Thoughts Late On A Thursday Night

Item:-- Sir Edmund Hillary, who gained worldwide fame after he and guide Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died after suffering a heart attack. He continued exploring -- reaching the South Pole by tractor in 1958, joining the first group to climb Antarctica's Mt. Herschel in 1967 and boating east Himalayan rivers and the Ganges. Prime Minister Helen Clark paid tribute to Hillary, describing him as the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities," Clark said. "He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility and generosity."

Item:-- Wilson, Kansas. A small-town police chief was fired this week after he was convicted of stealing beer from the fire department's refrigerator. Brian Hill was arrested August 1 after a surveillance tape showed him taking the beer. Authorities did not disclose why it was in the fire department. The two departments share a building, and the door separating the offices usually was unlocked, officials said.

Item--Des Moines, Iowa. After finding alcohol in her son's car, Jane Hambleton decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone — by placing an ad in the local newspaper. The ad reads: "Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. Call meanest mom on the planet." Hambleton has fielded more than 70 telephone calls from emergency room technicians, nurses and school counselors.