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Goatlock Locks In

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The case of Alex and the Canadian Grandmother Shakedown continues.

Shortly after Beverly A. left the C.A.G. offices, Inspector Goatlock Combes and his faithful assistant, Dr. Lupine, reviewed the evidence. They had:

A phone call that could have come from anywhere.
A decoy Canadian address and a closed P.O. Box.
A young man studying “situational ethics” in Russia.
Parents who may or may not be intimidating.
A confused, bamboozled grandmother.
A story with some holes in it.

Goatlock gnawed on the end of a well-used pipe.

“Where should we begin, Lupine? Canada or Russia?”

Lupine appeared to consider it carefully, but he had already come up with an answer for this simple question. He was really thinking about a hat he would like to buy – a newsboy cap. It was wide and flat with a herringbone pattern that he thought would look especially stylish, although the thought had also occurred to him that such an addition to his wardrobe might give him the appearance when lit from behind of a plate being balanced on a stick. He was tall and strikingly thin, towering over Combes conspicuously. And conspicuous is one thing the investigators in the C.A.G. Unit did not want to be.

“Canada, of course,” Lupine. “It should be a simple matter to trace the ownership of the P.O. box and follow the money to the culprit.”

“Quite,” said Goatlock.

Goatlock found it amusing that his partner was named for a plant that he might like to eat, given the chance. But mostly the Inspector appreciated Lupine for his habit of making the most out of an unpromising case. Like volunteer flowers that flourish in a roadside ditch, Lupine seemed to do best in places where others would hesitate to dig in. Clearly his partner was imagining a summer trip to Winnipeg, probably with a new hat.

“It should be a nice jaunt because the Canadians are so pleasant to deal with,” Goatlock added. “And I know they’ll apologize when we discover the P.O. Box investigation leads to an utterly dead end. We might even get a free slice of pie at some Winnipeg eatery, if we play our cards right.”

“What’s that?” said Lupine. “Canada? A dead end?”

“Mounties only wear red on important occasions,” Goatlock observed. “And being on patrol for fellows relieving themselves in the woods is not special enough – at least not to the sort of person who gets to wear that legendary uniform. Plus, a bike trip from Winnipeg to Calgary is at least 750 miles – a lot of work for anyone, but especially someone on his way to study marketing. An interest in marketing is not a characteristic of loners, and one would have to be comfortable with isolation to take such a lengthy trip on a self-powered two-wheeler. No, the Canuck aspect of this case is a diversion, and the P.O. Box leads to a dead end because the people who set it up are experts at deception.”

“And how do you know THAT?” asked Lupine.

“Simple,” said Goatlock. “They deceive themselves all the time.”

Is Inspector Combes on to something, or is this just more cud chewing?
What comes next?

113 thoughts on “Goatlock Locks In”

  1. Actually, I’m w/ Lupine. If nothing bigger suggests itself, always start closer to home. Besides, if it’s an actual PO box, then even if the ring leader isn’t in Canada, someone will have to get the money from the PO box at some point.

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  2. Goatlock is brilliant. Onto Russia with a stop first to talk to Alex’s parents. Why aren’t they more upset about grandma’s predicament? What kind of parents let their child do an internship in situational ethics? Besides as I was reminded during my son’t latest visit-it’s always the parents’ fault. First the parents, then the borscht.

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  3. Inspector Goatlock – don’t eat Lupine – he could contain toxic alkaloids! and maybe this has something to do with the case. maybe he is trying to lead you astray with all this hat thing? i’m clueless. not good at mysteries.
    good morning, All

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  4. R and S Babooners:

    I’m not certain about how Ins. Goatlock should proceed, but I do have observations about aspects of the situation: I’m pretty fascinated by this graphic–the goatface and the hat, plus the pipe–how did you DO that? Then, I also like the visual of Dr. Lupine as an assistant and the tall, thin, feathery image that evokes. Like Ichabod Crane in a newsboy hat. I’d love to see them lurking in the forest with Blevins.

