Man's "Roadrunner" moment ends in law suit
April 15th 2010 04:14
Peter Aspinall is one of those rare individuals who has actually lived a Roadrunner moment.
For the uninitiated, a "Roadrunner" moment is a brief crumb of time, perhaps but a second or two, after which a person realises they have just lived through a real-life experience they've seen many times before - in a "Roadrunner" cartoon.
64 year-old Peter was working as a handy man at a hotel near Lancashire, England, when his moment in the sun arrived.
Told to prune a large sycamore tree, Peter had climbed onto a branch about 15 feet above the ground and started to cut.
It took a while to get through the thick branch but Peter refused to give up, and was eventually rewarded with the satisfying feel of his saw slicing clean through.
That's when his Roadrunner moment arrived.
Peter had just cut through the branch that he was standing on.
With a startled, wide-eyed look (it would have been at the camera had one been there) Peter hung in the air for a second, perhaps two - then plummeted to the ground, landing in a puff of dust.
It sounds funny until you discover Peter broke both his heels and is now suing his boss.
Actually, it still sounds funny.
Peter's story demonstrates how far people are willing to go to blame others for their own stupidity - and, if possible, to profit from it.
Late last year a surfer in California took another board rider to court for stealing his wave.
Jackson Parkell sued Michael Rand, claiming he'd waited for the perfect wave for hours but Rand cut in at the crucial moment.
The case was thrown out because the judge said it would be impossible to put a price on the pain and suffering Parkell experienced from watching someone else ride his wave.
At this very moment, in the US state of Illinois, a lawsuit is raging in which a man is suing his former son-in-law for being a bad husband.
The complainant (whose name has not been released) alleges his daughter's ex-husband breached a contract when he failed to treat her like a princess, as he promised in his wedding vows; Dad is seeking more than $1million in damages.
In Germany, 82 year-old Dorothy Hedwig has just lost a case against the manufacturer of her microwave oven.
Dorothy had just washed her pet poodle and - look away now if you're squeamish - popped it onto the micro to dry it off.
She sued the company because it didn't provide warnings that animals placed in the machine, even for just a few minutes on on low, would die.
My personal favorite lawsuit this week is also happening in Germany, where 29 year-old Greek migrant Demetrius Soupolos is suing his neighbor for having sex with Demetrius' wife.
Not that Demetrious was jealous, mind you; in fact he instigated the coupling after discovering he's unable to have kids.
It was only after weeks of unsuccessful trying that Demetrious' neighbour, 34 year-old Frank Maus, fessed up that he'd actually had a vasectomy some years before.
Demetreus is now suing for damages, and the money he paid Frank to sleep with his wife.
For the uninitiated, a "Roadrunner" moment is a brief crumb of time, perhaps but a second or two, after which a person realises they have just lived through a real-life experience they've seen many times before - in a "Roadrunner" cartoon.
64 year-old Peter was working as a handy man at a hotel near Lancashire, England, when his moment in the sun arrived.
Told to prune a large sycamore tree, Peter had climbed onto a branch about 15 feet above the ground and started to cut.
It took a while to get through the thick branch but Peter refused to give up, and was eventually rewarded with the satisfying feel of his saw slicing clean through.
That's when his Roadrunner moment arrived.
Peter had just cut through the branch that he was standing on.
With a startled, wide-eyed look (it would have been at the camera had one been there) Peter hung in the air for a second, perhaps two - then plummeted to the ground, landing in a puff of dust.
It sounds funny until you discover Peter broke both his heels and is now suing his boss.
Actually, it still sounds funny.
Peter's story demonstrates how far people are willing to go to blame others for their own stupidity - and, if possible, to profit from it.
Late last year a surfer in California took another board rider to court for stealing his wave.
Jackson Parkell sued Michael Rand, claiming he'd waited for the perfect wave for hours but Rand cut in at the crucial moment.
The case was thrown out because the judge said it would be impossible to put a price on the pain and suffering Parkell experienced from watching someone else ride his wave.
At this very moment, in the US state of Illinois, a lawsuit is raging in which a man is suing his former son-in-law for being a bad husband.
The complainant (whose name has not been released) alleges his daughter's ex-husband breached a contract when he failed to treat her like a princess, as he promised in his wedding vows; Dad is seeking more than $1million in damages.
In Germany, 82 year-old Dorothy Hedwig has just lost a case against the manufacturer of her microwave oven.
Dorothy had just washed her pet poodle and - look away now if you're squeamish - popped it onto the micro to dry it off.
She sued the company because it didn't provide warnings that animals placed in the machine, even for just a few minutes on on low, would die.
My personal favorite lawsuit this week is also happening in Germany, where 29 year-old Greek migrant Demetrius Soupolos is suing his neighbor for having sex with Demetrius' wife.
Not that Demetrious was jealous, mind you; in fact he instigated the coupling after discovering he's unable to have kids.
It was only after weeks of unsuccessful trying that Demetrious' neighbour, 34 year-old Frank Maus, fessed up that he'd actually had a vasectomy some years before.
Demetreus is now suing for damages, and the money he paid Frank to sleep with his wife.
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