Concrete Memories

Over the weekend, some outdoorsy men in orange vests repaved and restriped the bank parking lot. When I got to work this morning, yellow caution tape sealed off both the entrance and exit to the bank lot, leaving it to resemble a crime scene. I secretly hoped that there had been a body found in the ATM lane or something, and that I might be able to go back home since I wasn't a witness. I think I've been watching too much Dexter lately. ~~Alas,~~ Thankfully, the only reason for the caution tape was the new Purdue-colored parking lot, which looks lovely but smells like burnt rubber . The odor reminds me of my childhood: I am riding with my grandfather through the twisting back roads of rural Indiana, headed back to Bloomington or maybe Bedford from Carmichael Cemetary, where my lineage lay. I need to tinkle and have no choice but to make in the cornfields. My Papaw pulls over. As I step out of the Cadillac, my mary janes go squish in the not-yet-hardened asphalt. Though my grandfather wipes at my feet with newspaper, the strong smell of tar fills the car and it seems to linger there the rest of his life. Funny how a smell can bring back such emotion, with a sense of nostaglia so strong it makes my eyes water today.

That cemetery, high up on a hill, overlooks the family farm where my own grandmother was raised. I feel compelled to go home and re-read Memories of a Midwestern Farm, written by my mother's cousin, Nancy Hutchens. (She's the daughter of my grandmother's brother, and pretty much my coolest relative.) Her cookbook/ memoir contains reflections of rural life: journal entries written by her great grandmother Tribby and Hutchens family recipes (my favorite: Get You a Husband Apple Pie) as well as a picture of my Mammaw (Pauline Hutchens Burch) right there, on page fourteen, a picture that I will treasure until the day I die.

Closing Arguments, Trial 3. The Defense: Closing the Case of Adnan Syed v Alice LaCour and Brett Talley

Would Hae Have Liked Pineapple on Pizza? If it Pleases the Court... Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I want to start by thanking you for your time. It is no small task to put your lives on hold and focus in on the details and particulars and specifics of this case, and it may be a struggle to focus when you have to think about what you're missing at home. Your civil duty - and your willingness to fulfill it - does NOT go unnoticed. I mentioned "time." It's a relative, term, right? I had to wait in line at the post office for 15 minutes. I waited for the checkout gal at Wal-Mart for 20, because they didn't have enough lanes open. I don't know about you, but I try to be patient. Sometimes I fail to wait gracefully, but I really do try. So. Look at Adnan. For over TWENTY-THREE YEARS he has been waiting... patiently. 23 years ago, I was about the same age as Adnan. I graduated high school in the spring of 1999, just like he did - or would have - had he not bee

20 Points in a Basic Story in the Botched Case Against Adnan Syed: I Must Be Insane as that's 5x More than any Other Basic Story Presentation I've Ever Seen

Basic Story With 20 Points: Could Adnan be Innocent? "It's not a cop-out; it's case law." ~Bob Ruff, host, Truth and Justice Pod 1 Adnan was the main suspect - Hae's family passed that along to Officer Adcock on the afternoon she disappeared. Originally, they suspected she might be with Don, even though she had to work at 6pm and had never once NOT brought her cousin home. Does anyone know how old the second cousin is? Two cousins lived with Hae. And Officer Adcock's Supplemental Report dated 1/13/99 states that Mr. Lee advises that she "did not pick up his two cousins from school.") Did they go to the same school, these cousins? Another question that could be explored is why Hae's uncle is the only immediately family member who doesn't live with Hae. Another pain point for me - I'm confused as to why the cousins did not live with their dad, Hae's uncle... but look. Every family has different dynamics. I mean, I gues

Not The Nisha Call: Other Things to Consider in the Case of Adnan Syed

"If there is anything about my case, man - I want to know... I want to test it... There's nothing about my case that that I'm afraid of." - Adnan Syed Serial, Episode 12: What We Knew Instead of focusing on a flower and Jay's Changing Stories, Consider This: A) The policemen handling the Missing Persons Investigation did sloppy and lazy work. They back dated reports and failed to interview multiple people thoroughly enough. B) The police did not interview the family robustly enough to understand what else might have been going on in Hae's life. They, to my knowledge, did not find a translator and instead relied on the guidance of her younger brother. C) A computer, a floppy disk containing electronic diary entries were noted and later went "missing" D) Hae's email and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) accounts were never researched thoroughly, and her online activity is relatively unknown, outside of her newly updated "away message" which s

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