Sometimes you can get away with pouring Drano down your sink to clear those clogs. But if not, the only other option for me is to call a plumber. (And why are the prices so outrageous?)

Well, I remember talking story with a plumber who came to my apartment last year to fix my bathroom sink. A bit off topic here, but are you supposed to keep the worker “company” while they do the job? I figured it would be weird to watch TV or busy myself doing something else and it’s probably better to keep an eye on the guy. Plus, talking to him about the drainage problem might help me “learn” more about the situation and what not to do in the future. Not that I would ever attempt to fiddle with the pipes to fix the problem myself…

Back to the story. So this plumber was telling me about all the ODD things he has found in people’s tub drains. Jewelry, gadgets and even underwear! I couldn’t get over the underwear recovery! How do you lose your panties in the tub when usually you shower without them??

Well, this next real-life story found something even more incredible within the pipes…

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Plumbing service rescues kitty from drainage pipe
Associated Press

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — It was Roto-Rooter to the rescue for an unlucky black kitten that got stuck in an outdoor drainage pipe near Cleveland.

The plumbing and drain service was called in Friday by workers at an Ohio firm. Someone spotted the kitten down an outside pipe, but other agencies either declined to help or didn’t answer their phones.

Enter Roto-Rooter.

A crew used a drain snake equipped with a remote camera to keep the scared kitty in its sights. It took six hours to rescue the cat.

The kitten was examined by a vet and then taken home by Larry Ozanick, one of the rescuers.

He says he plans to name the kitten “Roto.”

Information from: WKYC-TV, www.wkyc.com

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So what items have you lost in a drain? Did you ever recover them?

I wear disposable contact lens and on several occasions I lost them in the sink. I didn’t stick my fingers down the drain trying to find them even though these things are not cheap!

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And here’s another story of an incredible find, this one reported on UPI:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — A 9-year-old Texas boy said he was simply walking along a path at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas when he found a 2.75 carat diamond.

Matthew Smith of University Park, Texas, was at the park with his family when the shiny stone caught his eye, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.

The boy’s mother, Suzanne Smith, said she thought the stone was just a rock when her son stumbled across it. She said her son learned the stone was a 2.75-carat diamond when they had it examined.

“We were in shock. His mouth dropped open,” Suzanne Smith said.

The lucky fourth-grader said he and his parents haven’t agreed on how to handle the finding.

“I’m thinking I’ll keep it,” he said. “My dad, he’s a stockbroker, and he wants me to sell it and get stocks.”

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What was one of the best finds in your life, whether materialistic or something of a more valuable nature? A collector’s item or maybe an important family document? An animal in need of help or perhaps your soulmate?

Childhood possessions. Jewelry from old sweethearts. Photos before the days of digital cameras.

Some folks lovingly hold on to such items as they journey into adulthood. But as we accumulate more items over the years, where do you draw the line between becoming a pack rat and cherishing memories?

Do you keep that “perfect attendance” certificate from the fifth grade? How about that trophy from your days in the band?

Or ever imagine something of yours turning up 50 years later that was found by a stranger?

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Woman gets back ring she lost in lake in 1954
Associated Press

LUDINGTON, Mich. — A woman who lost her class ring in Lake Michigan in 1954 has it back, thanks to a metal-detector hobbyist.

Robert Savage told the Ludington Daily News for a story Saturday that he found the ring about 12 years ago but only recently began looking for its owner.

He did a bit of detective work by looking at the initials and the year on the ring. He found a Ludington High yearbook for 1955 and found that Jan Pedersen was the only person in the class with the right initials.

Now Jan Zacharda, she says she had forgotten about the ring she lost at Ludington State Park. And she’s even more puzzled that Savage found it in a lake about a dozen miles away.

Zacharda now wears the ring on her index finger, where it fits better.
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Ever lose something that miraculously turned up years later? Or ever find something that you barely remember why you kept in the first place?

How do you decide when to toss out possessions from years past? Are there some items that you absolutely have to keep — whether to display, store or to show your great-grandkids?

Ahh, our pets. Our pride and joy for some. Especially the smart ones that can find their way home. By verbally telling a stranger!

I’ll admit… I don’t know much about parrots but can’t most parrots learn to repeat things? Or is that just easier said than done?

So what amazing things can your pet do? Any smart-pet tricks you want to show off about?

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Lost parrot returned to owners after reciting name, address
Associated Press

TOKYO — When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.

Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor’s roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.

Yosuke the parrot gets to rest today in his cage at home in Nagareyama in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, after he went missing for two weeks. When the African grey parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help. (Associated Press)

He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.

“I’m Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

“We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we’ve found Yosuke,” Uemura said.

The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.

But Yosuke apparently wasn’t keen on opening up to police officials.

“I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” Uemura said.

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And since we’re on the animal theme, here’s another story. Can you imagine getting your hair cut when a deer comes crashing into the salon? And if it scares your hairdresser, let’s just hope she doesn’t have the scissors or razor nearby! Oops…

I guess this is unlikely to happen if you live in Honolulu… though I am a bit curious to see someone jump onto a deer and choke it to hold it down… That’s one brave man.

Dad wrestles with deer after it crashes into salon
Associated Press

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. — A disoriented deer smashed his way into a suburban hair salon, and a customer wrestled with the animal to keep it from ramming into his 11-year-old son or other youngsters.

“I’m a father. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to those kids,” Randy Goepfert said after Tuesday’s confrontation.

Three hairdressers and several parents and children were in the Holiday Hair salon at a strip mall in this Philadelphia suburb when the white-tail buck crashed through the glass door. Goepfert was paying for his son Tyler’s haircut.

The deer “was charging right at my son, so I decked him,” Goepfert said. He grabbed the buck by the neck and slammed it to the floor, then climbed on top and began choking it, hoping to keep the animal at bay until authorities arrived.

But the deer broke loose. Goepfert finally chased it into a back room and barricaded the door with chairs.

Police and a state Game Commission officer later tranquilized the deer, but it had a broken jaw and cuts on its neck and had to be euthanized, officials said.

Glen Campbell, a wildlife conservation officer, said the deer was likely frightened and disoriented.

“They have a very, very primeval flight response,” Campbell said. “If they get scared, they don’t think, they just try to get away.”

Goepfert recalled that the deer kicked him several times and broke loose as they wrestled on the floor. “I weigh 225 pounds and he threw me right off,” he said.

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Since it really does seem like wacky animal week, I’m adding one more story in.

Is it right to jail animals for attacking people? Or should the owners be held responsible? As the story below indicates, both ended up facing the consequences.

Mexican donkey released after being jailed for assault
Associated Press

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico — A Mexican donkey has been freed from jail after doing time for acting like a jackass.

The Televisa network on Wednesday showed “Blacky” gobbling food from a bucket after spending three days in a jail that normally holds people for public drunkenness and other disturbances.

Blacky was jailed for biting and kicking two men near a ranch outside Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas state.

Officials freed the donkey after its owner paid a fine of $36 and the $115 hospital bill of the men, who suffered bites to the chest and a broken ankle. Authorities say he also must pay $480 to each man for missed work days.