    And the most important aspect of the entire mystery: Do people deceive themselves all the time? Yes, I say Goatlock, yes. During a particular life crisis I had to come face-to-face with this habit of mine and turn it around if I wanted to live in reality. Self-deception as well as deceiving others, is a nasty and destructive habit that thrives everywhere. You would think BP or Mark Sanford or Wall Street Execs would have noticed this by now, but the deception goes on.

    I think I’ll sneak behind a tree and lurk for awhile, then go for my morning walk.

    BAA-Baa for now.

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  6. But what do we know about this grandma, the supposed victim? And why is the way Grandpa died never mentioned?

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  7. Whew! Someone has to say it: that is incredibly deft writing by Dale. I am not a student of all that he has done before, but this blog shows his wit and imagination at what (for me) is a new high level. Today’s blog revisits recent posts and stitches them together to create a robe stunning in beauty and complexity.

    A clue that has been overlooked here is the Moose Sweat. Goatlock knows that Canadian authorities are fond of making loose charges of “trafficking” in Moose Sweat, often bringing those charges against poor schlubs who are addicted to Moose Sweat, even though they don’t sell to others.

    A few brief interviews with friends of Alex confirm Goatlock’s first assumption. Alex has a girlfriend. He’s in love. And he is in over his head, having fallen for Tanya, a slightly older and vastly more experienced woman with a mysterious Russian accent and expensive tastes. Why would a young man spring an extortion scheme on his own grandmother? Because he has acquired an expensive new habit, in this case the courtship of a woman for whom a diamond is a girl’s best friend.

    Poor Alex wants to impress her so badly that he has taken on the persona of a bon vivant who has a platinum Visa card. Worse, far worse, Alex has conned himself into thinking he is this person.

    That marketing residency in Moscow? Ha! Alex hasn’t been anywhere near Russia. He used that money to launch his courtship of Tanya. Truth be told, he hasn’t even left town. The money that was to fund his education in marketing has already been burned up, so Alex needs a fresh supply. Tanya hints that she has an investment scheme going that will pay off handsomely as soon as the US comes to its senses and votes for another Republican president who understands Money. Alex wants to believe her. This money he is extorting from his grandmother will go back to her multiplied several times over. He is doing his grandmother a favor.

    Goatlock stuffs a fresh wad of pipe tobacco from the Balkans in his calabash and lights it reflectively. He isn’t hunting an international criminal mastermind, just a lovesick puppy who has lost his head.

    Beware the liar, Heartlanders. Above all, beware the liar who has fallen for his own fantasies, the fellow who fools you because he doesn’t understand when he is practicing deception.

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  8. Greetings! Where do you guys come up with this stuff?! I love reading mysteries and following the twists and turns of a well-written book — but I’ll be darned if I can come up with anything as coherent as Dale or Steve does.

    But I do have a mystery for you to ponder. I drove my husband to work this morning, and when I returned there was a turtle loitering on the driveway close to the porch step into the house. His name is Sarge. I know this because it’s painted on his shell. Sarge wasn’t there 25 minutes earlier when we left, and I doubt he’s a racing turtle. We have no pets or animals — so where did he come from?

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    1. He might be a relative of the one that wandered into our back meadow a few weeks ago. Unfortunately didn’t find the way out again and died without our knowledge till the other day. Make sure he’s not fenced in…

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    2. Can’t be sure of anything but my guess is that he is a she and that she is looking for a place to lay eggs. This is the time of year when female turtles emerge from a nearby wetland (?) to lay eggs in the soil. This can happen in lots of places but they usually like to find a site where the soil has been disturbed, such as a garden or field (easier digging). She’ll dig a hole and lay her white, rubbery-shelled eggs into it and then bury the entire nest. This can take her some time: site location, digging, laying eggs, burying; it might take an entire night. Sometimes these nests can go unnoticed because they’re able to cover them pretty well. You just might have a turtle nest somewhere nearby! Do you know what species he/she/it is? Be very cautious around a snapping turtle – they do bite and lock their jaws! Painted turtles have a darker green, smoother carapace, rare Blandings turtles have a bright yellow chin and good ol’ snappers are a drab olive green and look prehistoric.

