Sybil Bruncheon’s Strange But True Histories: On this day, January 24th, 1972...

… a Japanese soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, was discovered in Guam, having spent 28 years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on.

On this same date: I knew a very nice older lady, Myrtle Narnelstein, who hid out for three years in the Fine Lingerie & Ladies' Support Garments department at Saks waiting for an incorrectly advertised sale...... she lived undiscovered and quite comfortably in the various Home Furnishings areas. I envied her her secret life hidden away from the insanity of the outside world. And in addition to the quiet once the great store closed up each evening, she threw the best little soirées in different departments for her mannequin friends and the expensive stuffed animals from the children’s toy boutique... mostly Steiff Teddy Bears… and a Gund dromedary and a velveteen rabbit. She ate nothing but delicacies; fine cakes and cookies, caviar and rare preserves, jams, and jellies, imported chocolates, pates, and petit fours, crème de glaces, followed by the best champagnes and dessert wines in the Gourmet-Gifts Shop …

Sadly, her constant and completely unbalanced diet of luxury foods resulted in her putting on over 267 lbs, which of course eventually “blew her cover”. She was finally caught stuck in the store's escalator, and the whole sordid truth was revealed. The store management was furious, not just because she had pulled it all off and escaped the eyes of security personnel… No! She was so large that they had to jack-hammer the West 58th Street walls down to fork-lift her out of the 3rd floor. The Limoges China department and Little Miss Petites Shoppe were completely demolished…

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