Monday Weisblog: Time for a pregnant pause

Magdalena Kwiatkowska and her 13-year-old daughter recently decided to take a vacation. They chose a trip from Poland, their home country, to Egypt.

They discovered the daughter became pregnant – during the trip.

This is where you’ll be tempted to insert your best Polish joke … but please refrain because it’s tacky and this the 21st century.

This is a true story: Ms. Kwiatkowska has filed a lawsuit against the Egyptian hotel where they stayed during their vacation, claiming her daughter got pregnant while swimming in their “mixed pool.” Yep, she is so convinced her daughter never had any, uh, “activity” during their trip that she is suing the hotel for allowing (and this is their term, not mine) “stray sperm” to impregnate her daughter.

Now I’ve heard everything … well, at least until tomorrow’s blog.

Friday Weisblog: Oh, the humanity!

Just when I was beginning to lose my faith in the human race … just when I had all but decided we Americans are only in it for ourselves, I read this.

It appeared that 107-year-old Larry “Curly” Haubner had finally outlived his savings, so he’d be forced to move out of his assisted living facility in Greenfield, Virginia.

But then, something amazing happened: The Washington Post ran a story about Haubner on July 2. Word began to get out concerning Haubner’s plight, and a groundswell of support starting coming in. Donations as small as $2 and as large as $1,200 poured in, and a grand total of more than $65,000 from more than 1,700 donations. (The newspaper article said $56,000 but another $9,000 has come in since then.) There is an interesting caveat: Should Larry pass away, any remaining monies will go to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Combined with the $7,300 he already had, it’s enough to keep him in his facility for another two years at least!

Carol Ewing, who manages Haubner’s financial affairs, summed it up well. “It’s incredibly heartwarming that during this tough economic time for everybody, these people have found it in their hearts to donate the way that they have.”

If the old saying, “What goes around, comes around” is really true, then God will bless every one of those people who helped Mr. Haubner. It’s the ultimate sign of having respect for your elders … something we just don’t see enough of anymore.

Well done, Virginia peeps!

Thursday Weisblog: Someone brief this man … quickly!

When 41-year-old Christopher Hoff of Stratford, Connecticut showed up five days late for his dental appointment, the receptionist was a bit startled.

There was one other reason she was taken aback: Hoff was naked.

The receptionist screamed and called police as Hoff fled the scene.

Police went to Hoff’s house, and Hoff told them he’d been sleeping all day. Still, they grabbed him and brought him back to the dental office.

I envision the conversation to be something like this.

Police: “Mr. Hoff, please step inside.”

Hoff: “OK.”

Police (to receptionist): “Is this the man that was in your office earlier?”

Receptionist: “Yes, that’s him. I am sure of it.”

Police: “How can you be sure?”

INSERT FUNNY INNUENDO HERE. (Note: The article does not clearly state whether or not he was still “nekkid.”)

Hoff was charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency and failure to comply with fingerprinting.

Calls to Hoff’s home went unreturned. It’s unclear if he has hired an attorney.

It’s also unclear if he has a brain.

Wednesday Weisblog: Since when did one person have so much power?

Casey Anthony and one of her plethora of attorneys, Jose Baez.

When I heard the news today I couldn’t believe it. I guess I should’ve seen it coming, though.

What started out as a local story has made national headlines over and over again. It’s been on the news and in papers nationwide. Nancy Grace has debated the subject with anyone she can get to come on her show.

I’m talking about, of course, the tragic murder of Caylee Anthony. The remains of the two-year-old were found less than a mile from her home, and her mother, Casey Anthony, is charged with killing her.

This has already been sitting for months, and the trial was scheduled for this October. But now, there is going to be another delay in the trial. It’s going to be pushed back until at least next January because Casey Anthony’s death penalty attorney Dr. Andrea Lyon has informed Judge Stan Strickland that because of her teaching schedule at DePaul University, she wouldn’t be adequately prepared for the trial.

Pardon me, Dr. Lyon, but the world doesn’t revolve around you. (Well, in this case, maybe it does.)

Judge Strickland, instead of agreeing with her, should have said in no uncertain terms: “You have a choice. You can be either a teacher or a defense attorney.”

I try to keep these blogs fairly lighthearted most days, but I am sick and tired of this kind of thing happening. Seems that people on trial have more rights than those of us who aren’t. There are plenty of other attorneys out there besides Dr. Lyon.

