said it couldn’t be bottled.  Color is a worry though!

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Cute Little Pig (Giant PIG more like it, Pics)

Bring home the bacon, Cut and Shoot, TX is a real town, about 200 miles SE of Dallas.  It has a Post Office.  This is all real, no bull Cute little Texas pig ... This was killed near the town of Cut-N-Shoot TX . We call them Piney Wood Rooter's.  Over 1,800 lb. wild boar shot and killed in Conroe , Texas near the County Airport, East of I-45 and near the community of Cut and Shoot.  Killed by a medical Radiology worker...What would you do if this beast was coming at you? Run for dear life? Climb a tree or simply get run over?      Yep.......only in Texas ! We were taught to stand still because there eye sight is poor. By standing still they probably would not see you and walk right on by.. And No, you can't out run them!! Look how tall the grass and weeds are. How fast do you think you would be running thru that?

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WHO THINKS UP THESE CAPTIONS? (Animal pics with Captions)

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East Africa emergency: important news on your sponsored child

I've been sponsoring Aregawy for just over two years now. Slack old me has only written once and he's written three times. This week I've received a birthday card from World Vision to fill in and send to him. The first letter I got from him two years ago he was twelve and wanted to be a Doctor. 

But because I haven't been keeping in touch, does he still want to be a Doctor? Things change over time. His father runs a farm so he might like to keep that up. But if there are droughts happening, I doubt that he would want to keep the farm going and possibly his father probably doesn't want to neither. 

Anyhow, this email is a plea for more assistants, it's asked me to share the story with everyone and try and influence more sponsors. For a good twelve months I was paying $43 a month that even my bank was kind enough to let the transactions happen even if my account was already in the red. So I had no escape from not paying them, the process is through my debit Visa so there's no bank penalty for insufficient funds, it's just a simple credit card denial. But still, StGeorge, who by the way are changing to Bank of Melbourne, woo hoo, let the funds go through. Just meant I was $43 shorter on payday. 

Anyhow it was getting a bit much for me to keep paying it and even trying to keep like half the payment in the account for the off pay weeks, I just couldn't do it. I rang World Vision about this with the intention of getting out of the obligation that was not contracted too. The Semi-Old, probably in her 50's, lady asked if I was willing to go down to their lower donations of $35 a Month? An amount I never got offered when I signed up, so I took the offer. I can manage better with that amount, although it's only $8 less, still, it seems more reasonable and still helping out someone worse then me. 

I'll fill in this birthday card and get it sent to him. I'll have to put in a letter too and apologize for not writing as much. I remember in my letter I told him I would write as much as I could, I broke a promise to an unfortunate. Sorry, I've had a couple attempts over the time but wonder what I say to him? That the beer is really good in Australia? Bloody Governments put on heaps of taxes on the Tobacco? I could write a story, make an imaginary character I guess is one thing, keep the lad happy. 

So now that he's turning fourteen, he's not really a kid if he is to be like a fourteen year old Westerner, they think they're Adults now at fourteen, will he? Or because of his life style, will he still be a kid?  I don't know, I should put some blame on World Vision too, for not informing me more on his life style and how well he's growing up. Hey I don't even know how they spend my $35 on him a month. That wouldn't even feed and medicate me for a month, but surely food must be donated by major companies to help too. 

I share this email and my story with Aregawy and maybe someone who reads this might see some light and help out too. I know, there are so many charitable organizations that puts people in positions, which one? Well it's up to you, think of the organization if they are well approved like World Visions reputation that maybe choosing the right one is not as hard as you think. 

andjoh

If you are having trouble viewing this email, click here A growing hunger crisis in East Africa Dear Andrew, Thank you for your generous support of Aregawy Araya in Ethiopia. You may have seen recent news reports about the drought and hunger emergency affecting East African countries including Kenya and Ethiopia. We are starting to receive reports that some of the communities we work with are being affected by this emergency. We are closely monitoring the situation and if we hear anything of concern regarding your sponsored child, we will let you know immediately. Your help is needed now. As someone who cares about the wellbeing of children in this part of the world, please help us meet the growing and urgent needs of families affected by the hunger emergency. World Vision has been working in these countries for many years and our long-term development work helps communities prepare for and protect themselves from the impacts of natural disasters such as drought. Koutich's mother is malnourished and has difficulty producing enough milk for him. He is one of many children at risk from the hunger emergency. But this current drought, described by scientists as the driest period in the region since the early 1950s, is so severe that communities need additional support. So World Vision and other aid organisations are helping them respond to this emergency. Meteorologists forecast that the region may not receive normal rains until early 2012. A donation of $125 today, for example, could help us to meet the immediate food and health needs of the most vulnerable children and families and support essential agriculture and livelihood recovery efforts. You can also spread the word by forwarding this email to friends and family who may want to help the people of East Africa. Thank you for your support. Tim Costello World Vision Australia Chief Executive PS. You can find out more about our response to the East Africa emergency on our website. If you found this email compelling, please share with friends and family. Share

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