... from Wally - Back In America
| Currently in Auckland: It is NZST Sunday, 20th May 2012 |
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Currently: Partly Cloudy and 13°C (55°F) Hi/Lo: 17°C (63°F)/12°C (54°F) Sunrise at 7:14 and Sunset at 5:15 NZST Click image for detailed forecast. |
GRAND CANYON
Welcome to WWW - Wilderness Wally's World - A place where one can read a story about Americana or discover information on the many people and places of interest in beautiful New Zealand.
For a while, I'll try to relate the changes I notice in my travels around "the old country!"
Don't worry about the world coming to an end today ... it's already tomorrow in New Zealand!
Trust me ... They'll let me know and I'll tell you ASAP. Admittedly, I'm starting to wonder!
Lord, please keep Your arm around my shoulders and Your hand over my mouth.
My, how far we have come!
Florida: Orlando - The City Commission approved a test program that will allow residents to keep pet chickens. The project will allow the so-called urban chickens at 25 homes in three of the city's six districts. About 12 people signed up to keep up to three hens; roosters are prohibited.
Meanwhile, out West.
Montana: Philipsburg - A 200 pound black bear that swiped some blankets and pillows from a western Montana cabin to line his makeshift den in the crawl space has moved on. Cabin owner Judy Wing of Missoula says that now the bear, dubbed Blue, has awakened, she's going to bear-proof the seasonal cabin on Georgetown Lake.
Wing's family discovered the bear on a Jan. 1 visit.
Moral: If the government would just get out of the way, we could all get along ... people, bears and chooks.
It is all in the timing -
I arrived in Bullhead City, Arizona just in time for the annual Laughlin River Run Motorcycle Rally. Located across the Colorado River from Bullhead City, right near the border of Nevada and Arizona, Laughlin is usually a quiet little resort town.
Once billed as the largest motorcycle event in the southwest, the Laughlin River Run Biker Rally has drawn as many as 70,000 motorcycle enthusiasts to the area during the event, and is something no true biker would want to miss.
The name of the annual motorcycle rally comes from the route along the Colorado River before turning toward the Black Mountains and the old mining town of Oatman, Arizona. This year the local paper reported on one facet of the celebration not usually publicized:
OATMAN – A local resident spent part of the Harley River Run weekend naked on the main street in Oatman before deputies found space for him in the Mohave County jail. 44-year-old George Henry Coons was arrested Saturday afternoon, April 28, after a motorist alerted Sheriff's Deputies a naked man was in the street.
"Deputies turned and observed a white male subject wearing nothing but a pair of brown tennis shoes while holding a can of beer," said public information officer Sandy Edwards. During conversations with Coons, he told deputies, Because it was biker weekend he believed it was okay for him to go naked in the streets."
Edwards said deputies believed Coons to be intoxicated. He was arrested and booked into jail for indecent exposure.
So here I am in downtown So. California. As you all know, the trip is a long one, even on a speeding jet plane.
I must say though, Air New Zealand's seats in their Premium Economy class of the new Boeing 777 are a major improvement. The new design puts the traveler in a cocoon-like atmosphere that provides more leg-room, comfort and a touch of privacy too.
Because we are close to the coast here, there has been a lot of coastal fog and the sun hasn't made much of an appearance for the last couple of days. Inland, I'm told, is another story.
As a matter of fact, a cyclist in a very hot Palm Springs died on Saturday when he became dehydrated and passed out.
My first purchase after landing was a SIM card for my telephone ... one must not lose touch with the outside world you know. My second purchase was a loaf of Russian Rye bread ... I'm in heaven. The third purchase ... a pair of long (big boy) pants to cope with the lower than expected temps in the evening. Of course, ever the optimist, all I brought with me were shorts.
Where Did We Go Wrong - Pet Parakeet Returned To Owner After Telling Police His Address
All our parrot Bart can do is say Hello, sneeze, and bark when he's hungry!
From Citizen Services - Link
New Law Makes Absentee Voting Easier for Overseas Americans - DON'T WAIT – PLAN TO REGISTER TO VOTE NOW!
Petrol price ... in New Zealand of course ... in the US it would be gas! We pay NZ$2.199 per litre. 1 US gallon = 3.7854 litres so that's about NZ$8.32 a gallon! The NZ-US exchange rate today was about .82 ... that makes the equivalent cost in the US, US$6.82 for a gallon of gas ... or petrol, call it what you will.
Martha's Backyard Updates Link
Thieves arrested after pocket-dialing 911
It happened in Madison, Wisconsin as two suspected thieves made an escape after taking DVDs and computer games from a Target store, according to the Madison Police Department. A 27-year-old and a 28-year-old were driving away in a blue SUV and chatting about where they were going to try to sell the stolen merchandise, police said.
When the men got into the SUV, one of them "pocket-dialed" 911. An emergency dispatcher listened to the open cell phone line as the men "bragged about what they stole, described the vehicle they were in, and where they were going," one of the arresting officers said. The dispatcher relayed details to police about where the men were headed.
Officers were waiting with guns drawn when the pair stopped in a parking lot near a Video X-Change store. Police said the men appeared dumbfounded. "You guys tap my phone?" one of the men asked.
While officers were taking inventory of the stolen items, one of them found the phone and pressed the hang up button. The men received citations for retail theft. The suspects gave us "everything we needed," police said.
Reportedly, one of the charges was 'Felony Stupid.'
Bah Humbug - The Tax Man Commeth - Check out what the IRS has in store in 2012 for Americans Living Overseas at this web-site - Link
It is called the The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
(Thanks Amanda)
Just do not get between me and my In-N-Out burger! - Read at Wally's Front Porch
- Click here for newspapers around the US, possibly your home town
- Click here for Weather Map of USA - Place cursor anywhere and see local weather
American Club Christchurch Link Here
Link here to Wally's Recommended Reading - The World's Shortest Books
"If I Die Before You Wake" Tribute to Armed Forces - Click Here for youtube presentation.
Click on 'Miscellaneous' in the Table of Contents to expand and find US Contacts In New Zealand, WW's Privacy Promise and Send WW an E-Mail.
Click to view some of our photos of New Zealand As usual, a work in progress.
Thank You:
28-12-2011 Welcome Page hits = 9000 hits in 60 days
Come back often, have fun, keep in touch...
Mr and Mrs W-W
