“It Sure Seems Like Friday to Me. What is This Wednesday Thing?”
It is Wednesday Story Day time again. Last week we learned that Larry got involved with the Sandusky case through some unusual circumstances. The file kept popping up on top of his stack. He finally opened and one of the things he discovered is Sandusky died without any sign of a wound. The cause of death was his heart was missing. None of us can believe a heart could come up missing without a wound on the body. I see Larry and Schmidt are continuing their conversation. Let’s get back and see if we can learn anything new.
“Could it be that the report about the heart is wrong?”
“I don’t know. Schmidt. I haven’t talked to the M.E.”
“Don’t you think that would be a good next step?”
“Problem is the guy retired.”
“So what? You can still talk to him.”
‘I guess you are right. I’ll call up personnel and see if I can get an address.”
“Anything else about the file that’s unusual?”
“Funny you should ask. The investigating officer made a note about wanting to talk to some of Sandusky’s next of kin.”
“Did he?”
“There is nothing in the file that indicates any discussions.”
“No notes of conversation or a transcript?”
“No. You would think there would be.”
“How about we talk to the investigator?”
“I would love to do that.”
“What is stopping you?”
“Detective Ortega died two weeks after the Sandusky case was opened.”
“No shit. You gotta be kidding me.”
“Whoa, Palomino. He died in a car accident.”
“A car accident. How did it happen?”
“He was on his way to church and T-boned by a huge truck. “
“Church? Truck? This just gave me the willies.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you see. He probably talked to the next of kin and they had him snuffed.”
“Oh please. You sound like a B-movie plot.”
“No heart in the body and the detective dies. Tell me that is not suspicious.”
“I’ll admit it does sound fishy now that you put the two together.”
“So what should we do?”
“I think we ought to pick up the case and try to get to a motive.”
“Motive? What the hell are you talking about? We need to find the killer.”
“My wife told me to look for a motive.”
“Larry. I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything but your wife has been gone for a year.”
“It is a long story, Schmidt. How about we try to talk to the retired M.E. Maybe he can remember something.”
“Now you are talking. You scared me a little with the talk of your wife.”
In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (Below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here – pingbacks don’t often work.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries, with links to your own blog or web site, next Monday.”
Since I’m traveling today, I decided to rerun one of my Top Ten Not to Do lists. This list originally ran on July 11th, 2016. If you haven’t read it before I hope you enjoy it.
The inspiration for this list is many visits to organic chain supermarkets. I’m usually there because I like a brand of wine that the chain carries. Of course, living on an island means when I drive the 360 miles round trip, I want to linger and observe other activities. I hope you like the list.
10 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not secretly pop samples into your mouth from the bulk food section. If you do, at best you may ingest a foreign object. At worst, you will be caught and weighed before being charged the $10.00 a pound going rate. (Had to wonder what that walk-on scale was for, huh Bo-Bo?)
9 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not block the aisles as you study each purchase looking for evidence of an ingredient to which you are allergic. If you do, At best your cart will be hit as others try to get around. At worst, you might get run over by Tiny the 300 pound WWF champ as he sprints toward the carrot juice section. (Better to joust with a train. Right?)
8 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not ask the butcher if the organic pork is grass-fed. If you do, at best he will laugh you out of the store. At worst, he will convince you to go home and read up on the dietary habits of pigs. (At least tofu is on the list of things pigs will eat. Of course, there is nothing pigs won’t eat.)
7 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not ask the clerk if the organic bottled water is gluten-free. If you do at best, the clerk will be confused. At worst, you might cause a very delicate personality to crack completely. ( Can you imagine what would have happened if you asked for help finding something.)
6 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not forget to bring your own bags. If you do, at best you will have to balance your purchases and hope to make the car before the peanut butter hits the parking lot surface. At worst, you will be charged for more bags which you’ll never need again. (Asking for a plastic bag was a big mistake)
5 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not show visible signs of your pending heart attack when you see the total bill. If you do, at best you will make the clerk’s day. At worst, those around you will want your hide for exposing the fact that to eat this way is very expensive. (Yeah they knew it, but don’t need reminders)
4 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not ask the clerk if there are cruelty-free grapes in the wine. If you do, at best the clerk will call the manager for an answer. At worst the manager has just turned in his gross receipts and is now on probation for slipping sales. (The manager’s sense of humor is at an all-time low and used to be a postal worker till released for anger management issues)
3 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not ask the beauty aids clerk which essential oil they would recommend to attract more dates. If you do, at best the clerk will think you totally perverted. At worst, the clerk will take the opportunity to test the company’s non-hostile work environment policy with a request of the boss to toss you out of the store. (Wow! Talk about overused political correctness)
2 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not buy hemp products with the belief that you can use then to get high. If you do, at best you will waste your money. At worse, you will feel pretty foolish waiting in the shower for the hemp soap to kick in. (Meanwhile, the water temperature is moving toward Antarctic)
1 If you are shopping at an organic supermarket, do not ask the carry out person any questions about attire, body art, or hairstyle. If you do, at best they will ignore you. At worst, they will start the long story about personal freedoms and what it means to be able to be who they are. (That organic ice cream dripping on the pavement cost $10.00. Might be time to move on)
Karen Ingalls is an award-winning author, blogger, and public speaker. She is a retired RN, has a Master’s Degree in Human Development, avid reader, and author of three books. Her purpose is to raise awareness on health/wellness, promoting the benefits of reading, and being supportive of authors. She is an active member of Rave Reviews Book Club, Cheryl’s Books and Sweet Tea, and GoodReads Support for Indie Authors.
