The black swan mentioned in my previous post, Lovesick Swan, has turned out to be a female.

The love-sick black swan has been reunited with her mate after a long winter. The swan, now named Petra, fell in love with a swan-shaped paddle boat last summer but because the boat was put in for the winter, she has had to wait months of lonely winter nights to see her love again.

The paddle boat was put back into the lake and Petra quickly rejoined her love. Swans mate for life and Petra has chosen her strong, silent partner. This looks like a love that will last.

In a world where nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, a story about a couple in Maine who are celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary is rare enough to make news.

Kathleen and Waldo Tarbell were married on April 9, 1927 in Calais, Maine. Waldo worked for the railroad and Kathleen worked in a factory, packing sardines. Waldo made 37 cents an hour and Kathleen got 25 cents for every 100-can case of sardines she packed. Life wasn’t easy, but together they managed to raise two kids and stay together.

Today they have multiple grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Family members and friends across the generations will attend the party that will be held in the couple’s large room at the Oceanview Nursing Home.

Former Pembroke couple to celebrate 80 years of marriage The Bangor Daily News

Ever since the sixties, there have been couples who have entered into wedlock in strange settings. Sky diving, underwater, Las Vegas, Portmeirion (where the BBC filmed The Prisoner series), you name it, it’s been done.

Or has it? Matt Dodd and Ashley Hegseth tied the knot at Big Sky Resort, Montana. Nothing unusual about that, except that Matt was skiing and Ashley snowboarding as the minister, Rev. Mike Boucher, schussed backwards in front of them and took them through their vows. Since everything went off okay, one must presume that there were no accidents involving trees or unexpected precipices to interrupt the ceremony.

Of course, we all know that marriage can be a bit of a slalom ride at times, so it may be a fitting place to start. One hopes that it’s not all downhill from there, however…

The full story can be read at WTLV dot com News.

Men in Buffalo NY are being warned to be on the lookout for a woman who may try to hug them. According to police, it isn’t their charm that is winning her over.

Seems a woman in Buffalo is hanging around outside bars in the wee hours. When male patrons come out tipsy, she approaches them, chats with them and then hugs them. But it isn’t the start of a great relationship. While she’s hugging them, she’s actually lifting their wallets.

Police think they know who’s pulling off the hug-and-mug jobs and are seeking a 48-year-old-woman with a long police record.

Police warn of the ‘Hugging Bandit’