A Dash For Cash

From Yahoo News, at Yahoo.Com:

GLENDORA, Calif. – California authorities say a man caused a traffic jam when he threw money onto a Los Angeles-area freeway and people dashed into the lanes to grab the cash. California Highway Patrol Sgt. Kurt Stormes says the man tossed money from his car on Interstate 210 in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendora shortly before noon Sunday. Stormes says about 10 people ran into traffic lanes to get it. CHP officers recovered about $1,000. The 56-year-old man then went to the Police Department in nearby Azusa. Police Lt. Steve Hunt says the man told officers he wanted to kill himself and was hospitalized for mental evaluation. His name wasn't released. Authorities asked anyone who picked up the man's money to turn it in so it can be returned.

From Today’s Oregonian and Oregonlive.com

Officers, citizens track down flying cash in Southwest Portland
by Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
Tuesday August 18, 2009, 6:30 PM

Money doesn't grow on trees in Portland but this afternoon, it was blowing in the wind. On Southwest Barbur Boulevard, not far from Capitol Highway, big bills fluttered across the busy street right in front of the Humdinger Drive In. Like a similar scene on a Los Angeles freeway two days ago, people stopped their cars to grab the cash. But not everyone driving by wanted to pad their pocketbooks. A woman from Woodburn, who was with her husband, contacted a Multnomah County Sheriff's deputy in the area and helped him recover about $1,000. ‘People were stopping in traffic and picking it up left and right," said Deputy Sheriff Johnny Ahn, who was finishing his lunch at a Chinese restaurant on Barbur. "She was a good citizen to let me know what she saw. She could have just taken it and ran." One man in his 50s or 60s tried to do just that. "He was ready to boogie quick with a fistful of cash," Ahn said. "He thought he was going to keep it because he found it." But under threat of arrest, the man angrily turned the bills over to the officer. "I had to run for it," Ahn said. "I was afraid someone else was going to beat me to it." He has no idea where the money came from but doubts that someone just tossed it into traffic, which happened in Los Angeles on Sunday. For one thing, the cash was all in big denominations -- $100s and $20s -- not small bills that would have created a bigger ruckus. Once all visible cash was recovered, Ahn called Portland police, who have jurisdiction over the area. Officer Jon Yochim of Central Precinct arrived about 1:39 p.m. to retrieve the cash, which is now waiting to be claimed in the bureau's Property and Evidence Division. And it's not clear whether all of the cash was found, either. "We're not sure if some of it got legs and walked off into people's pockets," Yochim said. "Nobody knows because it was pretty busy there."

-- Lynne Terry; lynneterry@news.oregonian.com


Two different days, two different cities, it was raining cash. What would you do if you were driving along on a busy freeway, like in Los Angeles, or on a busy side street like Barbur Boulevard in Portland, Oregon and it started raining cash? Would you stop? Would you risk your life on the freeway to pick up a few extra bucks? If you saw the police coming would you run for it with your pockets full? Even if the police weren’t around and you found the money would you keep it or turn it in?

First of all I wouldn’t stop. It would be to dangerous and my life is more important than a few bucks. If there was nobody around and I found the cash I would most likely turn it into the police department. I try to be fairly honest most of the time. Flexible ethics, honesty when possible are my mottos. An example is yesterday I did my Mom’s weekly grocery shopping. When I got to Mom’s and looked at the receipt I noticed that the clerk didn’t charge us for the cool whip. I struggled with whether or not I should return to the grocery store and pay for the cool whip. And I seriously considered it. However, that particular store was a half of an hour away. After struggling for quite a while about whether or not I should return to the store and pay for the cool whip I decided the drive was to far, the clerk that helped me probably wouldn’t be there, and if I talked to someone else it might get the clerk in trouble. So I kept the free cool whip. Now if the cool whip had cost a thousand bucks I am pretty sure I would have returned to the store and paid for it no matter what. What would you have done?

May it rain cash in your life today and in a manner that you can keep it!

TRIVIA:

YESTERDAY’S ANSWERS:

Izmir, Ankara, Istanbul. - CITIES IN TURKEYS

The first American in space, Rin Tin Tin, Jesus. - ALL WERE SHEPHERDS

Dick Tracy, Dudley Do Right, Kirk Douglas. - ALL HAD CLEFT CHINS

Step on no pets, Never Odd or Even, Madam I’m Adam. - PALINDROMES, read the same frontwards as backwards.

Heather, Lily, Tulip. - FLOWERS

TODAY’S QUESTIONS:

Turkeys, statues, initials.

A tie, a nervous stomach, a piece of lumber.

David Letterman, Alfred E. Newman, Lauren Hutton.

Beaver State, Webfoot State, Pacific Wonderland.

It’s A Hard-Knock Life, Tomorrow, New York City.