mom and the killers

okay...

so, if you don't live near your mother and you intend to send a gift or card, today's the day to do it.
just fyi.

as i've said here in the blog a couple times now, we lost my mom a few years ago and i miss her everyday. i feel her around me quite often and, at times, quite close. sure, when we're watching ER or grey's anatomy and there's a "dying mom" story or a "cancer" story, i cry like a little kid, but that's not what i mean. she's there, usually for the fun things, the funny things, the times when i'm with my dad or my brother or my niece and nephew and something funny happens or is said. we can usually hear her laughing, feel her with us.
now here's the crazy line--are you ready...?

recently, i've been fascinated by accounts of serial killers.

while flipping through the channels the other day, i paused a bit too long on the E network (i don't really care for E--just seems like a slimy, paparazzi-fueled, spite-channel to me...) where their "true hollywood story" just happened to be featuring a report on the BTK killer, the serial killer from kansas who was caught and later confessed every minute detail of his horrific murders. this was followed by episodes on other serial killers--jeffrey dahmer, john wayne gacy, etc.--i didn't watch; i had work to do. and then coast to coast a.m. rebroadcast a show that focused on the zodiac killer who terrorized the san francisco area in the early 70s.

and i thought of mom.
my mom loved to read and loved to read true crime books, not that she was in any way a morbid or ghoulish person. as a matter of fact, most people who knew her were shocked that she would find this shocking material so fascinating. but she did. she would bust on me for reading such gruesome fare as stephen king and clive barker and i'd counter, "wait a minute! that stuff YOU read is true!!" "but, "she would say, "i'm interested in the forensics of it. the ways they solve the case and the psychology of the perpetrator." she had me there. for years, long before csi and ncsi and all of the currently popular crime scene investigation shows, we would watch tv as a family and my mom would explain to us what the cops would do or should do to scientifically track their killer down. we knew about luminol long before it became a household word, knew about dna evidence and the handling of it years before william peterson was tossing that stuff around. even my dad would look at her in surprise sometimes when she would inform us of some new test or technique--and he had been a detective on the nypd!!

mom was an incredible forensic investigator and, though i know she is around me, around us, often, we are all also certain that she is off solving some very difficult murder cases up in heaven. she was just fascinated by the subject and i don't think that something as trivial as death would stop her from checking out all the most interesting cases.
(okay, so we don't think that there are murder cases up in heaven...but we're pretty sure that mom is hovering around and involved in the investigation of some of the crazier stuff that's going on here.)

and lately, my mom has been urging me to lean towards the true crime stuff that she couldn't get enough of. i downloaded an audiobook on the BTK killer from itunes the other day. i listen to it in the car and feel that mom is there listening right along. and last night i rented the movie zodiac.
she said they left a couple things out...

happy mother's day, mom!
love you!

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what is your mom fascinated with?

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my uncle sent this to me the other day...

i don't usually put much stock in these paranoid internet warnings, but...


Beware: Home Depot Scam

A ‘heads up’ for those men who may be regular Home Depot customers. Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while shopping. Don’t be naive enough think it couldn’t happen to you or your friends.
Here’s how the scam works: Two seriously good-looking 20-21 year-old girls come over to your car as you are loading your purchases. They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. It is impossible not to look. When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say ‘No’ and instead ask you for a ride to another store. You agree and they get in the backseat. On the way, they start undressing each other and making out. Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and starts crawling all over you, while the other one steals your wallet. I had my wallet stolen February 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, & 24th 29th. Also March 1st, 4th, twice on the 8th, 11th, 12th, three times last Saturday, probably tomorrow, and very likely again this upcoming weekend. So tell your friends to be VERY careful.

P.S. Wal-Mart has wallets on sale for 2.99 each

gotta get to work!
craig and trish and johnny and cat are coming and i've gotta kid-proof the house.
smell ya later!
todd