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      1. Thanks for info. S/he looked fairly drab olive to me. We have a large fenced in yard (1/2 acre about), but no wetlands. We had a lot of rain over weekend, but with the sandy soil it’s all dry again. I’m guessing it’s a pet turtle from a neighbor, but I don’t like or talk to my neighbors — just call me a hermit. They probably don’t like us because we have a crappy lawn compared to their velvet green expanses. But I don’t have time, energy, motivation and definitely not money to keep up the suburban lawn thing.

        I just moved Sarge over to a grassy area closer to neighbor’s fence. Haven’t checked on Sarge for past couple hours — too hot for me.

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    3. See, now, and here I was going to go with the easy explanation of, “well, sweetheart, when a Mommy Turtle and Daddy Turtle love each other very much…”

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  9. Dale, have you considered writing an actual crime novel? I just finished Deaver’s new Lincoln Rhyme mystery and he does lists and lots of twists but he’s scientific, no humor; there is room in the genre for someone new; and once you’ve got them hooked they’ll come back year after year (Robert Parker died this winter and we still get folks who comment how sorry they are that he is gone, and this after writing since the early 70’s!)

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  10. Good Morning to All.

    Well, most dectives would explore all of the leads, including interviews with everyone concerned and some kind of check on the PO Box. However, Goatlocks is a different kind of detective who is so brilliant that he may have already solved the case and will now just find a way to trap the crooked person in a lie. If this is the case, who has he found to be the culprit and how will he go about trapping this person? We already have some candidates, the Grandmother, the Grandson, a crooked Mountie, maybe even the parents, or some mysterious person. I don’t know how we can predict what a brilliant person, like Goatlocks, will do to solve this case.

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  11. I’m not sure what the rules are for Baboonites. I don’t assume I have rights to hijack the thread. If others want to ignore Tanya (although she makes her living being hard to ignore) are free to do so. Maybe Alex is accumulating money to make his fortune in goats. My post only points to one possibility.

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  13. Goatlock: “I see, Lupine, you have recently been in Russia.”
    Lupine stammers uncomfortably.
    Goatlock: “We are looking for someone under the age of 40 to be technologically saavy. He will have frayed cuffs on both sleeves from reaching into PO mailboxes.”
    Lupine: “Why both sleeves?”
    Goatlock: “Elementary: A student of situational ethics would be amibvalent and ambivalence leads to amibdexterity.”
    Lupine: “So, an ambidexterous Russian.”
    Goatlock: “NO, that’s a red herring. Speaking of red, did you notice the remarkable incident that no wild animals were chattering at the Mountie?”
    Lupine: “But they weren’t chattering.”
    Goatlock: “Exactly. Don’t you want to know how I deduced you were recently in Russia.”
    Lupine: “Well, I guess.”
    Goatlock: “All in due time, my good fodder, I mean fellow. But first have Mrs. Blackfootson brew me up a batch of 5% oat mash.”

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  14. When my son visited south Africa three years ago, he was warned to watch out for thieving baboons. I think Goatlock and Lupine need to see if Blevins and Ronda have alibis (or cell phones).

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  15. This case is thick with herrings.

    How good is Grandma’s hearing? Was it really Alex on the other end of the phone? If not who else knows Grandma has a grandson named Alex and can provide the necessary details?

    Since most people refer to the there Grandma by title and not by name it would be very difficult for an acquaintance of Alex to get Grandma’s phone number without a last name. So either the thief, got personal alone time with Alex’s cell phone, or it is a family member in need of cash or simply trying to drive a wedge between Grandma and Alex. Who stands to benefit if Alex is cut out of Grandma’s will? Who sounds enough like Alex on the phone, to fool Grandma? Who lives near enough to Canada to take a quick trip to empty the PO box?

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  16. This is off topic but I had such a funny experience driving in to work today. My agency is housed at the local college adjacent to the college football practice field. They are having a high school football camp with about a hundred players attending this week. As I drove into the parking lot, I was treated to the alarming sight of player after player standing in skivvies, donning their uniforms by their cars. I guess when you are in high school the world is your locker room.

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    1. My wife just commented that she deserved some ‘Eye Candy’ today… huh… guess I’m not good enough for her! 🙂 No ‘six-pack’ for me- that’s for sure! I”ll send her your way Renee.

