Texans Chip in to Rescue Stranded Chicken-Hypnotist

Reuters ^ | Fri Jun 28, 9:19 AM ET | Reuters

[vannrox]

Texans Chip in to Rescue Stranded Chicken-Hypnotist

Texans Chip in to Rescue Stranded Chicken-Hypnotist
Fri Jun 28, 9:19 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - The plight of an Alaskan chicken-hypnotist whose circus tour was cut short in Edinburgh when a charity shop sold her bicycle by mistake has tweaked heartstrings as far afield as Austin, Texas.

Emily Harris left the 1,200-pound ($1,800) bicycle inside the shop this week and found it was missing after she came out of a fitting room. A shop assistant had sold it for 10 pounds.

Now a group of Austin engineers, who read about her loss on the Internet ( news - external web site), have raised $525 to help the 25-year-old from Palmer, Alaska, buy a new bicycle and resume her tour.

"There's been tons of layoffs here, Austin's been hit pretty hard with the technology sector, so we're just looking to do something to cheer ourselves up," software engineer Lawrence Hartley, who started the impromptu fundraising, told Reuters.

Hartley said he and his friends had identified with Harris after reading that her star act consisted of hypnotizing chickens and making them play the piano.

"We're all pretty much not quite normal. We identify more with a chicken-hypnotist than with the normal world," he said.

He and his friends have unusual hobbies of their own. One is building a submarine in his garage and several others practice "geo-caching," a form of treasure-hunting using satellite communications systems.

Harris was thrilled to hear of their efforts on her behalf and said $500 was enough for her to purchase a new bicycle and join her troupe for the rest of their tour of Britain.

[basil]

I'm so glad to see that you saw this! When I first read the headline, I thought it was referring to FR's own TexasChip!--It really caused me to do a double take!

Don't see you around the board very often these days. Hope all is well at your house.

[Calvin Coolidge]

If this is such a small town, why don't they track down the person who bought an $1800 bicycle for only 10 pounds, and fire the idiot clerk who agreed to the exchange?

Someone made a pretty sweet deal. But the transaction can't be legal, since the seller didn't have title to the property. Rather than raising money, they should be finding the bicycle and returning it to its owner.

[Tennessee_Bob]

There are 952 geocaches within a 100 mile radius of your zip code. There's one only 5 miles northeast of you right now.

http://www.geocaching.com/map/PA.asp?lat=40.45&lon=-75.35

I forgot the coding to make that a link - but it'll take you to a map of your state with the current caches. You're surrounded by nerds.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

You're surrounded by nerds.

You needed my zip code to tell me that??????? lol

[Tennessee_Bob]

Nah - I needed your zip code to get your lat and lon. Could you have told me that? :)

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Sure I could have - my husband has a GPS...couldn't he get it from that?

[Tennessee_Bob]

Well, sure he could - but then, you'd look awful nerd like with that information.

If he's got a GPS, have him go to http://www.geocaching.com and check it out. It's a lot of fun, and a great way to get outside and hike around.

[JRandomFreeper]

Sure I could have - my husband has a GPS..

The defense rests.

LOL! You ARE surrounded by nerds.

/john

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Please don't tell him of any additional nerd activities - his plate is pretty full........ lol........

[MozartLover]

LOL! Great minds, etc.:)

[Tennessee_Bob]

What was his FR name again???

[MissAmericanPie]

I bet it's hard to peck out a living that way.

[Washington-Husky]

The pay's lousy, too.... all they pay is chicken feed.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

You are right......they're everywhere! lol

[JRandomFreeper]

Guilty as charged. Just ask Snowtrill. LOL! I don't have a GPS receiver, though. I borrowed one and wrote the BMA on the garage wall.

/john