Terrence Nowlin from Virginia was surprised and quite impressed when he realised his dog Jack had chewed through about a third of one of his shoes - a US$200 ($238) pair of Cole Haan wingtips. "I truly couldn't believe that he was physically able to do that to the shoe,"he said. "And he didn't leave a scrap to be found." Nowlin has now posted Jack's first work of art on eBay under the title "Half-Chewed Cole Haan Wingtip by Emerging Canine Artist, Left Shoe, Size 11.5D". He has received a bid of US$150.
Changing times A reader writes: "About 30 years ago, aged about 15, with my brand new driver's licence in hand, I decided to go from New Lynn into town. I pulled up in front of my local dairy in my beaten-up Ford Anglia and, to my surprise, an elderly lady, a stranger to me who was waiting at the bus stop, whips open my car door and asks where I'm going. Upon hearing I'm going into town she says, 'I'm sure you won't mind giving me a lift into K Rd, love, it's starting to rain,' and in she stepped. While I nervously drove into town, my longest trip yet, she chattered away quite calmly. So trusting for both of us. Fast forward to about four months ago ... It was pouring with rain, I, now a more (ahem) mature professionally dressed lady, pulled up in a late-model BMW X5 outside a local cafe. After grabbing a takeaway coffee, as I went back to my car I asked the people waiting at the bus stop if anybody wanted a lift into town. No takers. Just a few nervous looks and everyone was looking at the ground."
Plague on four wheels No Croatian buyers for this Ford. A reader writes: "I note that the Ford Kuga is among the nominations for New Zealand car of the year ... The direct translation from Croatian to English of 'kuga' is 'plague'. Makes one wonder where after the Spanish to English translation of (Mitsubishi's) Pajero - tosser- the manufacturers get these names from? Anyone?"
"I tell my oldest daughter what it was like as a young woman in the 80s working in an insurance company. At 19 I was threatened with being sent home for wearing knickerbockers (three-quarter-length pants). It was still not considered appropriate in the early 80s for women to wear pants in this rather old-fashioned company."
2)
"I responded to a medical emergency on Qantas," writes this lady doctor. "And afterwards the air hostesses came and profusely thanked my husband (who sat in his seat the whole time). Even as we got off the plane, they were all 'thank you doctor' to him ... my husband simply smiled and replied: 'That's okay, it was no problem."'