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  17. oh, my head swims with the twists and turns and all of the clever writings. thanks so much!
    Clyde- if Combes is worth his oats he drinks Summit EPA. (Exceptionally Primo Alpine) for just such a goat.
    Steve – if Alex is as dumb as i think he is, he probably thinks he can make a fortune raising goats 🙂
    remember the State Fair 2008 skit at the Goat Barn and i think it was Bubby who had bought a goat that “gave” gold (do i disremember, Dale?) maybe Bubby is mixed up in this some way. maybe Bubby is pretending to be Alex. maybe Tanya is Donna.

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      2. yes, i think you’ve got it, Sherrilee! and i think this “yeast raising” or whatever Donna calls it, is a sham. he really fleeces grandmas (or is that Goatlock’s dumb assistant Ramstead?)

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      4. Barb in Blackhoof & Barbara in Robbinsdale

        Am I too late. The goat raising movie was A Girl From Paris. Netflix has it. I’m sorry I didn’t check on replies to early threads. It’s a pretty good film.

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  18. This is more cud chewing. They need to start closer to Alex. Who knew he was going away on an internship? Who knew he had a grandma? Who could impersonate his voice?

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  20. Two OTs, if you don’t mind.

    The noon Mid-day show is an interview about poetry with Garrison Keillor. They always post these things late.

    And now a little quiz. I haven’t seen the show, but there is a medical drama on TV called “House.” The protagonist is eccentric, brilliant, cranky and possibly addicted. Or so I’ve heard. With all his flaws, he is a spectacular diagnostician of medical mysteries. Do you Heartlanders know the literary model that this tormented doctor is based upon?

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    1. I don’t know the literary model, but the show is great. He’s very cranky and brilliant. Interesting medical scenarios, not always a simple or good ending, and some quirky stuff thrown in. I’m not a fan of FOX, but this show is good. And Hugh Laurie is very good.

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  21. House is directly based on Holmes and is an addict to pain killers. His best friend is a dr. with a name that is a soin off of Watson. Iwill look it up.
    The show stars one of my favorite people as House (duh, old man memory here).
    But it is sort of wears on me. But what a talent in acting and music he is.

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      1. and we quit watching House (even tho we really like Laurie) because i think it is “jumping the shark.” – another quiz. my Steve says it is “common knowledge” what that means.
        do you know?

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  22. Hugh Laurie, also Birdie Wooster and in the Black Adder, etc. etc. etc.
    Robert Sean Leonard plays Dr. Wilson, a SPIN-OFF of Watson.

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  24. Have any of you read the mystery “Three Bags Full”, about a flock of sheep that solves the mysterious death of their beloved shepherd? Its great fun.

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    2. YES! I have read “Three Bags Full” — read it last summer on a roadtrip. During the little show at the end when the sheep were trying to lay out their murder solution … I was laughing out loud.

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      1. Say no more! this is now on my summer reading list-the s&h is a great one for spoiling books for me (one of those twisted souls who also reads the ending of books first-I don’t get that).

        I beg you! SAY NO MORE!!!!

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  25. Off topic to Catherine: RE: yesterday’s question about pow-wows, here’s a Minnesota listing:
    http://drumhop.com/mnpowwow.html
    (And they have a calendar at Birchbark Books.)
    And yes, it is Marshalltown IA where I frequently visit my mom… grew up there. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if it HAD been Marshmallow Town, though, Anna!

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  26. I recomment that Insp. Combes and Dr. Lupine consult with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law — just saw that movie, and they were some of the most colorful characters I’ve seen in some time. And if you get that mtg. set up, I’d like to be there, OK?

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  27. I think, perhaps, Lupine was “Grandma” and does not want to admit to Combes that he was drawn in by such a scheme. He is hoping that Combes will over-think the evidence and ignore the PO Box in Canada, thinking it a red herring (when really it was Lupine himself who set it up so that “Alex” could retrieve the money anonymously). He knows that he has thrown good money after bad helping “Alex,” who clearly *is* involved in the shady Moose Sweat market, having fallen head over heels for Tanya (an international player in MS trafficking). But Lupine is a soft-hearted soul and cannot turn down a favored nephew.

