Only in Florida 8/15/2013

     If you wish to see someone get angry very quickly, find a person who is in a rush and force them to wait in a line. There is almost nothing that can raise tempers faster. Recently, two Florida people learned the hard way that sometimes it is better to just patiently wait your turn.

     On the morning of August 7th, Mohammad Abukhder  was sitting in his car in the drive-thru of a Riverview, FL McDonalds. While he was waiting, Rebecca Simmons, of Tampa, forced her way into the line in front of Abukhder. Rightfully angry, Abukhder fumed behind his wheel until he couldn't take any more, and that is where things all went down hill.

     Abukhder started to yell and curse out of his window at Simmons. Simmons, who apparently wasn't in the mood to take the dressing down she so rightly deserved, got out of her car, pulled out a knife, and proceeded to stab through the hood of Abukhder's car.

     It is here that Abukhder made his second mistake. To keep Simmons from fleeing the scene, Abukhder stepped out of his car, approached Simmons's car, and tried to take the keys out of her ignition. Simmons wasn't too far behind Abukhder. And when Simmons saw what he was trying to do, she took the same knife she had just used to stab through Abukhder's hood, and stabbed him in the right buttock. Fortunately for Abukhder his wound didn't require medical attention.

     Simmons was arrested and was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief with property damage.


Other news in brief:

Wellington man says ‘devil’ made him assault girl - Uh huh, sure he did.

Man says girlfriend got drunk, struck him with yard reflector - Maybe she wanted to make him see the light?

Woman arrested after threatening to 'blow up' Gulf Power - Ah terrorism, there is a bill negotiating tactic I never would have thought of.

Only in Florida 7/22/2013

     Everyone dreams about doing something out of the ordinary, and Jenna Conti is no exception. The dreams most people have are pretty down to earth, such as getting a novel published, landing a great job, or buying the home they have always wanted. Conti's dream, on the other hand, is a bit out of the ordinary; she wants to be a mermaid. Not a real mermaid mind you, but one of the ladies who put on the mermaid show at the Florida Aquarium. To help her accomplish her goal, Conti purchased a custom made silicon mermaid tail to wear her communities public pool. However, Conti's plan has run into a bit of a snag.

     At first, the staff who ran the pool allowed her to swim with her custom tail. But when she returned for a second dip in the pool, she was told that, because of a rule barring swim fins, she would not be allowed to swim with her tail on. Hoping to be allowed as an exception to the rule, Conti brought forward a request to her home owners association's board, the FishHawk Community Development board. Unfortunately for her, the board voted to maintain the ban on swim fins, and by doing so, banning Conti from the pool while she has on her tail.

     Undeterred, Conti is still mulling over her options. One possible solution would be for her to become a licensed vendor with insurance, selling her time as an attraction at pool parties for children. However, Conti doesn't like the idea of charging fees, especially if the venue would be at the public pool. "To just swim with the kids, it's supposed to be for everybody," she said.


Other news in brief:

Video shows shirtless driver challenging other driver to fight - If you are going to fight someone, make sure they don't have someone with a camera near them.

Witness says man broke broomstick over girlfriend, threw bricks at her - while you have to feel bad for the poor lady who was beaten up, you also have to feel for the neighbor. All he probably wanted was a nice relaxing dip in the pool, not front row tickets to domestic violence theater.

Strip-club mom arrested on child-neglect charges - Since they knew she had 900 dollars on her, I wonder if they deliberately set her bail at 1000 dollars just to force her to stay in jail.

Police: UF linebacker Morrison arrested for barking at K-9 - This is on the edge of "Man bites dog" territory

Naked woman arrested after stepping off Lynx bus - I know it's been hot recently, but surely she could have kept something on.

Woman says boyfriend cut off her clothes with box-cutter - Nothing says I don't like your clothes like forcefully cutting them off you.