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Tag: joke

  • A Florida airport shares it wants to ban pajamas. It was a joke, the airport says

    Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.“The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.“Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.“Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”“Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

    Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.

    A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.

    “The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.

    Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.

    “Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”

    U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”

    Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”

    The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.

    “Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”

    Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”

    Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”

    Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”

    “Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”

    One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

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  • Farmers’ Almanac will cease publication

    A 208-year-old publication that farmers, gardeners and others keen to predict the weather have relied on for guidance will be publishing for the final time. Farmers’ Almanac said Thursday that its 2026 edition will be its last, citing the growing financial challenges of producing and distributing the book in today’s “chaotic media environment.” Access to the online version will cease next month. Video above: Farmer’s Almanac predicts cold, wet winterThe Maine-based publication, not to be confused with the even older Old Farmer’s Almanac in neighboring New Hampshire, was first printed in 1818. For centuries, it’s used a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts.The almanac also contains gardening tips, trivia, jokes and natural remedies, like catnip as a pain reliever or elderberry syrup as an immune booster. But its weather forecasts make the most headlines. “It is with a heavy heart that we share the end of what has not only been an annual tradition in millions of homes and hearths for hundreds of years, but also a way of life, an inspiration for many who realize the wisdom of generations past is the key to the generations of the future,” Editor Sandi Duncan said in a statement. In 2017, when Farmers’ Almanac reported a circulation of 2.1 million in North America, its editor said it was gaining new readers among people interested in where their food came from and who were growing fresh produce in home gardens. Many of these readers lived in cities, prompting the publication to feature skyscrapers as well as an old farmhouse on its cover.

    A 208-year-old publication that farmers, gardeners and others keen to predict the weather have relied on for guidance will be publishing for the final time.

    Farmers’ Almanac said Thursday that its 2026 edition will be its last, citing the growing financial challenges of producing and distributing the book in today’s “chaotic media environment.” Access to the online version will cease next month.

    Video above: Farmer’s Almanac predicts cold, wet winter

    The Maine-based publication, not to be confused with the even older Old Farmer’s Almanac in neighboring New Hampshire, was first printed in 1818. For centuries, it’s used a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts.

    The almanac also contains gardening tips, trivia, jokes and natural remedies, like catnip as a pain reliever or elderberry syrup as an immune booster. But its weather forecasts make the most headlines.

    “It is with a heavy heart that we share the end of what has not only been an annual tradition in millions of homes and hearths for hundreds of years, but also a way of life, an inspiration for many who realize the wisdom of generations past is the key to the generations of the future,” Editor Sandi Duncan said in a statement.

    In 2017, when Farmers’ Almanac reported a circulation of 2.1 million in North America, its editor said it was gaining new readers among people interested in where their food came from and who were growing fresh produce in home gardens.

    Many of these readers lived in cities, prompting the publication to feature skyscrapers as well as an old farmhouse on its cover.

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  • Commentary: Please, Jimmy, don’t back down. Making fun of Trump is your patriotic duty

    So Jimmy Kimmel is coming back, fast enough that there are still folks out there who didn’t know he was gone.

    Hallelujah? Praise be to ABC? Free speech triumphs?

    It all depends on Tuesday night, when we see if Kimmel returns undaunted, or if he has been subdued. Of all the consequential, crazy, frightening events that have taken place in recent days, Kimmel’s return should be a moment we all watch — a real-time, late-night look at how successful our president is at forcing us to censor ourselves through fear.

    Please, Jimmy, don’t back down.

    If Kimmel tempers his comedy now, pulls his punches on making fun of power, he sends the message that we should all be afraid, that we should all bend. Maybe he didn’t sign up for this, but here he is — a person in a position of influence being forced to make a risky choice between safety and country.

    That sounds terribly dramatic, I know, but self-censorship is the heart of authoritarianism. When people of power are too scared to even crack a joke, what does that mean for the average person?

    If Kimmel, with his celebrity, clout and wealth, cannot stand up to this president, what chance do the rest of us have?

    Patriotism used to be a simple thing. A bit of apple pie, a flag on the Fourth of July, maybe even a twinge of pride when the national anthem plays and all the words pop into your mind even though you can’t find your car keys or remember what day it is.

    It’s just something there, running in the background — an unspoken acknowledgment that being American is a pretty terrific thing to be.

    Now, of course, patriotism is the most loaded of words. It’s been masticated and barfed out by the MAGA movement into a specific gruel — a white, Western-centric dogma that demands a narrow and angry Christianity dominate civic life.