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  28. Lupine is an accomplice. Just look how those French behaved at the Wortld Cup. Settled!!
    Three Bags Full has be thinking of other beastieries. What a delight Fiver is, one of my favorite characters.

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  29. Barbara in Blackhoof

    “Jumping the shark” is when the producers of a TV show get anxious about low ratings and decide to reach back for some ultimate stunt that will restore luster to the show.

    When I look back on my own life, there were times it would have been nice to jump some sharks and make a bigger impact on people. Alas, I had none in inventory.

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    1. The classic one that comes to mind was from “Dallas” when they brought back Bobby Ewing from the dead by making the entire preceding season just a dream by his wife. Deus ex Machina …. anyone?

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      2. I think “jumping the shark” came from Happy Days, didn’t it? I don’t remember why.

        I’m not watching House anymore, although I used to be a huge fan. It’s become too much of a night time soap opera for me (A sleeps w/ B, C sleeps w/ D but really wants to sleep w/ E., etc.) Although it was nice to see House himself evolving slowly into a little more of a decent human being. I also miss my favorite character – Cameron.

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  30. Another off topic, Jacque and Cynthia in Mahtowa: My uncle’s wife is from Story City, and my people (Ingebritson —> Britson) are from Roland, another Norwegian “colony” about 6 miles from there. My grandma came over from Bergen…

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    1. Ours were Petersons (some help, huh?) but they stopped at Ellis Island where it was changed to GruBhoel (must have been the name of a place or something), which they unfortunately shortened to Hoel. One of Grandma’s brothers married a woman named Mary Cutter; thus, Mary Cutter Hoel. Yes really! I know little more than this about them. We could be 12th cousins three times removed or however they do that.

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      1. Isn’t it amazing what they do with names??
        …and Jacque, I lied yesterday about the lupines. Just looked it up, and both my books say nothing about being biennial, but I guess it does take 2 years from planting for a decent set of blooms.

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    2. I thought they were biennial too. We have them in our yard and they last two summers in the same location, all the time reseeding themselves in outher locations. After the two years if we want them in the same places we have to replant.

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  31. Steve, read the intro over lunch. Excellent wordsmithing, compact and rich at once. You shape the story-telling to set up the book very well. Draws me in nicely. Will read the two chapters over the next two days or so.
    Story-telling in our family comes mostly from my wife, a brilliant—bright, shinning, and intelligent—reader of stories for children. She did story hour at the public library for years. Impacted hundreds of kids about reading, books, and imagination. Made her corner a safe and warm place to be despite a co-worker at the main desk who one of my students used to call the polyester witch. We walked into Green Mill in Duluth a few years ago and half the wait staff rushed up and hugged her, all former library regulars.
    My son and I when he was in grades 2-3 would write stories together. Really did not do it much, but in his memory we spent hours and hours at it, an illusion I do not correct.
    My wife’s impact on our grandchildren is large indeed. We were not sure we wanted our granddaughter to ever read. She used to pretend to be reading and make up stories using her grandmother’s inflection pattern. She started this at 2 when her stories would just repeat one step of a plot. By age 5 they were complete tales. She did this once at B&N in the story reader chair and soon had many kids sitting and listening. Soon parents were looking over her shoulder to see if she was reading. Most just stood there looking confused.
    Our 5-year old grandson makes up super hero tales which are not up to his sister’s history. But before he tells them he goes off a lone and practices them silently but moving his lips and doing all the gestures.

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    3. i burned through the three chapters in a short while. i am very impressed with the pattern of the writing . the voice. it rings so clearly. the voice makes you want to know more. bring it on steve.

      clyde, i have a daughter who is now 11 and writing stories. we used to laugh at her needing what my wife calls alone time. she always needed to go off and spend time with ther imagination. she would create conversations and situations and work it out as part of her self therapy. if she got into a situation where she was not able to get away and work through her habbit she would get messed up. her stories at school now are at a level that blow me away. she denied hanging out in the tub with a fistfull of barbies and kens and boats and plastic animals but she didn’t let it stop her, it was just very private. now she knows what i was talking about when i told her to keep it up. fun stuff

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  32. The phrase jump the shark refers to the climactic scene in “Hollywood,” a three-part episode opening the fifth season of the American TV series Happy Days in September 1977. In this story, the show’s central characters visit Los Angeles, where Fonzie (Henry Winkler), wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, jumps over a confined shark on water skis, answering a challenge to demonstrate his bravery. The series continued for nearly seven years after that, with a number of changes in cast and situations.
    Wkipedia

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  34. Clyde and Jacque What kind words! Thanks so much.

