B-N juror elevates gas prices to crime! - Pantagraph

Standing in a crowd, simply waiting to see William and Kate, the Royal Couple emerged and William walked right up to the area where the Baldwins were standing, to shake their hands and strike
up a chat.

The Prince and Baldwins bonded, is how the Ottawa Daily Mail newspaper described it.

Once word spread that the Baldwins also had driven 21 hours just to be there, the Canadian media sought them out, for interviews on the BBC and a quip on the Canadian Nightly News.

It all happened so fast, chuckles Mary Esther Baldwin, I can hardly remember all the media attention we got.

Thats Jamie Baldwin with the camera in her hand, William at her right, as the photo appeared in the next days Ottawa paper.

Sister Jennifer, meanwhile, was quoted in the news coverage.

Mary Esther had a conversational moment when she told William she and the girls had traveled all the way from Bloomington, Illinois, in the United States, to see them and William said, Were going there next!

He meant America, of course, and not Bloomington.

Maybe next trip.

William, with Jamie waiting for his picture.

Todays deep thoughtAs mulled by Steve Rutledge, of McLean: After last year sending off Patti in his place to do that `Im a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! TV show, it looks like Rod will now get his turn with a reality show in prison. And I bet he will use that line A LOT!

Darned batteries!: As a public service, firemen are forever reminding us to change the batteries in our smoke detectors and it is wonderful advice.

Which also reminds us

Did you hear the reason for the near half-hour delay the other night in the fireworks show at Normals Fairview Park, an event overseen by members of the fire department?

It was a battery malfunction, in a computer that allows people to remotely set off the explosives.

Next time, you can bet theyll check the batteries.

Free shower: Speaking of the fireworks at Fairview, Fourth of July lovers have forever planted a chair on the neighboring ISU golf course, to get an especially good view of the Fairview show.

They did this year, too.

Imagine their surprise, though, when right at dusk, just as they hunkered for the first firework to launch, something else went off first:

The golf courses sprinklers full force!

Scramble was one verb allegedly used among others.

Bill Flick is at flick@#pantagraph.com