    There have been a deluge of examples of this subversion in recent days. The Pentagon is threatening to punish journalists who report information it doesn’t explicitly provide. The president used social media to demand U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi go after his perceived enemies.

    The one that put a knot in my stomach was the speech by Stephen Miller, Trump’s immigration czar, speaking, without humor, at the memorial for Charlie Kirk.

    “We are the storm,” Miller said, hinting back at a QAnon conspiracy theory about a violent reordering of society.

    That’s disturbing, but actually mild compared with what he said next, a now-familiar Christian nationalist rant.

    “Our lineage and our legacy hails back to Athens, to Rome, to Philadelphia, to Monticello,” Miller said. “Our ancestors built the cities they produced, the art and architecture they built. The industry.”

    Who’s going to tell him about Sally Hemings? But he continued with an attack on the “yous” who don’t agree with this worldview, the “yous,” like Kimmel, one presumes (though Kimmel’s name did not come up) who oppose this cruel version of America.

    “You are wickedness, you are jealousy, you are envy, you are hatred, you are nothing,” Miller said. “You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing.”

    Humor, of course, ain’t nothing, which is why this administration can’t stand it.

    Humor builds camaraderie. It produces dopamine and serotonin, the glue of human bonding. It drains away fear, and creates hope.

    Which is why autocrats always go after comedians pretty early on. It’s not thin skin, though Trump seems to have that. It’s effective management of dissent.

    Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels knew it. In 1939, after his party had set up a Chamber of Culture that required all performers to adhere to certain rules, he banned five German comedians — Werner Finck, Peter Sachse, Helmuth Buth, Wilhelm Meissner and Manfred Dlugi — for making political jokes that didn’t support the regime. He basically ended their careers for daring satire against Nazi leaders, claiming people didn’t find it funny.

    “(I)n their public appearances they displayed a lack of any positive attitude toward National Socialism and therewith caused grave annoyance in public and especially to party comrades,” the New York Times reported the German government claiming at the time.

    Sounds familiar.

    Kimmel, of course, is not the only comedian speaking out. Jon Stewart has hit back on “The Daily Show,” pretending to be scared into submission, perhaps a hat tip to Finck, who famously joked, “I am not saying anything. And even that I am not saying.”

    Stephen Colbert roasted Disney with a very funny parody video. Political cartoonists are having a field day.

    And there are plenty of others pushing back. Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken to all-caps rebuttals. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whom Trump called “nothing,” is also vocal in his opposition, especially of National Guard troops in Chicago.

    The collective power of the powerful is no joke. It means something.

    But all the sober talk in the world can’t rival one spot-on dig when it comes to kicking the clay feet of would-be dictators. Mark Twain said it best: Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. Which is what makes Kimmel so relevant in this moment.

    Can he come back with a laugh — proving we have nothing to fear but fear itself — or are we seriously in trouble?

    Anita Chabria

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  • Crab Rangoon Isn’t a Joke at These Chicago Restaurants

    Crab Rangoon Isn’t a Joke at These Chicago Restaurants


    Crab rangoon can be a polarizing menu item, but a new crop of chefs and diners are embracing the Chinese American staple in Chicago and beyond.

    The fried wonton wrappers are normally filled with some ratio of cream cheese and imitation crab, then served with some variant of duck sauce. Its origins aren’t well defined, with the most accepted narrative being it was invented in the ‘40s or ‘50s in the kitchen of Trader Vic’s, the famous Polynesian and tiki bar chain that had a Chicago outpost until 2011 in Gold Coast. There’s not a ton written about the appetizer’s origins. Most scouring the Internet will be taken to a 2019 story in Atlas Obscura.

    In 2022, crab Rangoon broke through to social media thanks to a series of TikTok posts made over the years by a Rangoon superfan. The item’s name is derived from a city in Myanmar. Yangon is the largest city in the South Asian country.

    Though not a prime example of gourmet cooking, a handful of chefs are dressing the item up using premium ingredients. Some may not take the Rangoon seriously, but the item is enjoying a surge in popularity. And with Lunar New Year approaching (the Year of the Dragon starts on Saturday, February 10) here’s a trio of restaurants offering their unique takes.

