Igor Beaver

Wow - this one came at me from left field. From April 16th New Yorker Magazine; "The British Invasion," about boys and girls going wild in the new party hotspot, Porec, Croatia.

In a paragraph citing "Istria as an ecological and healthy tourist destination," a local tourism employee was questioned about the thousand-strong package tour group coming his way. He was not a fan of young drunken hordes no matter how much moola they brought into his country.  His name?  Igor Beakovic.

I read it, of course, as Igor Beaver, which struck me as ironic considering his un-eager approach to mass tourism.  

Big Ass Fireplace

This came from my very own notes.  As a travel writer, I'm constantly scribbling as I tour destinations and properties.  These days, wood fireplaces are too dangerous and expensive, insurance-wise, so lodgings have started to install gas fireplaces. Some are quite large.  They are big gas fireplaces.  I just read my own notes incorrectly and cracked myself up.

Spiked Hair-ball

Today's Misreading requires a little explanation.  Last night, I woke to the sound of my cat choking up a hair-ball - a prolonged episode - with that gagging, puking sound that made me wonder where it landed and where NOT to step in the morning.

So when I turned to the Sports Section of the New York Times - front page - and read "Latest Spiked Hair-ball Lacks a Name," I was, to put it mildly, baffled.  What is a hair-ball doing on the sports page? And what, exactly, is a spiked hair-ball? A new kind of do?  A Mohawk-like hair-ball?

So, I read more carefully this time.  The Headline?  Latest Heir To Spiked Ball Lacks a Name - and is all about an heir to the end-zone spike- that age-old touchdown celebration. Now, two celebrants run towards each other, leap into the air and turn around smashing their jersey numbers together. It has nothing to do with a hair-ball, really, but have you seen the tresses on players lately??  Long locks cascade from many a helmet.  Include a helmet collision in the celebratory dance, and well, you could call it a spiked hair-ball after all.