Summary: Summer 2013 traditionally and officially begins at the grand conclusion of Coney Island’s Infamous Mermaid Parade, set to bedazzle the crowds on June 22 this year. Coney Island expert James Taylor drops by and tells us that the R-rated parade is the best thing outside of Mardis Gras and should not be missed. Jodi Pliszka explains how the once favored medical procedures using leeches are once again being used – to great success. Additional, amazing, unbelievable and bizarre stories on the May 27, Memorial Day edition of Ripley Radio, the official radio station of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! include: James Taylor provides a brief overview of what Coney Island has had to do to prepare for its 2013 Summer Season, after taking a hard hit from Superstorm Sandy last fall; Chad Lewis tells us how cool it is to sleep in a tee-pee at Wig Wam Village, those funky roadside motels created in the shape of tee-pees. He says there are only three of the original Wig Wam motels still in business; TV reporter Noah Bond reports on a Mormon Bishop who went to the defense of his neighbor who was being robbed. He charged the thief with a sharp sword, while yelling out martial arts screams. The intruder fled and the bishop is a hero; and country crooner Garth Brooks belts out a not-so-country version of Shameless, our musical egress this week.
