Try Just a Little Bit Harder
This book I am struggling to write, this mystery I want to see solved is a koan, a riddle without an answer. I fumed when I heard a podcast about a case that spanned nearly four decades getting solved. On “January 16, 1980 21-year-old Helene Pruszynski was found fatally stabbed in a field on Daniels […]
Days of Love and Basketball
Patty and I spent much of our seventh-grade-year at Funston Field. Just like Fort Funston, the name was a nod to General Frederick Funston, regarded as “the man who saved San Francisco” during The Great Fire. We’d cut class whiling away entire days lying on the grass. We’d scheme ways to make money or get […]
My DOJ Dead End
When I wrote the Department of Justice (DOJ) I was hoping to find some information on Patty Vance. Unfortunately, they found nothing I can have access to. I wanted to post this because anyone can write the DOJ in his or her state to compile information about someone. In my case, I’ve adhered to the […]
How To Go “Up the Ladder”
When I decided to make contact with the law enforcement agency that was handling Patty’s cold case, I was ultimately told that I should “go up the ladder” if the help I was receiving wasn’t satisfactory. So, I realized I didn’t exactly know what “up the ladder” might look like. Should I just make contact […]
On Redemption
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” – William Blake Everyone is capable of redemption. I heard these words today while listening to the “Writers on the Road” podcast. Amen. I don’t mean it in a religious sense, however. Maybe “being forgiven” is the better expression. Forgiveness seems to be […]
The Illusive Autopsy Report
Is the autopsy report public record? That was a question I had at the beginning of this project, but didn’t research that intensively. Here’s a little more of the low down: Autopsy reports are generally public records. There are exceptions for (1) deaths from natural causes not referred to the coroner and (2) reports pertaining […]
O, BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?
After four years of waiting, Patty’s brother finally accepted my friend request. I think it’s her brother. His birth date seems right. I’m so grateful. Somehow his accepting translates in my mind to at least he doesn’t hate me. Or hopefully that means he’s not pissed at me. All he may know about me is […]
15 Minute Rule
It’s been almost a year since I started volunteering for Street Safe, an outreach program for women living or working on the streets of Albuquerque. Two months into the gig in the middle of summer the Executive Director (ED) gave a presentation at the Santa Ana Star Casino about trafficking on the reservations. After the […]
B Side
Researching the circumstances around Patty’s murder brought me back to our old stomping grounds. The area around the civic center was now a picture of contrasts. It gave me whiplash walking past. Back in 1975 it wasn’t the sparkling gentrified center of all things high culture. Sure, there was the opera house. But it, like […]
Going Deep
To say something goes deep or runs deep, you mean that it is very serious or strong and is hard to change. As in “his anger and anguish clearly went deep.” The phrase “go deep” has been cropping up in my writing circles. In this case it means something different. It means to plumb the […]