The Odd Truth, May 9, 2005

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Joey Arak.

Bride Toast Bidder Stiffs Seller

STILLWATER, N.J. - A man who auctioned off a slice of toast carved with his drawing of the runaway bride feels burned because the winning bidder has refused to pay for the item.

Perry Lonzello, 48, of Stillwater, used a piece of toasted Wonder Bread as the canvas for his rudimentary portrait of Georgia bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks, and posted it at the online auction site eBay on a whim.

The auction debuted with a bid of $1.11 on May 1, but that amount grew quickly after the item drew national attention. And when the auction ended Sunday, Lonzello said a California man had submitted the winning bid of $15,400.

Lonzello -- who has said he planned to donate money from the auction to charity -- was prepared to hand over the toast on national television Monday, only to learn that the buyer had a change of heart.

"The purchaser reneged on the sale," Lonzello told The Star-Ledger of Newark, adding that the man was no longer returning his calls. "He said he was goofing around. I think some legal action will be coming out of this."

Support Chrysler, Or Else

KOKOMO, Ind. - Workers at two DaimlerChrysler's transmission plants better allow more time to walk in from the parking lot if they drive Fords or General Motors vehicles.

A new policy that takes effect Monday designates about 80 percent of employee parking spaces for Chrysler vehicles only and forces workers to park much further away if they drive a car or truck made by a competing manufacturer.

Workers have been told that non-Chrysler vehicles parked in the reserved areas will be towed to Indianapolis at a cost of $200.

"It is a management initiative, but we believe it has wide support from the employees," Chrysler spokesman Edward Saenz said. "It's a local decision."

Nine-year employee Bill Parks considers the new policy "a form of harassment." He drives a Pontiac, made by GM.

"I think we have other issues going on in the company besides where to park your vehicle," Parks said.

Support Bush, Or Else

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - A Baptist minister says the controversy embroiling his small North Carolina church stems from a misunderstanding.

The pastor reportedly told church members they should leave the congregation if they didn't support President Bush.

Several members who said they had been ousted attended services yesterday. And they brought lawyers.

Pastor Chan Chandler said before the service that he wouldn't preach about the controversy. He also had a lawyer at the service.

Chandler says he and his wife have received calls from around the nation since his politics in the pulpit made the news. He says some of the calls were threatening.

He says it's all a "great misunderstanding."

Mayor's Mumbling A Campaign Sore Spot

BOSTON - Boston Mayor Thomas Menino isn't afraid to joke about his own oratory skills -- or lack thereof -- but it appears his re-election campaign wants to stop his critics from beating him to the punch line.

The Menino Committee has bought the rights to many Web domain names that could be used to mock the mayor's reputation for mumbling his way through speeches. The list of names they purchased includes meninomumbles.com, mumblesmenino.org and mumblesmeninoformayor.net.

"We bought both positive and negative domain names," the mayor's campaign manager, Beth Leonard, told The Boston Globe in Monday's editions. She wouldn't elaborate.

Menino said he did not know about the purchases, but doubts his opponents would launch an attack Web site.

"I don't think they would stoop to that level," he said.

Menino has embraced the "Mumbles" nickname in recent years, referring to it in speeches.

Chicken Crosses Road, Gets Ticketed

RIDGECREST, Calif. - The cops are tough in Kern County, California, they even ticketed a jaywalking chicken. But Linc and Helena Moore are crying fowl. They own the wayward bird that was cited for impeding traffic. The Moores say they think the ticket was payback, because they've complained deputies haven't done enough to control off-road joyriders who zoom through the neighborhood on their ATVs. A sheriff's sergeant counters that chickens on the road are a continuing problem in the small, rural community. The Moores have pleaded innocent to their chicken's alleged transgression. A trial is scheduled for a week from today.

Dumb Crooks Of The Day

SALT LAKE CITY - Two brothers didn't brother to hide the stash before calling the cops. At least that's what authorities in Salt Lake County are saying. Sheriff's Sergeant Darren Carr says the brothers called authorities to report a break-in at their apartment. But the supposed crime victims are the ones who ended up behind bars. Deputies say they found a pound of pot, two pounds of psychedelic mushrooms and guns lying around in plain view. The brothers claim someone must have broken in and planted the drugs, but the deputies didn't buy it. The brothers now face felony drug and gun charges.