In my March column, I supplied you all but the three finalists of the 2012 Stella awards. To refresh your memory, the Stella Awards are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico, where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy. Enjoy!
THIRD PLACE: Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
Only two more so ease up on the scratching...
SECOND PLACE: Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.
Ok. Here we go!!
FIRST PLACE: This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down? $1,750,000 PLUS a new motorhome. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.
Do you think the USA court system is out of control?
I also promised to continue with the 50 things to let go of before your next birthday by marcandangel.com. I'm really working on these. Here are 21-30.
21. Let go of your mistakes. - Don't carry your mistakes around with you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones.
22. Let go of letting your daily struggles get the best of you. - Hard times often lead to greatness. Keep the faith. It will be worth it in the end. The beginnings to great things are always the hardest.
23. Let go of excessive worrying. Worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace and potential. Stop over-thinking. Life is too short.
24. Let go of wanting stuff you don't need. Don't think of cost. Think of value. And remember, it's always easier to find wealth by needing less, instead of making more.
25. Let go of your ungrateful thoughts. Happiness never comes to those who don't appreciate what they have. So be thankful today. Life isn't perfect, it's just pretty darn good.
26. Let go of all your reasons to be unhappy. Stop looking for reasons to be unhappy. Focus on the things you do have and the reasons you should be happy. Positivity changes everything. (Read Buddha's Brain.)
27. Let go of any hypocrisy. For instance, don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.
28. Let go of assuming other people are more "normal" than you. The only normal people you know are the ones you don't know very well. Period.
29. Let go of the emotions that often get the best of you. Stay strong. Even when it feels like things are falling apart, they're not. Take control of your emotions before they take control of you.
30. Let go of your temper. Never do something permanently foolish just because you are temporarily upset.
Facebook saying of the week: Your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does. Wow, if only people would step back and implement this in their day-to-day lives.
That's just me.let me know what you think!!