    Lobster Rangoon from Duck Inn
    The Duck Inn

    Kevin Hickey reveres Chicago’s Chinatown and he grew up nearby in Bridgeport. For the last nine years, the chef and owner of the Duck Inn has celebrated Lunar New Year. It’s the only time they change how they prepare the restaurant’s signature duck, prepping it Beijing-style for the holiday. Hickey reasons that many of his customers are part of the Chinese community. Up until Saturday, February 10, the Duck Inn will offer lobster-filled Rangoon. They come with a pomegranate sweet & sour and optional chili crunch.

    The Rangoon Royale served at Bixi Beer in Logan Square is like the Mercedes Benz of the Rangoon circuit. Chef and owner Bo Fowler gave in to her staff’s request for the item and created a souped-up version of the appetizer. Fowler, who was also the mastermind behind Owen & Engine, does not like to skimp on premium ingredients, sourcing from some of the Midwest’s best farmers. After much experimentation, uses a thicker wonton wrapper and fills it with lobster, crawfish, lump crab meat, and snow crab. Instead of cream cheese, she whips cream by hand for a mousse-like texture. She put the item on the menu and didn’t think customers would want a $20 order of fancy crab rangoon. She was wrong, and behind the burger, it’s Bixi’s No. 2-selling item: “I didn’t think they would sell at that price, but they sold like crazy,” she says.

    Perfect with one of the beers brewed on the premises, the Rangoon Royale is a permanent menu item at Bixi.

    Chef Henry Cai wanted an appetizer to complement the more American items on the menu of his Chinese American restaurant, something to pair with his burger and chicken sandwiches. He dipped into the nostalgia vault for memories of growing up in America with an immigrant family, seeing kids eat Tontino Pizza Rolls and Hot Pockets, and begging his parents to buy those products for him.

    In January, he unveiled the Pizza Rangoon, a superior version of what he wanted in his youth. Unlike Hot Pockets, the crusts aren’t soggy. The wonton is a better vessel, Cai says, and he stuffs it with shredded mozzarella, white onions, tomato puree, pizza sauces, a dash of five spice, and then wraps the filling with a slice of mozzarella. The latter gives the Rangoon a cheese pull worthy of an old cartoon, Cai says. The exterior is coated with Italian season and Romano cheese. This is a permanent menu item at Cai’s new South Loop restaurant.





    Ashok Selvam

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  • beguiled unaided fermented

    beguiled unaided fermented

    Have you taken the VHS pill yet? A few years ago I started collecting VHS tapes as kind of a joke. But then I realized you can snag CRT TV’s for next to nothing, if not free on marketplace. Next thing I know I am watching Raiders of the lost ark on a luxury 90s media setup with over 700 more classic titles. My wife and I do weekly movie nights now and the kids are watching magic school bus. N64, pS1, movies, all look better on the native hardware. Take the VHS pill and join us in the last good era the world knew.

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  • When John Krasinski joked about wanting to date USD 80 million actress over his wife Emily Blunt

    When John Krasinski joked about wanting to date USD 80 million actress over his wife Emily Blunt

    Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s relationship has been much-adored by their colleagues as well as the Internet. The banter and jokes they share seem to crack up everyone and netizens love to see them together: be it their fun or their emotional moments. Just like the time she dedicated her 2019 Screen Actors Guild Award to him and he got really teary-eyed.

    While there have been countless fun and hilarious moments between Blunt and Krasinski who got married in 2010, one fun moment was when he joked that he only married Blunt because Anne Hathaway was not single but married to Adam Schulman. Here’s what The Office star said about the moment and what the context of the amusing joke was.

    ALSO READ: ‘This man needs to be stopped’: When Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski TEAMED UP to protect Emily Blunt from Hugh Jackman

    John Krasinski about watching Emily Blunt’s iconic film

    During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2018, Krasinski and Blunt revealed several anecdotes about their relationship and working together on A Quiet Place. Amongst the several laughs, the actor disclosed that he has watched Devil Wears Prada many times. He joked about the number being 72 and further added, “It’s one of those things that back in the day, us elderly people used to channel surf. Nobody does that anymore.”

    When John Krasinski joked about wanting to date THIS actress

    “It’s just one of those movies that whenever you’re going through the channels, you just stop and you look,” Krasinski explained. Blunt then chimed in that there’s a montage sequence where Anne Hathaway’s got numerous fabulous outfits and she came home one day and saw her husband watching that part. She divulged that he went, ‘That’s my favorite outfit.’” As she laughed on, he joked, “I couldn’t get Annie and so I was like, ‘Ohhhh…’”

    Anne Hathaway responds to John Krasinski’s joke

    The room erupted in laughs at the comment and the quip was also mentioned by Anne Hathaway herself. She posted a screenshot of an article talking about the joke and captioned it, “John, I’m only with Adam because I couldn’t get Emily. Congrats to @johnkrasinski and #EmilyBlunt on @aquietplacemovie! Everyone go see it!” Netizens loved the online banter and made it evident in the comment section of the post.

