Etc...

Why me, of all people?

Heard about what happened to John Fleming last week? According to Australia's Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper, Fleming and a friend were riding his motorbike when out of nowhere a kangaroo hopped into their path. With no time to react, they collided. Except for a few bruises, all parties emerged unhurt. So why tell the story? Well, because of Fleming's job. He works for a company that makes signs warning motorists to be alert for ... kangaroos, of which Australia has about 57 million.

Then there are Fleming's countrymen, Keith Barnes and Michael Dowdell. They made news last week, too - on a golf course at Maroochydore, Queensland. The retirees hit back-to-back tee shots to the par-3 17th green, and both scored holes-in-one, a feat that Golf Digest says happens once in 17 million tries.

Now that heating season is here again, Americans tempted to become snowbirds and take up winter residence in, say, sunny Florida or south Texas should be forewarned. Even the balmiest locales are capable of turning frigid - and occasionally do. Example: Hawaii, where temperatures can be downright bone-chilling at higher altitudes, such as on Mauna Kea. In the spring of 1979, the volcano's weather station - 13,770 feet above the swaying palm trees at sea level - recorded the coldest temperature in Aloha State history: 12 degrees F. The lowest recorded temperatures for the so-called warm-weather states (in degrees Farenheit), as compiled by www.infoplease.com:
New Mexico -50
California -45
Arizona -40
Tennessee -32
Alabama -27
Texas -23
Mississippi -19
South Carolina -19
Georgia -17
Louisiana -16
Florida -2
Hawaii 12