I've always agreed with that particular complaint about skydiving, never personally seeing the need for that much "excitement" just for fun. But fourteen skydivers in Indiana got to experience the thrill of jumping out of a perfectly bad airplane - one that was on its way to a crash landing.
Fourteen sky divers were forced to jump out of their disabled plane and parachute to safety before it crash landed after developing mechanical problems over Indiana.
The plane malfunctioned at 7,000 feet, its engine cutting out as it climbed and causing oil to spray on the windscreen and limit the pilot's visibility.
He lost manual control but, as the plane levelled off at 5,000 feet, the sky jumpers were able to jump out.
All of them landed safely, including two sky divers who were jumping for the first time.
The pilot also apparently survived, after trying to land the crippled plane on a too-short runway. But he managed to keep anyone else on the ground from being hurt.
I guess they were smart to be wearing parachutes after all.
….In your wheelchair. A 71-year old man and his wheelchair riding friend chased down a would-be robber, wrestled her to the ground and held her for police.
Harry Kopenis, said he went to an ATM at a bank near his Kingston home Monday morning and withdrew $100 when a woman came out of nowhere, knocked him down and stole the money. The woman fled.
His neighbor, Kevin Lamb, was nearby in his electric wheelchair and both men chased her. Lamb said Kopenis got the woman in a headlock and grabbed the squirming woman.
Longtime readers know that I get a real kick out of stories like this. It's a good thing when the young thieves find out the hard way that older - or wheelchair-bound - does not mean helpless. The would-be thief is in jail held on a high bail and likely faces some serious jail time. Kudos to the crime fighters.
All the signs point to Hillary Clinton stopping her campaign as soon as tomorrow.
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama pushed close to victory in the marathon Democratic presidential race Monday on the eve of a final pair of primaries amid signs that Hillary Rodham Clinton was preparing to acknowledge defeat.
Said a confident-sounding Obama: "I told her that once the dust settled I'm looking forward to meeting with her at a time and place of her choosing." That was from a conversation the two rivals had on Sunday night. He did not describe her response.
He also said he would begin thinking about a vice presidential running mate "the day after I have gotten that last delegate needed to officially claim the nomination."
The former first lady gave no public hint of quitting the race, and she has said repeatedly she might continue her candidacy even beyond the end of the primaries.
But her husband, former President Clinton, strongly suggested otherwise. "This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," he said as he worked for his wife in South Dakota.
Put aside the perpetually narcissistic need Bubba has to be the center of attention and consider his words for a moment. Bitter? You bet. Indicative of how close Hillary Clinton is to suspending her campaign? You bet. My guess is that is how she will phrase it: that she is "suspending" the campaign, not quitting. That way she can step back in if Obama falls on his face in the next few weeks. (Given Obama's penchant for political pratfalls, that is not out of the question.)
What does this imply for November? Haven't a clue. I think the prolonged and very bitter contest has caused real and lasting divisions in the Democratic party. I do not think Obama can heal those divisions - it got a lot too personal. But maybe Clinton is giving Obama a chance to fail early in hopes of stepping in as the party savior.
News | Gaius Monday, 2 June , 2008 | 
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