Odds and Ends

WEST COVINA, Calif. - Always wanted to leave a lump of coal in some Scrooge's Christmas stocking? Then Alec Nystrom has a deal for you.

The 11-year-old boy is selling lumps of coal for 50 cents each in front of his West Covina home in this suburb 20 miles east of Los Angeles. So far, he says, he's raked in about $100.

Alec got the idea after his father, Roy, told him how his parents always warned him he'd receive a lump in his Christmas stocking if he wasn't good.

Turns out his father also knows a little something about coal. He is an artist who often uses it in his work, so Alec had a ready supply to sell.

As he worked at his stand Saturday, Alec said he hopes to sell enough lumps of coal this holiday season to buy a dirt bike.

"One person actually got 20 cause they are having a Christmas party," he said.

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BANGKOK, Thailand - How much tapioca can a herd of wild elephants eat?

As much as they want to.

A tapioca delivery truck had blown a tire Sunday night, and the driver, Somkuan Sirisat, went for help. But when he returned, he found five or six elephants at his truck, devouring its contents, according to local television station ITV.

"When I came back, I saw them all surrounding my truck," he said. "I was too afraid to go toward the truck."

The elephants were caught on tape milling around the truck, one of them using its trunks to shake off a tarp it had removed from the vehicle.

Police said the incident happened in the Ta Takiab district of Chachoengsao province, 20 miles east of Bangkok.

Footage also showed signs in the area that warn drivers to be careful of wild elephants and not to feed them. Another sign read, "Beware of foraging wild elephants at night."

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ARLINGTON, Va. - Michael Wardian knew he was going places, even if only on the treadmill.

The local runner beat a rather unusual world record by more than seven minutes Saturday, running a 26.2 mile marathon on the exercise machine.

It's hard enough to run that distance out in the open, but Wardian - who qualified for the Olympic trials this year - set a time of 2:23:58. The previous record was 2:31:04, according to "The Book of Alternative Records."

Wardian, 30, said he heard about runners staying on the treadmill for 24 hours, and he wanted to add a treadmill marathon to the dozens of others he has run.

"It's difficult just because you always know where you are so you can't trick yourself," Wardian said. "You just look down and you know where you are."

The run was part of the grand-opening of a new running store in Arlington called Pacers. Owner Christopher Farley said the marathon required intense focus.

"The monotony of a treadmill - the idea that you have to stay balanced for almost two-and-a-half hours - is a lot harder," Farley said. "It really becomes claustrophobic."

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ST. LOUIS - Organizers of a Christmas tree sale supporting youth hockey programs figured that a tree or two might get swiped from their outdoor lot after-hours.

What they hadn't counted on was someone stealing more than 90 Christmas trees or the random acts of kindness that followed.

Others in the area have step forward, dropping off additional trees or donating money since last weekend's theft.

Tire tracks on a nearby field were the only clue about how the trees, worth about $3,000, were taken.

"The kids don't deserve it," said Erica Parks, the fund-raising director for the Affton Athletic Association.

She said when she first saw the bare spots on the outdoor lot, she figured the group had a few good days for sales.

But, Parks soon realized someone - clearly not adhering to the spirit of St. Nick - had taken nearly a third of the 300-tree inventory.

Proceeds from the Christmas tree sale were supposed to pay for improvements at a community ice rink, she said.

Parks said the Brentwood Optimist Club donated 15 trees from their own sale, and some area residents have made $10 or $20 donations, even if they don't want to buy a tree.

Todd Schlereth, a volunteer with the group, said he and his 8-year-old son were upset when they learned of the thefts.

He worked Thanksgiving morning to unload the trees, and he was amazed that someone had made off with so many trees, some of them 8 feet tall. Schlereth said he was pleased to learn that others in the community were still donating to the cause.

"Hopefully," he said, "that's what the Christmas spirit is all about."