I was talking to Will Ashburner not long ago at a garden show. He is the proprietor of "Hancocks Daffodils "(and other bulbs), sells by mail order and at garden shows and events. Like him, I am an original member of the IBS group, started all those years ago by Rob Turley. Ah! doesn't time fly!! regards, Bill Richardson Ixiaking West Gippsland Victoria, Australia Summer 10-30c at present http://www.angelfire.com/ri/ixia/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joyce Miller" <Miller7398@comcast.net> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2011 7:14 AM Subject: [pbs] O.T. Waxing nostalgic > This morning's email took me back a few years when International Bulb > Society was extant. We had quite a few Ozzie members who had terrific > senses of humor. I looked forward to one member's post. Will Ashburner > posted the Australian version of the Darwin Awards. Miss those guys. > Here are some US nominees with the ultimate winner. > > > > Best wishes, Joyce Miller, Gresham, OR USDA 8. > > > > > > > > The Darwin Award nominees are: > > Nominee No. 1: [ San Jose Mercury News]: > An unidentified man, using a shotgun like a club to break a former > girlfriend's windshield, accidentally shot himself to death when the gun > discharged, blowing a hole in his gut. > > Nominee No. 2: [ Kalamazoo Gazette]: > James Burns, 34, (a mechanic) of Alamo , MI , was killed in March > as he was trying to repair what police describe as a "farm-type truck." > Burns got a friend to drive the truck on a highway while Burns hung > underneath so that he could ascertain the source of a troubling noise. > Burns' clothes caught on something, however, and the other man found Burns > "wrapped in the drive shaft." > > Nominee No. 3: [ Hickory Daily Record]: > Ken Charles Barger, 47, accidentally shot himself to death in > December in Newton , NC . Awakening to the sound of a ringing telephone > beside his bed, he reached for the phone but grabbed instead a Smith > &Wesson 38 Special, which discharged when he drew it to his ear. > > Nominee No. 4: [UPI, Toronto ]: > Police said a lawyer demonstrating the safety of windows in a > downtown Toronto skyscraper crashed through a pane with his shoulder and > plunged 24 floors to his death.? A police spokesman said Garry Hoy, 39, > fell into the courtyard of the Toronto Dominion Bank Tower early Friday > evening as he was explaining the strength of the building's windows to > visiting law students. Hoy previously has conducted demonstrations of > window strength according to police reports. Peter Lawson, managing > partner of the firm Holden Day Wilson, told the Toronto Sun newspaper that > Hoy was "one of the best and brightest" of their 200-member lawyer > association. > > Nominee No. 5: [The News of the Weird]: > Michael Anderson Godwin made News of the Weird posthumously. He had > spent several years awaiting South Carolina 's electric chair on a murder > conviction before having his sentence reduced to life in prison. While > sitting on a metal toilet in his cell attempting to fix his small TV set, > he bit into a wire and was electrocuted. > > Nominee No. 6: [The Indianapolis Star]: > A cigarette lighter may have triggered a fatal explosion in Dunkirk > , IN. A Jay County man, using a cigarette lighter to check the barrel of a > muzzleloader, was killed Monday night when the weapon discharged in his > face, sheriff's investigators said. Gregory David Pryor, 19, died in his > parents' rural Dunkirk home at about 11:30 PM. Investigators said Pryor > was cleaning a 54-caliber muzzle-loader that had not been firing properly. > He was using the lighter to look into the barrel when the gunpowder > ignited. > > Nominee No. 7: [Reuters, Mississauga , Ontario ]: > A man cleaning a bird feeder on the balcony of his condominium > apartment in this Toronto suburb slipped and fell 23 stories to his death. > "Stefan Macko, 55, was standing on a wheelchair when the accident > occurred," said Inspector Darcy Honer of the Peel Regional Police. "It > appears that the chair moved, and he went over the balcony," Honer said. > > > And, THIS one, you're going to LOVE!! > > > Finally, THE WINNER!!!: [ Arkansas Democrat Gazette]: > Two local men were injured when their pickup truck left the road > and struck a tree near Cotton Patch on State Highway 38 early Monday. > Woodruff County Deputy Dovey Snyder reported the accident shortly after > midnight Monday. Thurston Poole, 33, of Des Arc, and Billy Ray Wallis, 38, > of Little Rock , were returning to Des Arc after a frog-catching trip.. On > an overcast Sunday night, Poole 's pickup truck headlights malfunctioned. > The two men concluded that the headlight fuse on the older-model truck had > burned out. As a replacement fuse was not available, Wallis noticed that > the ..22 caliber bullets from his pistol fitted perfectly into the fuse > box next to the steering-wheel column. Upon inserting the bullet the > headlights again began to operate properly, and the two men proceeded on > eastbound toward the White River Bridge . > > After traveling approximately 20 miles, and just before crossing > the river, the bullet apparently overheated, discharged and struck Poole > in the testicles. The vehicle swerved sharply right, exited the pavement, > and struck a tree. Poole suffered only minor cuts and abrasions from the > accident but will require extensive surgery to repair the damage to his > testicles, which will never again operate as intended. Wallis sustained a > broken clavicle and was treated and released. > > "Thank God we weren't on that bridge when Thurston shot his balls > off, or we might be dead," stated Wallis. > > "I've been a trooper for 10 years in this part of the world, but > this is a first for me. I can't believe that those two would admit how > this accident happened," said Deputy Snyder. > > Upon being notified of the wreck, Lavinia ( Poole 's wife) asked > how many frogs the boys had caught and did anyone get them from the truck? > > Though Poole and Wallis did not die as a result of their > misadventure as normally required by Darwin Award Official Rules, it can > be argued that Poole did, in fact, effectively remove himself from the > gene pool. > > > > Every day above ground is a good day! Better to be seen than > viewed. > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 5828 (20110128) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/