    Meanwhile, Krasinski also disclosed that he was a big fan of Blunt when he first met her. “I was full stalker-status. I was like, ‘Hey, you want to go out on a date with me?’” he said. For the unversed, Krasinski and Blunt got married in 2010 in Italy and have two daughters together. The British actress started dating him in 2008 and they got engaged in 2009. 

    ALSO READ: ‘I just put my marriage on the line’: When John Krasinski risked his life to get nod from Emily Blunt for USD 297 million movie

    1136922

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  • BEST OF 2022: Supermom In Training: Why you NEED to talk to your kids about sex

    BEST OF 2022: Supermom In Training: Why you NEED to talk to your kids about sex

    Want to know why you need to talk to your kids about sex?!

    Just Google “what is sex?”. If you don’t tell them what sex is, this is what they will think it is.

    Scary, no?

    About a year ago, I had the full “sex talk” with my 8-year-old. He’s always been a pretty mature kid so I knew he was ready to hear it. Now, in third grade, he and his friends are doing a lot of joking around that centres around sexuality. The difference is, I know my son understands these jokes… but I also know the kids who are throwing around these terms and sound effects, and they most definitely don’t know or understand the depth of what they are saying.

    Yes, sound effects. Moaning, to be precise.

    There are lots of jokes about penises. Doodles of dinkies. Mentions of “humping” and more. So much more.

    Perhaps it’s better that your kids hear about sex and sexuality not from their friends, who are tossing around words without really knowing what they’re talking about. Sure, it might seem uncomfortable to say certain things about sex to your kids. After all, they’re so innocent, right?

    Trust me: Coming from a mom whose son trusts her enough to divulge all the on-goings of 8-, 9-, and 10-year-old kids, you want to help them out on this one. Because if you don’t fill in the blanks, Google or Siri or the kid in the schoolyard will. 

    A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.

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  • Gift Guide 2022: The best gifts for those who seem to have everything

    Gift Guide 2022: The best gifts for those who seem to have everything

    What do you get for that one person on your list who seems to have everything they would ever need? You get them something that’s practical, something everyone can benefit from having. Here are 4 great gift ideas for the hardest people to shop for on your list.

    The Shark Stratos UltraLight Stick Vacuum is the quintessential cleaning product for homes and condos. Easy to use, it is decked out with all kinds of features: powerful suction allows it to clean both carpets and hard floors, it has a low-profile design so it can clean under furniture, and the attachable pet multi-tool allows you to pick up fur and hair from furniture, upholstery, stairs, and more. It even includes odour neutralizing technology to guard against offensive smells for a fresher smelling home.

    The Guinness Book of World Records. Every year it’s updated, and every year it will amaze, awe, and inspire! This is a great book for young and old alike and will become a conversation piece all year long. It’s the perfect coffee table book or collector’s item year to year.

    Great slippers from Reef. I love the house-and-errands from Reef. They are the perfect combo of slipper and shoe: a cushiony footbed lined with cozy faux shearling, and an easy on/off upper made of toasty, 100% recycled wool felt. They come in a wide range of colours and will keep anyone’s footsies warm and comfortable.

    Everyone loves a good dad joke. Check out Gift Republic’s deck of the 100 of the best, cringe-worthy jokes. Everyone might pretend that they are embarrassed by dad jokes, but we know they secretly love them. It’s the perfect gift for any dads, dads-to-be, or your friends with that dad-joke energy.

