Richard Pryor + Kangaroos

Comedian, Richard Pryor died this weekend, finally succumbing to a heart attack. He had lef the public eye because he suffered from MS that he was diagnosed with in 1986. He was 65. Born in Peoria as the son of a pimp and a prostitute. He was raised in a very abusive household. His grandmother (who he mentioned in his bits as having highly accurate pumps) raised him until he dropped out of highschool in 8th grade. He joined the Army and when he was kicked out, he went to work in the nightclubs. He was very crude, raw, and profane but he was also truthful. He was among the first to joke about race, liberally sprinkling his performances with that word that white people still can't use (N*****). It was noted in one of the public rememberances to him that Richard would have milked the absurdity for all it was worth: Nearly everything the comedian ever said that makes him worthy of an outpouring of major obituaries cannot be quoted in those eulogies. He also had personal problems in his life which he richly mined for material. He had problems with drugs, alcohol, violence, paranoia,(which caused problems when he brought a gun into work), and women. He was married 6 times to 5 women. And in 1980, he was almost killed when he set himself on fire. There are two stories that were told about the incident. Originally, it was thought that he had been free basing and it exploded, but he later admitted that it was a suicide attempt. He doused himself in cognac and set himself on fire. With the way his life was going in the 80s, it was a common thought that he would be leaving early. MS may have actually saved his life before it killed him. He was honored in 1998 with the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Comedy. He is survived by his wife and seven children.

Wisconsin is not in Australia. Their climates are not even close and yet they seem to be having an unusual kangaroo problem. A 150 lb. male red kangaroo was found hopping around the woods around Dodgeville in January. After capturing it and doing a two month search, he was placed in a zoo in Madison. Then, this last Saturday, a truck driver hit a 50 pound 'roo near Mauston. There had been no prior sightings so they have no idea where it came from. The driver has asked for the body so he can have it stuffed in order to have proof for hus story.