Offbeat:

There was an old couple who lived in a shoe ““ or
boot

HELLAM, Pa. ““ Along a two-lane country road, the scenery
offers up the architecturally impossible, or so it would seem
““ a 25-foot-tall beige stucco replica of a man’s work
boot worthy of Paul Bunyan.

Until recently, an elderly woman even owned the place. She
didn’t actually live in the shoe, although its three
bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and living room make it livable
enough.

For the past eight years, 77-year-old Ruth Miller was the tour
guide for curious motorists who stopped by the Haines Shoe House on
Shoe House Road, just a few miles east of the city of York.

But Miller and her 75-year-old husband, Charles, decided in June
to put the house up for sale (asking $129,000) because they wanted
to spend a few years traveling and wouldn’t be able to manage
the house at the same time. They were the attraction’s only
employees.

The house was conceived by Mahlon N. Haines, an Old Washington,
Ohio, native who moved to York County in his early 20s and founded
the Haines Shoe Co. At its height, the company had more than 40
stores in central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

Stolen Mr. Potato Head statue found after multi-day
ordeal

NEWPORT, R.I. ““ Mr. Potato Head was a little mashed and
chipped but otherwise in tater-top shape when he returned home
after being whisked away from his cushy estate.

Police said someone found the spud statue in a field. It was
returned to owner James Leach over the weekend.

“Although he was ripped and mashed a little bit, he is
expected to make a full recovery and soon be on display,”
said Sgt. James Quinn.

The 6-foot-tall, 150-pound statue was stolen Friday from the
driveway of a private estate. James Leach called police when an
alarm went off.

The statue was situated within the gates of the 17-acre Malbone
Estate. The gates were open at the time, Leach said.

In 2000, the Rhode Island Tourism Division introduced the Mr.
Potato Head figures to promote the state as a family tourist
destination. After the advertising campaign, several of the statues
were auctioned, with proceeds benefiting charity.

The stolen statue of the popular children’s toy figure was
originally located in the statehouse and clad in a colonial-era
uniform.

Leach purchased the potato as a birthday gift for his son.

CNN’s Tucker Carlson angry over phone
flap

WASHINGTON ““ Conservative CNN commentator Tucker
Carlson’s snide humor backfired on him ““ and his wife.
While defending telemarketers during a segment on
“Crossfire” last week, the bow-tied co-host was asked
for his home phone number. Carlson gave out a number, but it was
for the Washington bureau of Fox News, CNN’s bitter
rival.

The bureau was deluged with calls. To get back at him, Fox
posted Carlson’s unlisted home number on its Web site. After
his wife was inundated with obscene calls, Carlson went to the Fox
News bureau to complain. He was told the number would be taken off
the Web site if he apologized on the air. He did, but that
didn’t end the anger.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Carlson called Fox
News “a mean, sick group of people.”

Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti said Carlson got what he
deserved. “CNN threw the first punch here. Correcting this
mistake was good journalism.”

Cool weather prompts State Dept. to issue mouse
alert

WASHINGTON ““ As if the State Department did not have
enough to worry about with Iran, Iraq and the French, the onset of
cooler weather in the capital has prompted a mouse alarm.

The department issued a warning Monday in its main building,
saying that “increasing numbers of mice and their larger
cousins” were set to launch their annual search for warm
lodging and food.

Unfortunately, the notice added, ongoing renovations in some
areas of the building provide convenient pathways for rodents.

The department’s thousands of employees were told not to
leave food around their desks, to pick up any dropped crumbs and to
reduce clutter.

Supervisors were singled out for an admonition to make sure
custodial workers are able to get into secure areas to remove
trash.

Mouse sightings or questions about the pest management program
should be directed to the facility management service desk, the
warning advised.

Lost walrus visits Norway beach, becomes
attraction

OSLO, Norway ““ A giant walrus has been delighting
residents of the Norwegian capital during a rare visit as he lolls
around on a sandy beach that is, for him, the sunny south.

“It’s very rare,” University of Oslo marine
biology professor Asbjoern Voellestad said of the visit. He knew of
only one other such event in the last 15 or 20 years.

“He’s definitely lost,” he said, adding the
mammal likely got separated from his herd and wandered off.

Witnesses said the animal appeared to be at least 6 1/2 feet
long. Walruses can grow as long as 9 1/2 feet.

The bewildered walrus swam all the way up the fjord, some 60
miles from the open ocean. And the swim home would mean at least a
2,200-mile trek, as he would have to round Norway’s southern
tip before heading north.

On Sunday, the walrus became an unwitting tourist attraction as
it rested on Fornebu beach on the outskirts of Oslo. It seemed
relaxed about people approaching, lifting its head and rolling from
one side to the other. Mussels that make the bulk of a
walrus’ diet are plentiful in the fjord, so he’s not
expected to go hungry.

On land, walruses are slow because of their girth, but in the
water, they are fast swimmers.

Since walruses are highly social animals, Voellestad said
loneliness will probably force the animal to resume the search for
his herd.

Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.