Christmas Grinch Gets Caught in Chimney
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Santa's not gonna be sliding down this chimney come Christmas Eve!
Firemen didn't have to rescue the Grinch from the chimneys of Whoville — but Jeremy Brownrigg needed them to yank him out of the pipe atop the J&E Barbecue in Skiatook, Okla., after a Christmas crime attempt went wild, according to local KTUL NewsChannel 8.
"It's almost impossible to tell the story without laughing," Skiatook Fire Captain Bob Nail told NewsChannel 8.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The barbecue Grinch was stuck in the restaurant's chimney for over eight hours, rescuers said.
"They said the neighbor heard someone hollering 'help me, help me' in the chimney," restaurant owner Eddie Hamlin told NewsChannel 8.
Firefighters said they'd never seen a holiday save quite like Brownrigg's.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He had lowered himself down, his hands were over his head, so the three of us reached down and pulled him up," Rick Postier told the news channel. "So, sheer physical force, it was pretty greasy. He slid through the pipe."
The barbecue Grinch allegedly told police a lone gunman had made him shimmy down the vent pipe and open the front door for him — after rescuers had finally popped him out.
Needless to say, the authorities were dubious, and Brownrigg faces charges of attempted burglary.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But there may be a little holiday forgiveness for the BBQ Grinch. Hamlin said he's spoken over the phone with Brownrigg and may want the complaint dismissed.
"I want to visit with him in person," Hamlin told NewsChannel 8. "And, you know it's Christmas and I think he's a very good kid. He was just drinking and did something he regrets."
Hamlin said he's had some good laughs over the stunt with his pals — and has even mulled turning the incident into a promotional idea.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We're thinking about making T-shirts that say 'What people won't do for J&E Barbecue,'" Hamlin told the news channel.
— Thanks to Out There reader Carl K.
I Want to Wish You a Mary Christmas
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That's right, somebody had to do it.
Classmates giggle with glee at roll call, restaurant hosts chuckle and ask if they're the subject of a holiday prank — all reacting to Gainesville, Ga., girl Mary Christmas, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"It hits people differently, and they can't believe it," 29-year-old Mary Theresa Christmas told the Journal-Constitution. "I'm waiting for Oprah to call."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Christmas told the paper that just this shopping season alone, clerks have gawked at her credit card signature with a jolly holiday twinkle in their eyes — calling co-workers over to gape at it for themselves.
"I can't get irritated," Christmas, who teaches English as a second language, told the paper. "Even though they are one in a line of thousands, they don't know that, so I let them have their fun."
— Thanks to Out There reader Kris P.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Griswold Family Christmas Hits It Big
A Deerfield Township, Ohio, man who covered his house with 25,000 Christmas lights rigged to dance to holiday music is now having his creation aired in a beer commercial.
As earlier reported in Out There, local police asked Carson Williams to pull the plug on the crazy dancing lights after a car accident was caused by snarled traffic from gawkers outside his house.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Williams had spent nearly two months hooking up the 25,000 lights and programming them to dance, and hundreds of cars would drive by his house north of Cincinnati every night to see the display, which also is posted online.
Williams' wild, dancing light display was featured in a Miller Lite beer commercial that debuted Monday on ESPN, according to Cox News Service.
Miller Brewing Co. representatives filmed the dazzling light show earlier this month for the ad.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}— Thanks to Out There reader Casey D.
— Click in the photo box above to see a picture of the Griswold family Christmas.
I Will Be a Good Banana Boy, I Will Be a Good Banana Boy
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HUDSON FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Banana Boy and the rest of his bunch have apparently found a new superpower: escaping community service.
The local television character, who goes by the name Chris Phelps when he's not donning a large yellow banana crime-fighting costume, and two others pleaded guilty last week to staging a fake brawl on a busy street.
They were sentenced to 40 hours of community service. But after a community uproar, a judge on Tuesday allowed Phelps, 20, his brother Jonathan and friend Luke Van Scoy to rescind their guilty pleas.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Instead, each will be required to write a 1,000-word essay about the case and its legalities.
"They all like to write, so an essay won't be a big deal," Dick Phelps, Chris and Jonathan's father, told the Glens Falls Post-Star.
The trio was arrested at gunpoint Dec. 8 on disorderly conduct charges when police mistook their skit for a real-life knife fight. The skit was being filmed for their TV show "The Ravacon," which chronicles the adventures of Banana Boy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's Nasty Work, but Somebody's Gotta Do It
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — The Cajundome is seeking volunteers to flush more than 200 toilets in the arena.
About 70 volunteers are needed to participate in the "Great Cajundome Flushoff" set for Dec. 27.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Cajundome and Convention Center served as a refugee center for hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Bathroom use by thousands of evacuees for weeks took a toll on the arena's plumbing system.
"We don't know what ended up in the [sewer] system," Cajundome Director Greg Davis said.
Operations manager Phil Ashurst said officials have already found pieces of brick wrapped in a towel, a T-shirt and diapers in the pipes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied a request to inspect the sewer system with a camera, Davis said. So to test the plumbing before holding an event in January, a minimum of 70 volunteers are needed to spend 15 to 20 minutes flushing toilet paper down 220 or so toilets and testing urinals, he said.
"We can't afford to find out we have a problem at a sold-out concert," Davis said.
— Thanks to Out There reader Kevin H.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And a Very Merry Winter Holiday to You!
GREENCASTLE, Ind. (AP) — Christmas and Good Friday are going back on the city's calendar after vocal opposition to a City Council decision to adopt generic holiday names.
Nearly 200 people — many singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" — filled the council's chambers before a 4-0 vote to reverse the policy after less than a week on the books.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I believe this was political correctness run amok," Councilman Mark Hammer, who was absent for last week's original vote, said during Monday's meeting. "When we use the terms 'winter holiday' and 'spring holiday,' we're not being inclusive, we're being exclusive."
The council's initial 4-0 vote to change the name of the employee holidays caused an outcry in the community of 10,000 people about 40 miles west of Indianapolis.
Council members said they received many telephone calls, e-mails and letters from residents who were upset about their decision.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am so sorry," Councilman John Lanie said. "I want to show tolerance. [But] renaming the holidays is not the answer."
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Andrew Hard.
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