By the way, has anyone ever bothered to try and find out who is bankrolling this all-star lineup of attorneys Casey Anthony is putting together?

There are some strange things going on in this case. First, Casey waits about a month before reporting her daughter missing. Then there is the frantic search for Caylee and the maintenance guy finds her remains near the Anthony house. There is concern over hanky-panky between Casey Anthony and one of her attorneys. If Dr. Lyon can’t make it during the fall semester, I say let’s move this trial up so we can knock it out during the summer months!

Before everyone writes back hate mail, I do understand Casey Anthony is innocent until proven guilty. But prolonging her hearing means it may be longer than necessary to bring justice for a heinous act – taking the life of an innocent child.

If Casey Anthony is truly guilty, she deserves whatever punishment she gets. One way or the other, the sooner we find out the truth, the better off everyone will be. Everyone, that is, except maybe Casey.

Tuesday Weisblog: Cops & Doughnuts. It’s a natural!

Clare is a small town in Michigan that is struggling, much like many other Midwest small towns.

One particular doughnut shop and bakery in Clare had been open since 1896. However, the recent downtown in the economy and mounting bills had the doughnut shop within weeks of meeting its demise, resulting in yet another empty storefront on the town’s main street.

The police decided they didn’t want this to happen. They decided to intervene – just maybe not in the way you might be thinking. All nine of the city’s police employees pooled their resources and purchased the store!

They may not have to protect … but they certainly do have to serve!

To find out more, go to www.copsdoughnuts.com or visit the Cops & Doughnuts Facebook page. You can even sign up for their company newsletter. Seriously.

Monday Weisblog: Who was the real Steve McNair?

Steve McNair

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am an unabashed fantasy football geek. In 2003, I rode the coattails of quarterback Steve McNair to the finals of my 14-team league, where I promptly got destroyed by my opponent – but that’s not the point of this blog.

The point is that, from then on, I was always a huge McNair fan. I respected him before that, because he seemingly “got it.” You know, smart guy on and off the field, humble, great in the community, fearless … everything you’d want in an athlete. But that season turned me into a big, big fan of his.

McNair retired after the 2006-2007 season and you really didn’t hear much about him again, that is, until this 4th of July. That’s when McNair, 36, was found dead in the Nashville, TN dwelling of a 20-year-old woman.

The woman, identified as Sahel Kazemi, was also dead … her body lying near McNair’s. Both had been shot, McNair four times; Kazemi with one fatal shot to the head. A gun was found underneath Kazemi’s body.

During the autopsy, it was confirmed that McNair’s death was a homicide, but they have declared it to be too early to rule the exact cause of her demise.

Despite being married and having four sons, it appears that McNair and Kazemi had been having a romantic relationship. In fact, Kazemi was pulled over for a DUI last week in a Cadillac Escalade that was registered to both she and McNair. Meanwhile, Nashville Police Spokesman Don Aaron confirms that the pair had a “dating relationship.”

Was it a “lover’s quarrel” that led to a murder-suicide? “That’s a very important part of the investigation as we work to ultimately classify Miss Kazemi’s death,” Aaron said. He added that interviews need to be conducted to those close to both McNair and Kazemi to help determine the actual cause.

Assuming she had nothing to do with it, the person I feel for the most in this whole debacle is McNair’s wife, Mechelle. Not only does Mechelle have the grief of a husband who was just murdered to deal with – and she has to explain to the boys why daddy isn’t going to be around anymore, she also has the knowledge that the entire country is now aware that her husband was presumably cheating on her and buying this young “other woman” extravagant gifts (namely, a Cadillac SUV).

Often, it’s kind of cool that we get to know the personalities and habits of famous celebrities off the field. But this is one time I wish we didn’t know what we do know.

I used to have so much respect for Steve McNair, not only for being a great football player, but also for being a great man.

Now he’s gone, and so is all that admiration I used to have for him.

My prayers are with the loved ones of both families, especially Mechelle McNair and the four young boys.

I’ll never forget Steve McNair’s great run in 2003 when he was the NFL’s Co-Most Valuable Player, helping me reach my fantasy league’s final game. But now, I’ll remember it for all the wrong reasons – and that’s just plain sad.