Story Idea Scrapheap
Believe it or not, for the recent “A Story Idea Each Day for a Month” series, I had even more possibilities for posts. In the end, some didn’t make the cut. But per the adage, “One person’s ceiling is another person’s, floor,” I submit to you all the ideas that landed on my scrapheap — because you just never know what may strike you creatively.
How to Survive a 35,000-Foot Fall:
You’re 6 miles up. You’re alone. You’re falling.
Things are bad. But now’s the time to focus on the good news. (Yes, it goes beyond surviving the destruction of your aircraft.) Although gravity is against you, another force is working in your favor: time. Believe it or not, you’re better off up here than if you’d slipped from the balcony of your high-rise hotel room after one too many drinks last night.
Billionaire In Town For Oscars Robbed in Beverly Hills Hotel:
Pepe Fanjul, a cuban-born sugar baron believed to be one of the world’s richest men, was the victim of an elaborate heist while in town for the Oscars last weekend. The incident occured at the Four Seasons hotel at Beverly Hills.
Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord:
The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.”
The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?
Israeli Spy Agency Mossad Regularly Faked Australian Passports (from Australian GITS reader Dean Friske):
Israel’s Mossad has regularly faked Australian passports for its spies, an ex-agent said today, as anger grew over the use of foreign travel documents for an alleged assassination.
Former Mossad case officer Victor Ostrovsky told ABC Radio that the spy agency had used Australian passports for previous operations before last month’s hit on a top Hamas commander in Dubai that has been blamed on Israel.
West Cape May Tries To Unravel Mystery Of Midnight Knitter:
It’s a dark winter night and the park is empty. Or … is it?
Suddenly, movement. Yes, somebody slinking through the entrance gate, armed with long metal spikes of some sort. They’re pulling something out of a pouch. It looks like a ball of some sort, kind of like a ball of yarn, pink yarn. Before long another tree, signpost or lamp standard is covered with brightly colored yarn.
Yes, the midnight knitter has struck again.
Grateful Father Looks For Mysterious Good Samaritan:
One very grateful father, David Anderson, is searching for the mysterious good Samaritan who acted quickly to help save his two-year-old daughter, Bridget Sheridan, from drowning.
NY Daily News reports that while visiting New York’s South Street Seaport, Anderson turned his attention away from Bridget for a minute to adjust his camera. When he turned around, he realized his daughter had fallen 20 feet into the icy bay below. Anderson quickly dove in to rescue her, but a French man had already plunged into the water to save the girl. Together, the two men were able to pull Bridget to safety. Luckily, the two-year-old was unharmed.
After the little girl was safe, the good Samaritan disappeared into the crowd. Anderson considers himself indebted to the stranger’s quick thinking and is hoping to locate him so that he can thank him.
Tomorrow I explain my seeming madness in giving away 30 story ideas in 30 days.