On October 26, 1881 at 2:30 in the afternoon, the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday confronted the Clanton and McLaury brothers at a vacant lot behind the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, AZ. Thirty seconds of gunfire and three deaths became one of the most notorious incidents of the Old West. Marshal Virgil Earp, Deputy Marshals Wyatt, and Morgan Earp attempted to disarm the Clanton clan; gunfire erupted, although some witnesses claimed that the Clantons and McLaurys threw up their hands when ordered to. Billy Clanton and Frank and Thomas McLaury died, and Virgil and Morgan Earp were wounded.
Listening to my daughters and their children talk of going to the zoo and seeing Nikita, the polar bear, brought back a lot of memories. I lived so close to the zoo that my siblings and I would walk there back in the 50s. The zoo was free at that time, so we went often!
It's that time of year again. Every November since 1999, writers around the country (and now the world) have dedicated thirty days to "literary abandon." In other words, it's National Novel Writing Month (also known as Nanowrimo).
I admit I am a Pawn Stars junkie. For those who don't know what that could possibly be, I will explain. Pawn Stars is a television show on the History Channel featuring the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop opened in 1988 by "Old Man" Harrison in Las Vegas, NV. It runs on Monday nights, but sometimes we get blessed with marathons that run through the week. People bring in the strangest things to either sell or pawn. My goal is to go to Las Vegas and find this place. Forget "The Strip", baby I want to see this pawn shop.
Mystery, intrigue, murder??? Kenneth Cameron’s character, Denton, often finds himself involved in the dark side of Victorian London life, and this reputation brings him into another mystery in The Bohemian Girl. Denton is a famous American author who returns from a trip to Central Europe, and is greeted by a note from a young woman asking for his help.
Several months ago, I picked up a gem of a book entitled The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man written by Brett and Kate McKay. This book covers many skills that have been nearly forgotten by the last few generations. Today’s idea of manliness is much more aligned with Homer Simpson than with Teddy Roosevelt. The reversal of this trend is the point of the book, but let’s get to my point. Hats!
While working at the North Independence Branch temporary location (the Old Independence Regional Hospital), I've witnessed some eerie unexplainable things. Not sure what it is, but I'm sure of one thing, it's fun! I'll have to admit some of it has been joke playing on each other, but just when I think I've been had, something out-of-the-ordinary happens.
The "golden age" of detective fiction refers to the flowering of classical mysteries (especially in Britain) between the two world wars. Many of these writers were members of the London Detection Club, whose 1928 "oath" included such guidelines for authors as:
not withholding clues from readers
avoiding reliance on coincidence
intuition and hunches rather than reason
minimizing use of suspect devices like evil twins, conspiracies, and lunatics
Characterized by complex plot-driven stories, the puzzle is paramount in these novels.
