Con Game

I received an email last night at 8 pm from a relative in Chennai. He is doing export business and travels all over the world very often. I have reproduced his email to me (without changing anything):

“How are you?Am in a hurry writing you this note,Just wanted to seek your help on something very important, you are the only person i could reach at this point, and i hope you come to my aid because something very terrible is happening to me now,i need a favor from you now, I had a trip here in London (UK) . Unfortunately for me I got mugged at gun point on my way to the hotel where i lodged.They went away with all i have got on me including my wallet where i have all my cash and credit card and also my cell phone.I wasn't injured because I quickly complied.Since then i have been without any money, I am even owing the hotel bills here and I don't have a return ticket back home becaues I bought a one-way ticket.Presently, my documents are been held down by the hotel management pending the time i am able to clear bills.I contacted the police here and they only asked me to write a statement about the incident and I also contacted my embassy but they could only help me replace my missing passport.I have limited access to emails for now, please i need you to lend me about 1350 British Pounds so i can make arrangements and return back please,i have spoken to the embassy here but they are not responding to the matter effectively, I will return the money back to you as soon as i get home, I am so confused right now.

I will be waiting to hear from you.”

(signed)

From the very beginning, I knew this is a con game from a con artist. There are many reasons for me to think like that:

1. English writing is very poor. My relative writes good English.

2. India does not have an Embassy in London. India has a High Commission in London.

3. A businessman visiting from Chennai to London for a few days will always buy a "return ticket" and not a one way ticket.

4. Only an hour before the receipt of this email, I was talking to this relative of mine in Chennai over the phone.

Jack Tatum

(Note: This note is for those who are not familiar with the American Football. This is a very rough sport. That is why the players are paid very well. Each game is played for one hour and only 16 regular games are played in a year. Even the new players who are making their debut are paid millions of dollars each year.)

He was called “The Assassin”.

Jack Tatum, one of the greatest defensive players in American Football died on Tuesday, July 27, of a heart attack.

He was one of the hardest hitters in the NFL (National Football League). As a defensive player, his job is to stop the offensive player from advancing. He intimidated the opposing players with his ferocious tackles. This helped his team, The Oakland Raiders, become the toughest.

Unfortunately, he was also associated with one of the most tragic moments in American Football’s history. In a game (Oakland Raiders vs. New England Patriots) a hit from Tatum left a Patriots player, Darryl Stingley, paralyzed from the neck down. Tatum was not the same person after the hit. Tatum tried to visit Stingley in an Oakland Hospital but was turned away by his family. It affected him very much. For years, he was almost reclusive.

Experts, including many football coaches, who watched the video clip of the hit were of the opinion that it was a “clean hit” and no foul was committed by Tatum.

Even though Tatum felt sorry for Stingley, he had no remorse for his head hunting ways. He wrote a book titled “They Call Me Assassin”. He mentioned about the Stingley hit as follows:

“There's no way to change yesterday. I was paid to hit, the harder the better. And I hit, and I knocked people down and knocked people out. But sooner or later they would always get back up. Yes, they got up every time except one.”

Jack Tatum, one of Football’s great is no more. May his soul rest in peace.

Other Tourist Attractions in USA

When visitors come to America, they go to the usual touristy places like Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, Golden Gate Bridge, Las Vegas, Disney Land, Universal Studios, etc.

I have come across some weird and wacky places to visit in the USA. Remember these places when you plan to visit USA next time. If you live in USA, remember to take your guests to these places instead of a cruise. Cruise is a fashion nowadays.

Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska

This is a thoroughly modern automobile themed take on England’s mysterious Stonehenge.

Desert of Maine, Freeport, Maine

Desert in Maine? Yes. That is correct. Besides the lush pine trees, there is an intriguing sand anomaly in Maine. It has all the trappings of the Sahara.

Lucy the Elephant, Margate, New Jersey

Real Estate Developer James Lafferty, Jr. built this colossal structure in 1881 to bring attention for his real estate business. This is a 90 ton 65 foot tall wooden elephant.

Oregon Vortex, Gold Hill, Oregon

A weird sight since 1930, the Oregon Vortex and its “house of mystery”. What causes the disarming slant in the house? Why do brooms stand up on their own. This is a fun house of physics-defying experiments.