NEWS LITE : PLANE CRASH LOOKED LIKE END FOR THREE SORROW-FILLED DAYS.

It was a labor of love and sorrow, the obituary Dennis Patterson wrote summing up the lives of his sister and her husband - tragically cut short as the couple pursued their passion for flying.

So it was laughter, not tears, that came when Patterson learned he could personally deliver his prose to the not-so-late couple after all.

Brian and Sheila Johnson were found bruised and shaken - but very much alive Friday - three days after their plane crashed into a remote lake in British Columbia, leaving everyone assuming the two were dead.

Everyone except for the couple's 8-year-old son, Lewis.

``I thought they did a nose dive in their landing,'' the boy said. ``I thought they jumped and swam to shore.''

That optimism proved right.

The Johnsons were on a one-hour sightseeing flight over the northwest coast of Vancouver Island on Tuesday when their amphibious floatplane crashed into Gaultheria Lake. Brian and his wife escaped from the sinking aircraft and swam about a quarter-mile to shore.

But when search and rescue officials arrived at the site, they found an oil slick, debris and the couple's identification. They assumed the Johnsons had sunk to a watery grave.

The Johnsons were nowhere in sight because they had decided to follow a creek down to the ocean, where earlier they had seen kayakers who they hoped to ask for help.

They weren't spotted until Friday when a helicopter flew by carrying a coroner to the crash site to prepare a report on their deaths.

The coroner said, ``I'm glad I don't have to write this report,'' Brian ``Bugsy'' Johnson, 48, recalled during an impromptu news conference at their home. His wife Sheila, 41, skipped the session in favor of a hot shower.

Rock museum turnstile hits 1 million

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum went platinum.

The Cleveland museum celebrated its 1 millionth visitor Friday, just weeks before its first anniversary. The timely visitor, Cathy McDonnell of North Olmsted, won a classic 1965 Ford Mustang convertible and 200 lottery tickets.

``This is a great day for the museum, a great day for Cleveland and, certainly, a great day for Cathy McDonnell,'' said Bill Hulett, the museum's chairman and chief executive officer.

The museum alongside Lake Erie has averaged 72,000 visitors a month since it opened Sept. 1, 1995. It has been such a hit that a multimillion-dollar expansion is under discussion.

Rock hall figures show 54 percent of its visitors were from outside Ohio, coming from every state and 61 other countries.

Bye-bye to favorite son status

Some members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans want to expel ``Civil War'' filmmaker Ken Burns because of controversial commentary about Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Burns says his remarks were taken out of context.

``I said it was interesting to note that a man held responsible for more loyal American deaths than Tojo or Hitler became our most cherished general,'' Burns said.

Burns denied any disrespect toward Lee. He said his ancestors fought for the Confederacy, but he never sought to become a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

``They signed me up . . . and periodically try to kick me out,'' Burns said.

Group member Woodie L. Walker of Suffolk sought Burns' ouster in a resolution sent to group commanders throughout Virginia.

``Any remark made against the most beloved of all Southern generals is a slander against all Sons of the Confederacy, their character and their heritage,'' Walker wrote.

Burns' reference to Adolf Hitler and Gen. Hideki Tojo, who ordered the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, came during a recent broadcast interview. The ``Civil War'' series first aired on public television in 1990.

Enough to give a girl the shivers

Sandwiched between Hollywood hunks Kevin Costner and Don Johnson in ``Tin Cup,'' Rene Russo says it was the visiting golf pros who really gave her goose bumps.

Happily married since 1992 to screenwriter Danny Gilroy, Russo has worked with some of the dreamiest sex symbols in movies, including Mel Gibson in ``Lethal Weapon 3,'' Clint Eastwood in ``In the Line of Fire'' and John Travolta in ``Get Shorty.''

But when it came down to choosing between professional actors and professional golfers for a little innocent off-screen flirting during ``Tin Cup,'' it was no contest.

``The truth is that there were a lot of cute guys in this movie,'' Russo told People magazine for its Sept. 2 issue. ``There were all these handsome golf pros who were forever adjusting your hips. I have to admit that I played poorly on purpose so I could yell for a pro to help me.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Brian and Sheila Johnson at home with their k ids.

Associated Press

(2) Ken Burns: Meant no disrespect

(3) Rene Russo: Surrounded by hunks