All proceeds from Outshine: An Ovarian Cancer Memoir go to ovarian/gynecologic cancer research. Karen is available at no charge to give presentations about gynecologic cancers.
A favorite quote is: “Find a seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower.” (Shigenori Kemeoka)
I am in Nashville Indiana to attend the High School graduation of my granddaughter. This week’s Views of the Neighborhood will give you a small taste of the town.
On the outskirts is the Bean Blossom overlook
Spectacular view.
Another View.
The reason for the trip. My Summa Cum Laude grandaughter. Pay no attention to that old guy beside her.
The state bank building which is now a shop.
A view of the main street.
The county courthouse.
A memorial to those who gave their lives in service to America.
It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again. This weeks prompt is “start with a noun.” Linda Hill describes the exercise as starting the post with a noun and then base the post on the noun. Sounds fun. If you would like to join in, go to Linda’s place and read how. Here is the link
Another week in the history books. I hope it was a good one for you. As you may know, Gwen Plano and I are in the process of launching our collaboration titled The Contract. There will be a lot of information about the book during the launch, so there is no need in publishing another launch announcement here.
Gwen and I are so grateful for all the volunteers who have stepped forward to offer assistance. I will be reblogging each as they occur and it is hoped you can visit them and enjoy.
Today’s JohnKu talks about the kind of support being offered by the wonderful bloggers in our universe.
It is Wednesday Story Day time again. Last week we were blessed with a visit from Gloria, Larry’s departed spouse. She advised Larry to take a re-look at the Sandusky case and to start living his life without her. Larry asked Micki if the visit of Gloria was real. Although Micki did not give Larry an answer, I think we all believe it was real. I see that Larry has left the fortune-telling shop and is going back to work. Let’s join him as he arrives in the detective bullpen.
“Hey, Schmidt. Can I talk to you in private?”
“Sure, Larry.”
“Let’s go in my office where we and have a conversation.”
“Lead the way, boss.”
“Close the door will you please.’
“This sounds serious, Boss. Am I in trouble?”
“No nothing like that. I need to bring you into a case I’ve been working on.”
“Whew. You had me going for a minute.”
“Schmidt you are the best I have. Your only problem is you don’t see yourself the same way.”
“Yeah, well maybe it was getting the crap beat out of me by my old man that made me a little insecure.”
“Well, whatever it is, you can dump it cause I think you’re the best.”
“Man. You’re going to make me tear up. So, what’s this case anyway?”
“It’s a cold case, and I’ve been struggling with it for about the last couple of months.”
“I don’t recall a cold case we’ve been working on.”
“That’s just it. I stumbled across this case while I was working the Sherman homicide.”
“Boy, you nailed that one.”
“Got lucky. Anyway, for some reason, a file got attached to the Sherman fille. I thought it was more information on Sherman until I looked at it.”
“File? What file?”
“The case is labeled Sandusky, and it goes back ten years.”
“Ten years. Holy shit. You mean this is a very cold case.”
“At first I just left it on my desk while I was getting the goods on that slimeball Sherman. Then a funny thing. Every morning I came into the office that damn file was sitting on top of anything I left the night before.”
“On top? Like someone put it there.”
“Exactly. At first, I thought I had left it like that but then came to realize I never opened the file since when I first found it. I made a concerted effort at night to put the file under the stack. Well, guess what?”
“Don’t tell me the file was on top the next morning?”
“Yup. Made the hair on my neck stand up.”
“I would have thrown it away.”
“That’s just it. I didn’t want to get rid of it. It was like it became a part of me.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I sat down and gave the file a detailed read.”
“And?”
“Spooky shit I’ll tell you.”
“What kind of spooky shit?”
“Well I can give you all the details later but as a condensed version, think of a guy being murdered without a trace of any wound.”
“Aw come on. He had a heart attack or stroke.”
“Not according to the ME report.”
“So, what killed him?”
“His heart was missing.”
“What? Now, wait a minute. He had no heart and no wound where the heart should be.”
