Odds and Ends

DuBOIS, Pa. - Ralph Bonebreak was born to be wild - in 1910.

The 94-year-old man recently got his first tattoo at the Tainted Flesh Tattoo and Piercing Studio in his hometown. Bonebreak emerged from under the needle with a locomotive on his right arm and an eagle on his left.

"Tattooing an older person is a bit more difficult because their skin is different and sometimes it comes away from the muscle a little," said Bob MacCready, a tattoo artist at Tainted Flesh.

A lot of men who went into the military got tattoos, but Bonebreak's 38-year career with the railroad kept him out of the service, said his friend, Eve Camuso.

"He's always wanted a tattoo, but back then the only place you could get one was at the county fair," Camuso said this week. "They weren't very clean."

Bonebreak selected a train to commemorate his time with the railroad. A belt buckle inspired his eagle design.

Bonebreak might have been nervous, but he didn't show it when he hopped in the chair.

"It's a new experience so I'd say I was a little anxious," Bonebreak said.

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SALLISAW, Okla. - Talk about your killer weed.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers found 610 pounds of marijuana hidden in caskets being hauled in a truck stopped near this eastern Oklahoma town.

The driver, Timothy G. Hynd, 26, and his passenger, Robert Dean Harper, told a trooper they were working for a Tucson, Ariz., casket company and their destination was Atlanta. They were pulled over early Friday for going 6 mph over the speed limit.

The marijuana was found after troopers were given permission to search the truck.

Hynd and Harper were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and were freed on bond Monday. Both men said they had no idea there was marijuana in their cargo.

"Hynd is 26 and has never been in any kind of trouble," said his attorney, Donn Baker. "He was just delivering caskets for a living. He didn't check inside the caskets for drugs - would you?"

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MINNEAPOLIS - A prosperous businessman didn't think he was entitled to his 2004 Social Security payments, so he became an early Santa Claus for the Salvation Army.

Last week, the man dropped a check for $14,845 into a bell ringer's red kettle outside a bookstore in downtown Minneapolis.

On Friday the man, who declined to be identified, released a written statement through Salvation Army spokeswoman Annette Bauer, who had sought out the man for an explanation.

He said he will receive $20,295 in Social Security payments in 2004 and didn't really need it because "I have considerable income now and should continue to have considerable income if I ever do retire."

He considered sending the checks back to the government, but hit on a better solution. He deducted the amount of Social Security taxes he will pay this year, $5,450, from the total and came out with the $14,845.

He noted the donation was tax deductible, adding, "Undoubtedly, the Salvation Army will make more productive use of the money than would be the case if I returned it to the government."

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NASHUA, N.H. - A 71-year-old man who was separated from his dog during a traffic accident two weeks ago has been reunited with the tiny rat terrier.

"He went berserk. He jumped on us and was crying - you know how they kind of cry - and just went crazy," said William Baker of his good friend Didas.

Didas escaped from Baker's car after the accident in Amherst two weeks ago. The 4 1/2-year-old terrier raced off while Baker was being treated.

Distraught family members had returned to the area daily to look for him.

"We kept going. My son and I were out the other day, and my daughter went out just about every night," said Baker, who wasn't harmed in the accident.

Then on Sunday night, the family received a phone message from Rod and Lynn Spencer of Merrimack, about 5 miles from the accident scene. They saw the dog in their driveway and recognized it from a picture in the newspaper.

The formerly 22-pound Didas lost about two pounds during his adventures.