    Storytelling is the constant core running through our family. My daughter acquired that frame of mind from my telling her bedtime stories but also from Garrison Keillor. She would often go to sleep with Garrison on her boombox telling Lake Wobegone stories, and in that way the format of the story became the framework of her mind.

    When she was six, my sister’s family took her camping. They ended up along the Mississippi River the first night in a campground near Anoka. After evening meals, the whole camp naturally drifted down to the river to admire the stars and relax. Molly began telling her cousins a story about a bear that broke into a garage. She went on and on with this story, with colorful detail. The whole campground went silent, for Molly’s piping voice could be clearly heard by everyone, and soon it seemed the whole camp was holding its breath waiting for the next development. When Molly said the words, “And then I got my gun . . . ” there was a loud exhalation as about 40 adults realized they had been taken along for a ride by a cute little kid.

    Maybe, as time goes along, I can talk about what is good and bad about the storytelling cast of mind. It is a mixed blessing, as are most blessings (is that in the Bible anywhere?).

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    1. Steve, another great story! I too would like to read the beginning chapters of your book, when I’m back from travels next week. Do you need an email address?

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    2. Nice to read after reading the intro.
      I do not know of a specific place the Bible says that but it certainly implies it. Bet it in effect says it about 50 times in Ecclesiastes. My wife is fond of quoting the Bible such as Sandy 14:23. So we can make it Steve 3:13. “After each blessing, duck.”

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  35. Hello Kids,

    I rolled into town from IA last night around 11:00 and do you think I could go to bed without first checking TB?? My head didn’t hit the pillow until 1 a.m. and now I sit here again trying to make sense of Dale’s whodunnit when I could be suntanning. Everyone’s elaborations have been most entertaining and here’s one more:
    About a month ago, Alex was camping in the north woods when his cell phone dropped out of his pocket while squatting over a nest of pine needles. As luck would have it, a local scoundrel happened upon the phone (it somehow landed clear of the defaced pine needles) and the cad quickly devised a scheme to help finance a long desired Canada fishing trip. (Alex should never have entered his grandmother as “loaded granny” on his contact list.) Tanya is the shyster’s girlfriend and accomplice. She’s also a Moose Sweat junkie (nympho), but it’s impossible that she and Donna are the same person. You know very well that I would NEVER (even jokingly) say, “the US should come to its senses and vote for another Republican president.”
    Of course, it’s very possible that Dr. Lupine is Carlos. Carlos does enjoy mysteries and disguises, but I’m warning him right now – if he gets mixed up with any horehound, it’s over!

    Clyde – I love your Mrs.
    Steve – send chapters to dkbarstad@gmail.com (pretty please)

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    2. Wait just a minute-a cell phone lost in the woods? Would this local scoundrel be of an ursine persuasion??????

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  36. Donna–maybe it reflects my family history, but I would not have taken “loaded Granny” to mean she is rich.

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      1. Rockefeller Chapel, across from gnu dorms, where right before it stood one of the ugliest buildings ever built for the 1890 Chicago Exposition. I do love the interior. Would be excellent, I would think, for a smaller group graduation such as the law or business school. I had a friend who played the carrillon there so I got to watch the process. Not like playing an organ. Man, that was 47 years ago.

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  37. One of those ironic juxtapositions of items
    Thse two news stories are placed one after naother on a coupl oe news pages today, perhaps intenionally:
    Lasers Reveal First Icons of Sts. Peter anf Paul
    X-Rate X-Ray Pin Up Calendar

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  38. I’m overwhelmed with all the threads today! Clyde, it is good to have you back. You have a way with words and stories, as do the rest of you. I thought ER jumped the shark about 7 or so years before it finally ended (the helicopter crashing on the hospital did it for me).

    Dale the writing is brilliant. You really should write a crime novel. I could picture some variation of the Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency.

