APPLING, Ga. - They once were a rural American staple, a necessity for daily life.
Today, outhouses are mostly gone - but not if you wander into Janie Peel's backyard. She has three.
"I can't stand to see old buildings torn down," she said.
Her favorite is an ancient two-holer with a tin roof and crude cedar posts for corners. The rusted metal on one side is peppered with shotgun pellets - just where the occupants would have been sitting.
"It has a lot of character," she said. "You have to wonder about the conversations that might have taken place in there."
ADVERTISEMENT
How about 'Blimpy'?
AKRON, Ohio - Go ahead, name that blimp.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has narrowed to 10 the list of finalists chosen from more than 21,000 names submitted online in a contest to name the next blimp. People can vote for their favorite through May 31, the company said Sunday.
The finalists are American Dream, Freedom, Liberty, Patriot, Patriot of Peace, Pride of America, Spirit of Endurance, Spirit of Ingenuity, Spirit of Innovation and The Spirit of Peace.
The winning name, based on online public voting and a panel of Goodyear representatives, will be announced in June. The person who submitted the winning name gets use of the blimp for a day.
Just in time for Father's Day
BERLIN - A former German politician living in Paraguay aims to be declared the legal father of 1,000 disadvantaged children by the end of the year in a bid to help them lead better lives.
Juergen Hass told Der Spiegel magazine he has already adopted 300 children from Paraguay, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and India.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said the children can now become German citizens and take advantage of the country's educational opportunities and generous welfare system.
According to German law, any man can be named the father of a child as long as the mother agrees and there is no acknowledged birth father.
Hass confesses he also has an ulterior motive.
The 56-year-old was sentenced to three years in prison in Germany in 1987 for fraud and that his bid is also "a personal, private revenge campaign" against his former homeland.
If there's something you want to see in The Rail, e-mail Features Editor John Lamb at jlamb@forumcomm.com
