Granted, it's a bit classless to chuckle at the death of another human being but...
Randy Lee Tenley of Kalispell, Montana decided that a bigfoot sighting in his town would be just the thing to liven up a dull summer. Randy Lee proceeded to acquire a ghillie suit from the local army surplus store. (Ghillie suits are camouflage costumes worn by snipers. The wearer appears to be a pile of leaves and moss.) He then donned the suit and ventured out to scare and confound the citizenry of Kalispell. Sadly, Randy Lee's plan went sideways when he lumbered onto a road at night and was hit by a 15 year-old driver. Randy was hit again by another car who clearly took him for a pile of dead leaves and moss. (Kudos to the suit maker.) Whether either driver reported an encounter with a Sasquatch was not made clear.
Kalispell, MT is hardly the Area 51 of bigfoot activity. At certain times of the year you're lucky to see any form of homo erectus. Why Mr. Tenley thought that a Sasquatch invasion would improve the quality of life in his town is a secret that died with him.
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On a completely unrelated topic:
Did anyone notice that Mark Sanford, former Governor of South Carolina, is engaged to be married to Maria Belan Chapur. Who? Mayhaps you have forgotten Mr. Sanford and his contribution to the lexicon of American euphemism. While Markie was governor, he mysteriously disappeared for six days and told his staff he was "hiking the Appalachian Trail". Turns out the Appalachian Trail has a little-known detour that leads directly to the Buenos Aires apartment of Ms. Chapur.
As was subsequently revealed, this was not Governor Sanford's first hike and mostly at the expense of the good people of South Carolina. Being a good Republican ( see also "Wide Stance" Larry Craig) the Governor declined to resign. His own party tried to have him impeached but the Democrats of SC, delighted to leave him twisting in the wind, blocked most attempts. Sanford denied that he used State funds to further his Argentinean agenda. Having said that, he wrote the State a check to cover the misappropriated funds. His wife resigned from their marriage.
Well, that was 2009 and former Governor Sanford has maintained a moderately low profile. The definition of low profile among South Carolina Republicans is that you take a gig at Fox News, never to be taken seriously again. (As opposed to a gig at MSNBC where, chances are, you were never taken seriously to begin with.) However, true love will out. It was reported that in August Mr. Sanford proposed to the lovely Ms. Chapur. Apparently, Sanford hid in the men's room while a waiter told Ms. Chapur that she had won a prize and presented the ring. Thankfully, Gov. Sanford didn't encounter Larry Craig in the toilet or the story might have taken a ghastly turn.
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and if you can spell non sequitur...
Seriously, does anyone actually read Prince Valiant in the comics any more? Are there folks out there that feel their Sunday is incomplete without a visit to Val? I love the comics but I'm a geezer. I check Doonesbury and Dilbert every day. I even look at Beetle Baily though that hasn't been relevant since the Korean War. I would read B.C. and the Wizard of Id also but they're not in the Wash. Post.
Comics are the ultimate anachronism. It was probably the first part of a newspaper that you read as a kid. The Funny Papers were the only part of the printed newspaper that parents could share with the kids. Strips like Mary Worth, Blondie and the Katzenjammer Kids were followed the way Justin Bieber is followed on Twitter. People cared about Lil Orphan Annie and Dick Tracy. Gasoline Alley, and Lil Abner were homilies and miniature morality tales. The strips evoked smiles rather than laughs. Stuff like two-way wrist radios (Dick Tracy) and secret decoder rings (Lil Orphan Annie) were part of the lexicon in America for generations. Ah! where are the Andy Capp's of yesteryear?
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