Etc...

It's driving me nuts, officer!

It wasn't Carol Windham's fault that she ran a red light in Ardmore, Okla., earlier this month. Both her feet were firmly on the brake pedal, but that wasn't enough to stop her 1984 Chevrolet van. According to the mechanic who inspected the vehicle after it finally ground to a halt, a pecan that had been stashed under the hood by a wood rat was lodged next to the accelerator cable, causing the throttle to stick open. But there's more: Apparently, the critter was either quite industrious or in cahoots with another rodent. We know this because when Windham returned home and decided maybe she ought to check under the hood of her other car, she found a stash of pecans in its engine compartment too - and, oh, yes, a half-eaten apple.

Forty years have come and gone since the Beatles made their American television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and it has been 34 years since the "Fab Four" broke up. Still, their music continues to make new fans and to excite old ones. Just last week, Capitol Records released the first four albums the band recorded in the US, this time on stereo CDs. Since the boxed set is true to the sequence of tracks and cover art of the original albums, Capitol hopes it will have built-in appeal for purists and nostalgic baby boomers. In the collection: "Meet the Beatles," "The Beatles Second Album," "Something New," and "Beatles '65." The CDs contain songs that were hit singles in both the US and Britain. The top-selling Beatles singles in their home country and the year each was released:
1. "She Loves You" 1963
2. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 1963
3. "Can't Buy Me Love" 1964
4. "I Feel Fine" 1964
5. "We Can Work It Out/ Day Tripper" 1965
6. "Help!" 1965
7. "Hey Jude" 1968
8. "A Hard Day's Night" 1964
9. "From Me to You" 1963
10. "Hello Goodbye" 1967
- www.jpgr.co.uk