About A Girl
There is a myth of closure. People are not okay after [a murder] is over. A pretty good argument can be made that murder involving someone you know, someone you love, is something you never get over. – Josh Mankiewicz I ambled out from a gate at the San Francisco airport, the last one off […]
The Day I Lost My Innocence
I realized I’ve written once in “Breaking News” about how I received the news of Patty’s murder. This is another iteration. I am so hard at work trying to finish off the book, I am too exhausted to generate something new. The next blog will be on letting go. This journey is coming to a […]
Finally a Headstone
My cousin Jenny and I went to the Holy Cross cemetery today. I wanted to get a look at the new tombstone Harold Vance bought. I wasn’t disappointed. It was to both his mother and sister. I wouldn’t have thought to do that despite that they’re in a double plot. Google maps took me the […]
To Push or Not to Push?
The last two weeks, I’ve managed to squeeze in writing time. I was editing chapters when I came to my visit to the Medical Examiner’s office back in November of 2017. What stood out to me was that I haven’t yet stepped up to climb the ladder as a Mr. Barbrich suggested at the […]
The Closer
The definition of a closer is a person who finishes or locks up an assignment. I heard that recently on a true crime podcast. A television series appeared in 2005 about “a strong, quirky woman [who] leads an elite Los Angeles crime unit that tackles high-profile cases.” Her super power is obtaining confessions that lead […]
I’m Just Waiting on a Friend
Patty wouldn’t understand this allusion to the Rolling Stones song I used to title this blog. It would come out a year after her death. It’s not a great song. I’ve never been a Stones fan. But I can give it this. I agree with this post on a site dedicated to figuring about the […]
TOUCHING THE CASE
For the first time the other day while listening to “Anatomy of a Murder,” I heard the expression “touching the case.” The host Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi used it in reference to individuals who are compelled to get close to a crime. The reasons are as varied as the people. But each time I hear talk of […]
THE POISON
Two of my recent blogs in retrospect feel a bit like rants. I am reminded of the Mandela quote “hatred is like drinking poison and then waiting for it to kill your enemy.” My insides have felt a ball of string thinking about it. How do I express my resentments without sounding as if I’m […]
Just a Friend
We Thought We’d be Friends Forever I woke up this morning to find a new podcast in my feed, “The Doodler.” San Francisco Chronicle reporter Keven Fagan takes listeners back to the seductive, sinister 70s when San Francisco’s gay neighborhoods were transformed for a harrowing year into killing fields. In short order the listener is […]
Giving the Victim Equal Time
I’ve been thinking a lot about creating balance in the sort of memoir I’m trying to write. It’s tricky striking the right mix of focusing on the cold case versus focusing on my experience trying to uncover the details of said case. What triggered my thinking about this was listening to an NPR broadcast about […]