Do you ever dream of finding something that’s worth big bucks? Well, for one woman that dream came true.

An abstract masterpiece was found in the trash by a woman who really didn’t know much about modern art. The painting subsequently sold for a million dollars.

The painting was discovered back in 2003 by Elizabeth Gibson. She spotted the canvas on her morning walk as she strolled Manhattan’s upper west side. She felt the painting was powerful.

It turns out that the painting was “Tres Personajes” by Rufino Tamayo. It’s a brightly colored abstract and it was purchased by phone at Sotheby’s Latin American art sale.

The painting was actually stolen. Gibson searched for years for information about the painting. She finally came across an article about the painting on Antiques Roadshow’s website. The article stated the painting had been stolen in 1989.

Gibson received a reward of $15,000 for returning the valuable painting and she’ll also get a portion of the sales price.

It certainly pays to keep your eyes open when walking through city streets!

Did you hear the story about the woman from Utah who found a severed mouse head in a can of green beans?

The Arkansas company which makes the beans offered the woman $100 if she pledges to not take legal action. The official letter from Allens Inc of Siloam Springs, Ark., describes this as a gesture of good will.

Good will my butt! Marianne Watson isn’t interested in their offer stating “I won’t sign it under any circumstances,”.

She was never interested in taking legal action, but she did want to “put enough media attention on them that they either withdraw those cans or do something other than what they’re trying to do, which is shut me up.”

Watson was cooking lunch for two sons Sunday when she said she found a severed mouse head in a can of Allens Cut Green Beans, which had been purchased at a Wal-Mart store in American Fork. Nothing was eaten.

Allens spokesman James Phillips said the mouse probably was picked up during the harvest and did not originate in the canning factory. He called it an isolated incident.

“We apologize as much as we can, but we also do everything known from a technology standpoint and personnel standpoint to prevent it from happening,” he said. “But inevitably, occasionally, things like this occur.”

A recall is not necessary, Phillips said.

“This would not reach the level of exposing people to illness because the product is rendered commercially sterile,” he said in a phone interview. “Every can is cooked to a predetermined temperature and time.”

Watson said she may have the mouse remnants and green beans tested. She has refused to return them to the company.

“I was thankful I had a little soup earlier because I couldn’t eat after seeing that,” she said.

Isn’t that disgusting?

You’d think most police officers would have an idea when eight people are murdered, but apparently the Columbian Police were unaware of some suspicious murders until the victims relatives decided to purchase coffins for the burial of their murdered relatives.

The province in Columbia, near Ecuador, in which the coffins were purchased is a key Cocaine production area. Leftist rebels and drug gangs frequently fight over smuggling routes in the area.

Now that the police have become suspicious about the deaths of eight people they are investigating the case. Police said the murders appeared to be part of a robbery where one trafficking group stole a large amount of coca base from another group and used it to make cocaine.

Did you hear about the kind New Zealand burglar?

He snuck into a home through a window and stole several items such as the property owners laptop, camera and wallet. Unfortunately the couple were unable to make insurance claims on these items for some reason.

A short while after the burglary the couple returned home to find their missing items along with gloves and a basketball that had been purchased using their credit card. The kind hearted burglar had left a note apologizing for robbing them and stated that he’d leave money in their mailbox to pay for the window that he’d broken.

I wish all burglars only borrowed things!