    – Jennifer Cox

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  • Pregnant south Omaha woman shares experience getting carjacked

    Pregnant south Omaha woman shares experience getting carjacked

    A South Omaha woman who was carjacked this week at gunpoint tells KETV she is five months pregnant. Omaha police arrested four teenagers on Thursday and say they carried out the crime. Officers booked the teens on robbery and use of a weapon charges. They are all 13 to 17 years old. Police say the group carjacked the 27-year-old pregnant woman in a cul-de-sac at Spring Lake Park Wednesday afternoon. They say one of the teens shot a man in a separate vehicle as they were driving away. The soon-to-be mother, Perla, says she thought it was a joke at first because the carjackers were so young. Perla was just taking her dog out for a walk when a young man approached her and opened her passenger-side door pointing a gun. She did not want her face on camera, still recovering from the ordeal. “They told me ‘give me your money. I know you have money, give me your money.’ And like you said, they’re just kids so I was like is this a joke, is this, what?” Perla said.But it was no joke. Perla says the four carjackers took her keys and made a getaway. Police say they shot at another vehicle, striking the 32-year-old driver.”I started crying. I was at the park with my dog, I just took him out because he wasn’t feeling well. I just wanted to go on a walk with him,” Perla said.Omaha police eventually recovered Perla’s car in North Omaha along with another vehicle the suspects used in the carjacking. They say people commit this crime for a myriad of reasons: maybe it is on a dare, a challenge or for a joyride. It is much harder to sell a stolen vehicle or tear it down for scrap. Police say to lessen the chance of a carjacking, you have to be aware of your surroundings. “We always try to encourage people to look up while they’re walking to and from either a vehicle or into a business,” said Officer Chris Gordon, an Omaha police spokesperson. If someone aggressively approaches you to take your car, your well-being should come first. Use good judgement and be smart. Do not try to fight back if the robber is armed with something dangerous. It is also important to think like a witness: look for distinguishing features on the suspect and report the carjacking immediately to police. “If you walk out with your head up, looking around, making contact at people, making eye contact, that tends to minimize you as a perceived victim,” Gordon said.For Perla, the incident has left her shaken, but OK. She is looking forward to putting this behind her and being a mom. “She’s my first baby so I just don’t want anything to happen to her,” Perla said.Police also say it is best to park in well-seen areas, try to go in pairs to your car when possible and have your vehicle keys in hand ready to lock and unlock the doors quickly. The 32-year-old driver who was shot, Jorge Garcia, was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries, but authorities say those injuries are non-life-threatening.

    OMAHA, Neb. —

    A South Omaha woman who was carjacked this week at gunpoint tells KETV she is five months pregnant.

    Omaha police arrested four teenagers on Thursday and say they carried out the crime. Officers booked the teens on robbery and use of a weapon charges. They are all 13 to 17 years old.

    Police say the group carjacked the 27-year-old pregnant woman in a cul-de-sac at Spring Lake Park Wednesday afternoon. They say one of the teens shot a man in a separate vehicle as they were driving away.

    The soon-to-be mother, Perla, says she thought it was a joke at first because the carjackers were so young.

    Perla was just taking her dog out for a walk when a young man approached her and opened her passenger-side door pointing a gun. She did not want her face on camera, still recovering from the ordeal.

    “They told me ‘give me your money. I know you have money, give me your money.’ And like you said, they’re just kids so I was like is this a joke, is this, what?” Perla said.

    But it was no joke. Perla says the four carjackers took her keys and made a getaway. Police say they shot at another vehicle, striking the 32-year-old driver.

    “I started crying. I was at the park with my dog, I just took him out because he wasn’t feeling well. I just wanted to go on a walk with him,” Perla said.

    Omaha police eventually recovered Perla’s car in North Omaha along with another vehicle the suspects used in the carjacking. They say people commit this crime for a myriad of reasons: maybe it is on a dare, a challenge or for a joyride. It is much harder to sell a stolen vehicle or tear it down for scrap.

    Police say to lessen the chance of a carjacking, you have to be aware of your surroundings.

    “We always try to encourage people to look up while they’re walking to and from either a vehicle or into a business,” said Officer Chris Gordon, an Omaha police spokesperson.

    If someone aggressively approaches you to take your car, your well-being should come first. Use good judgement and be smart. Do not try to fight back if the robber is armed with something dangerous.

    It is also important to think like a witness: look for distinguishing features on the suspect and report the carjacking immediately to police.

    “If you walk out with your head up, looking around, making contact at people, making eye contact, that tends to minimize you as a perceived victim,” Gordon said.

    For Perla, the incident has left her shaken, but OK. She is looking forward to putting this behind her and being a mom.

    “She’s my first baby so I just don’t want anything to happen to her,” Perla said.

    Police also say it is best to park in well-seen areas, try to go in pairs to your car when possible and have your vehicle keys in hand ready to lock and unlock the doors quickly.

    The 32-year-old driver who was shot, Jorge Garcia, was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries, but authorities say those injuries are non-life-threatening.

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