Busy day, but I wanted to share a couple of things with you. Tucky Sancibrian sent the following yesterday and I immediately sent it to our daughter-in-law, Monika. She said she would contact her mother who lives close to the border between Namibia and Angola and also her sister who lives in Angola to see if they know of this terrifying event. Here's the news clip and note from Tucky:
Jane:
I thought of Monika when I just read this article re. Namibia and a town near there....

Residents flee Angolan village invaded by elephants
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 12:50pm

LUANDA (Reuters) - Wild elephants rampaged through a southern village in Angola last weekend, destroying farms and dozens of houses and prompting most of its 4,000 residents to flee to neighboring Namibia, a local official said Tuesday.

No one was killed in what the Mucusso village's local administrator said was "a fight between man and beast," just eight years after Angola's three-decade long civil war almost wiped out all of the African nation's wildlife.

"The situation in Mucusso is worrying. What we are witnessing is a conflict between the population and the animals," said Manuel Jamba in comments broadcast on Radio Nacional de Angola.

"The population is doing all it can to survive."

He said the wild elephants had come from Botswana, one of the world's premier wildlife viewing destinations, and urged the Angolan government to contain animals returning to the war-torn nation.

The civil war's impact on Angola's elephant population was so devastating that it now relies on South Africa to restock its elephant population in some of its once-thriving national parks.

More than 100,000 elephants, thousands of rhinoceros and buffalo are thought to have been killed during clashes between Angola government troops and rebels from the main opposition Unita party during a 27-year war that ended in 2002.

Animals not killed by landmines or military fire fell prey to poachers or local villagers trying to stave off starvation. Even the country's national symbol, the Giant Black Sable antelope, almost became extinct in what is considered to be one of the biggest wildlife slaughters of the past century.

"The final solution to this conflict between man and beast would be to have the government implement some mechanisms to end this situation. To contain these animals in parks," said Jamba.

(Reporting by Henrique Almeida; Editing by Dominic Evans)

I haven't heard from Monika whether she was able to reach her family or not. It must have been horrible having elephants on a rampage through the village and homes.

Here's happier news from Homer and Margaret Fitts in Florida - I guess they're having a ball down there!

HI TO ALL,

WE ARE ENJOYING OUR VACATION HERE IN FLORIDA. LOTS OF FRIENDS, RELATIVES, AND ALSO LOTS OF SUN. WENT TO THE BARRE PICNIC LAST WED. AND OVER 250 PEOPLE WERE THERE. GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE.

TOMORROW WE ARE GOING UP NEAR TAMPA TO VISIT WITH TWO SISTERS AND A BROTHER OF MARGARET'S. NEXT MONDAY TO SUN CITY CENTER TO SEE MY BROTHER

WENDELL WITH STAN AND JUNETTA.. TUESDAY MARGARET AND I PLAN TO GO TO MARCO ISLAND TO SEE FRIENDS THERE.

HAVE EATEN OUT SEVERAL TIMES AND ALL THE MEALS WERE GREAT.

WILL HATE TO HAVE TO GO BACK TO BARRE ON THE 23RD. SURE WILL BE A LOT SLOWER PACE. WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR THE ICE TO GO OUT OF JOE,S POND.

HOPE EVERYONE IS HEALTHY AND HAPPY,

LOVE AND BLESSINGS,

HOMER AND MARGARET