Thursday, April 15, 2010

Death and taxes...

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin believed those two things to be the only certainties in life. To those I would like to add "The person you are badmouthing is standing behind you." It may lack pith but is still true. Not that I've had any experience with it. None at all...

Anyway, today I will be focusing on the latter of Franklin's two certainties since today is Tax Day. Standing in line this morning at the post office, I noticed one twenty-something guy was furiously scribbling on an envelope. I couldn't imagine what inspired such intense focus until I caught a glimpse of the address - State Tax Bureau.

Good luck with that one, buddy.

In a self-generated stimulus package, some businesses across the US are taking advantage of the populace's general frustration by offering tax day freebies. CNN notes Cinnabun is giving away two mini-cupcakes, Starbucks is offering gratis brewed coffee to those who bring their own mug, and McCormick & Schmick's is offering dinner and a drink at the bar for $10.40.

Some people may feel like the only way to pay what they owe on their taxes is to rob a bank. While no one is disclosing what drove Victor Anthony Fernandes to make just such an attempt, Pulitzer-prizing winning photographer Kim Komenich is being called a hero for foiling Fernandes this past Monday. When he heard the suspect ask for the teller's money, Komenich sprung into action, bear-hugging Fernandes and pinning his arms in his pockets, according to USAToday.

In an update to one of the stories I posted last week, the Today Show has tracked down the mysterious Frenchman who helped pull two year-old Bridget Sheridan out of the Hudson River. Julien Duret, a 29 year-old tourist from Lyon, France, told the New York Daily News he doesn't think he's a hero and anyone else would have done the same thing. While little Bridget will someday succumb to taxes, it appears we finally know who helped her cheat the other of Franklin's certainties.

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