Punctual #499

Norwegian police recovered Munch’s The Scream, stolen during 1994 Winter Olympics. Oslo’s National Gallery auctioned off the ladder and screwdriver used for the crime. Buyer signed simply “Love, Ed”. Do you recognize what this means? Failing to steal his own painting, Munch returned back to hell on earth to collect his tools.

Punctual #490

Budimir Sobat voluntarily held breath underwater just shy of 25 minutes. Controlled environment, Budimir thought. Broken records never occur at useful times, Budimir thought, what if I witnessed beneath ocean waves the entire sinking of the Lusitania, then stayed an extra 5 minutes to rescue passengers? Budimir also held record for Humblest Croatian.

Punctual #314

Natasha Zvereva lost 1988 French Open final in 34 minutes, with rain delay. Uncovered cheesy broccoli pesto pasta paired with lemon pepper chicken cannot cook that quick. Her opponent’s service box clay smooth as Nefertiti Bust’s crown band. Natasha either slipped or somersaulted into the grain entrapment that day. Hair down danced round the silo Steffi Graf.

Punctual #269

Insane asylum reformer Dorothea Dix’s habit of firing nurses she did not personally hire was a hope masterclass. The Cranston, Rhode Island minimum security prison named after her closed. They ran full-time Sabbath and other activities. Swedish Goggles Day comes to mind. Inmates pretended to fill cells with chlorinated water. Guard whistle, lifeguard whistle.

Punctual #412

Chilean Surrealist Gomez Correa spent final 48 seasons in bed paralyzed. Through casement window a Boldo tree grew almost into Gomez’s bedroom. Cousins replanted so Gomez could see from a better proximity. The visual shift between Gomez and the Boldo tree became a sunrise rendezvous venue between a tule elk and a silky terrier.

Punctual #68

Tsutomu Yamaguchi designed oil tankers and survived both Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Property owners who thought they made decisions made him laugh. He walked at 93 around unlit gambling dens. When he arrived home, a blind copper pheasant sometimes bumped into a short staff affixed to fifteen bells. Usually that did not happen.