News Of The Weird - 14

Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.

Indian sadhu Lotan (aka Ludkan) Baba was reported in News of the Weird in 1995 for his 2,500-mile holy journey through the Indian countryside traveling by lying on the ground and rolling over and over and over, the entire distance (doing from six to 13 miles a day). In September 2003 (reported in video on the CBS News Web site in January 2004), he set out on a 1,500-mile trip, rolling from Ratlam, India, to Lahore, Pakistan, where he said he hopes to thank President Pervez Musharraf for his India-Pakistan peace initiatives.

From an underreported profile of Mel Gibson in The New Yorker (Sept. 15, 2003), discussing his then-upcoming film, “The Passion of the Christ”: “There is no salvation for those outside the Church. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She’s a much better person than I am. (But) she’s Episcopalian. (S)he believes in God, she knows Jesus. (A)nd it’s just not fair if she doesn’t make it (to heaven); she’s better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair (that she will not be saved). I go with it.”

Mile High Outfitters, a backcountry expedition organizer in Challis, Idaho, has petitioned the U.S. Forest Service for permission to install three commercial, recreational hot tubs smack in the middle of an unspoiled wilderness area, and the service is now considering the proposal (the public comment period having ended early this month). Each tub would require 1,250 gallons of water, heated by wood-burning stove, replenished every three days in-season, even though motorized vehicles to bring the water in are not now permitted.
Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla. 33679 or [email protected]
Copyright © 2001 by Chuck Shepherd

NEWS OF THE WEIRD