Lindsay Brooke Shaferâs mermaid tail glints in the sun. It weighs 20 pounds, but she can flick it around and glide through the water effortlessly. Then, she can slide out of the rubber-coated neoprene and reveal her human legs. Wearing a mermaid tail has become second nature for the Hickory-based professional mermaid and infant swim teacher.
When Shafer was born, her parents brought her home in a blanket covered in mermaids and fish from The Little Mermaid movie.
It was the start of her mermaid obsession.
Shafer grew up playing in the water, swimming and splashing among the waves. When she got older, she took pretending to be a mermaid to the next level â dressing as one for Comic-Con, where her friend pushed her around on a box with wheels where Shafer flipped her shiny, scaled tail about. It was the start of her tail collection, about a decade ago.
Homes flooded in the Vaal, emergency services rescue those trapped Staff Reporter > By Staff Reporter - 17 January 2021 - 10:35 An Oryx helicopter airlifted an elderly couple to safety after flooding in the Loch Vaal area at the weekend. Image: Netcare911
Flooding at Loch Vaal in Vanderbijlpark at the weekend resulted in dramatic scenes as families had to evacuate with an access road becoming impassable.
Localised flooding had occurred after heavy rains over recent days, with a report of 80mm falling in an hour late last week.
The police Waterwing and K9 units as well as rescue services resulted in six people being rescued from the Rietspruit dam area after becoming trapped in their homes.
Sideswipe: January 18: Low maintenance pet
17 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
A pretend pet. Photo / Supplied For those who aren t fully ready to take care of a pet, this adorable and only mildly creepy headless robot pet will make the perfect companion, giving the solace and attention you seek, but without the commitment of picking up poop. Petit Qoobo calmly rests in your space as you go about your day-to-day life. Its tail is able to wag 80 different ways in reaction to your voice or touch if it gets startled by loud sounds it will frantically swish its tail. The robot cushion even has a little heartbeat for a sense of closeness as you keep it close to you. It is deliberately headless because its creators want you to view the pet in a way you resonate with. Some may see a cat, while others envision a dog or rabbit.
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UAH officers terminated following October traffic stop
Mom reacts to UAH officers termination By Kate Smith | January 13, 2021 at 6:00 PM CST - Updated January 14 at 2:43 PM
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Three UAH police officers are off the job following a traffic stop that sparked national attention.
The UAH police chief, a captain and an officer were all fired from the university following an October traffic stop with an 18-year old Hazel Green High School student.
“As a mom who got to see what bullying looks like behind a badge, I feel like we had won a small victory,” said Chanda Crutcher, the mother of the 18-year-old.