Possumblog

Perpetuating the Stereotype, Pigs (and Possums) Aloft Edition

Our sharp-eyed legal-eagle Mississippi correspondent Kathy S. sends along an intriguing article for those of us with a fascination for the vulgar class: Man Fined for Tossing Pig at Hotel

WEST POINT, Miss. Dec 6, 2006 (AP)— When pigs fly, indeed. Kevin Pugh, 20, of Cedar Bluff, has been fined $279 for tossing a pig over the counter at the Holiday Inn Express in West Point on Nov. 12. Pugh pleaded guilty Tuesday in city court to a charge of disturbing the peace.

HEY! Just exactly when did pig-flinging at the Holiday Inn Express start being considered disturbing the peace!?

It gets more interesting--

West Point Police Lt. Danny McCaskill has said Pugh didn't know the employees of the hotel. There was no evidence intoxication was a factor.

That right there might be the biggest shock of the whole thing.

No one was hurt, including the pig, officers said.

"This was the silliest thing I've ever seen," McCaskill said. "Almost every officer we had was involved because the incidents kept happening at different hours."

Well, hey--you try scheduling an animal-flinging where you can do them all at one time! It's not that easy, my friend. Or, at least, that's what I hear.

McCaskill said Pugh was accused of walking into the hotel and throwing the 60-pound pig over the counter.

"He said it was a prank," McCaskill said. "It must be some redneck thing, because I haven't ever heard of anything like it."

Yet another one for the estimable Mr. Foxworthy--"You might be a redneck if even a police lieutenant in West Point, Mississippi calls you a redneck!"

McCaskill said there have been four late-night incidents involving animal-tossing at West Point businesses. Twice a pig was tossed and two of the incidents involved possums.

All four of the disturbances took place between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., McCaskill said.

Pugh is accused in a second animal-throwing incident at a Hardee's restaurant. He has pleaded innocent to disturbing the peace in that case and will appear in city court on Dec. 19.

Okay, it was all fun and games until you got the ugly marsupials involved, bub!

As for the possum-toss, this article in the Northeast Mississippe Daily Journal from back in November goes into a bit more detail:

[...] Hardee's was first hit by a prankster Aug. 2 when he placed a small pig inside the restaurant about 4 a.m., the police report said.

The next incident was reported Sept. 28 when an opossum was placed inside Hardee's about 2:30 a.m.

Aug. 4, another 'possum was dropped over the Holiday Inn Express desk. [...]

My only comment is that it's probably better than having to be on a plane where a woman lit a match to cover up a bout of butt-thunder. The best part of the whole thing is the last paragraph of this article, which was written by Mississippi State student Amanda Harris:

[...] Three of the four animals thrown over counters were recovered by police and were not harmed. The pig used in the most recent incident was last seen running down U.S. Highway 45 Alternate toward Starkville where the Arkansas Razorbacks will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs today.

Football--no more than one degree of separation from any story about any topic...

Posted by Terry Oglesby at December 7, 2006 11:15 AM