    Steve I don’t know if you saw my post yesterday with my email: cyndenton@gmail.com. I’d love to see your book chapters. Any or all.

    Are there any Goatlock shows in syndication?

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      1. Love Jasper Fforde! May have to add rereading both of his series to my summer reading list.

        Where am I going to find the time to do all this reading?????

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  39. Two days of reading have not resulted in clarification for me. I’m still deceiving myself. I only know that I’ve been sleeping far too long and have awakened in a congress of baboons, that I’m still not certain what “situational ethics” means (but I’m troubled by the implications), and that Moose Sweat is now an aphrodisiac. I’m not a good detective but I really enjoy the conundrums…

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    1. After an exhausting day at work, I arrived home to read all this. I’m even more exhausted now.

      I also think we may need to have a book group now–a lot of books recommended here today, although no book group I have ever belonged to can stay on the topic of the book. Which makes this blog group another candidate for a book group I would belong to. If we just read all the stuff blog members write, we would be busy for a long time.

      Re: Dale’s mystery. I think Rush Limbaugh made the call to Beverly trying to extort the money. He has a new wife to support plus all that alimony for the past wives. This is my theory because anytime I don’t understand something I blame it on Rush. I was lost sometime this morning around 7:30am with the twists of this mystery. So Rush did.

      That’s all I have to say.

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  40. Ditto Krista and Jacque. So much for signs of slowing.

    Agatha Christie is still my favourite mystery writer of all time. Love her non-mystery stuff too.

    Also, I second the book group idea. Maybe a compilation of the books mentioned so far? I usually try not to suggest something without volunteering to do it, but I’m snowed under moving boxes at present…

    Steve in St. Paul, I’ll send you my email address once we have the big move behind us (I’m at work all this week, and am planning on driving a 26′ truck north out of Texas for good Friday evening). My summer reading list is yet unplanned!

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  41. I just checked out Three Bags Full from library, and have read enough to know (I don’t think this would give too much away…) that the “main detective sheep” is named Miss Maple. 🙂

    RE: book group – think how we’d do this. So far we’ve got a “round robin” kind of thing going — Clyde has forwarded to me, and I to tim, Michael Pollan’s “A Place of My Own”. The idea was to write a comment on page inside front cover, but there’s been no discussion here to speak of.
    Going to reunion this weekend, could put together book list next week when I’m back.

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      1. I love Oliver Sack’s writing. I do a fair amount of testing for brain dysfunction and find him poetic and informative. For pure fun, however, has anyone read “Why should you doubt me now” or Any four women could rob the Bank of Italy”?

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      2. This is not a typical Sacks book. About growing up in London during WWII and his childhood with chemistry. Not the book I wanted but all right. I still think there is a great book in the childhood experiences of London children in WWII, but it has yet to be done. And since he is Jewish, that could have been interesting to have seen that viewpoint, but he makes a point of not telling those stories very much. But an excellent history of chemistry from about 1750 to 1920. But, Renee, you may want this book to get some personal insights into him. Let me know if you want me to send it to you in a week or so.

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      3. I think I read that memoir in the New Yorker. It was great. I don’t think I need you to send it to me, but isn’t it so interesting what similar interest we all have. Clyde-you may really like his book on music and brain issues with music. I forget what the title is but it is a great book. I have it and if you would like me to send it to you, let me know.

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  44. I just came from book group tonight. Discussed Sarah vowell’s Wordy Shipmates. Would love to be part of another book group, in person or virtual.

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  45. Hey–
    I was busy all day (well not too busy to take my laptop along) but the guest network I was on wouldn’t take any of my posts to the blog for some reason…
    I was never much for mysteries so I don’t have anything to contribute to that…
    However, I was trying to comment on Renee’s story of boys changing clothes in the parking lot by saying my wife was just saying she deserved some ‘eye candy’ and I would send her your way Renee! (and I didn’t take that as an insult either… I’m simply a different kind of candy! Hah!) And I also got to pretend I was ‘The boyfriend, Carlos’ today!

    Steve in Saint Paul, did you get my request for story chapters the other day? Please send to bkhain (at) aol.com–

    Thanks and Good night!

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