Cubs fans know what eternity is

If you build it . . .

A final resting place for the ashes of long-suffering Chicago Cubs fans is being proposed by a Chicago man, Dennis Mascari, and Bohemian National Cemetery on the city's North Side.

Called "Beyond the Vines," it would feature a 24-foot-high ivy-covered wall designed to look like -- you guessed it, the one in dead center at Wrigley Field -- that would hold 280 urns emblazoned with the Cubs logo.

There also would be a bronze baseball card with a photo of the deceased fan.

"When you come to a cemetery to visit a loved one it's usually a pretty sad, gloomy situation," Mascari told Don Babwin of the Associated Press. "But when you come here . . . it's going to be a great feeling for people."

Or, as Babwin put it, the wall would be "the perfect answer for a team that has been killing its fans for 100 years."

--

Trivia time

When did the ivy first appear on Wrigley Field's outfield wall?

--

Hot spot

Few noticed in April when Hawaiian pro surfer C. J. Kanuha paddled within a few yards of volcanic lava flowing into the ocean on the Big Island's southeastern coast.

But after photos of his exploits were published in Outside magazine, Kanuha's daring ride garnered a lot more attention.

"You could hear it crackling and exploding," Kanuha, 24, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

He stood on his surfboard and used a long paddle to get close to the lava pouring from the Kilauea volcano, one of the world's most active. Kanuha then went ashore and said a prayer to the volcano goddess Pele.

Ultimately, though, "I would not recommend" anyone copy his adventure, he said. And county civil defense director Quince Mento called Kanuha's feat "really not smart."

--

Pack it up

Ah, the trappings of big league baseball: fame, fortune and, for one New York Met, a pink "Hello Kitty" backpack.

As a young Mets reliever, Joe Smith has been subjected to the team's initiation rite of carrying the backpack -- a favorite of schoolgirls everywhere -- to the bullpen each day.

Mets closer Billy Wagner presented him with the bag, the website Gothamist.com reported, and he proclaimed to Smith: "It's not Hello Kitty, it's Hello Smitty."

--

Dress code

If you think the world is changing too fast, consider the Frinton Golf Club on the English coast northeast of London.