rlfj: Blog

Several people wanted to know why the Tusks invited Carl’s parents to the christening. The answer is that in many churches baptisms are not held as separate ceremonies unless specifically requested. Often they are a part of the regular liturgy, though you have to ask the priest or preacher ahead of time so he can prepare. The entire congregation is invited to watch and welcome the new child to the parish. All three of my kids were christened this way, and that was in several different churches. In effect, you simply insert the baptism into the middle of the program, usually before the communion and sermon.

Several people gave me some more charities Carl should donate to or know about. Two of the obvious ones were the USO and the 82nd Airborne’s College Fund. The absolute truth is that I have them already written into future chapters, along with several others.

That brings me to a different topic. Every once in a while I get a note saying, “How could you forget…” and listing something from the time period. There are two answers to that. First, maybe they just weren’t important to Carl and Marilyn at the time. Second, and more likely, I forgot them! That’s the problem with writing historical fiction. Something might be important at the time to the characters, but 28 years later I forgot about it.

A final note on the drinking while pregnant controversy, such that it is. I got an interesting email from a reader: “Heh! I have actually met several pregnant OB/GYNs who regularly drank a glass of wine with dinner during late pregnancy and would wholeheartedly recommend it to their stressed out patients to unwind so long as they could be trusted not to get carried away. When asked about the apparent medical hypocrisy they just explained that the threshold for fetal harm was definitely greater than the occasional drink but no sane doctor was going to risk the potentially astronomic liability of stating on the record that X drinks were "safe", plus it might actually vary from person to person.” Probably the best explanation I have heard! Thanks!

Welcome back to Carl Buckman’s story. We’ll get back to the Grim Reaper in a few more weeks.

A few interesting notes. A few readers wanted to know if the Bob Turcos character was modeled on the real Bob Turk, a weather reporter on WJZ at the time. Well, while I remembered Bob Turk after I was reminded of him, the reality is that I simply pulled the name Turcos out of my ass. No resemblance whatsoever.

A couple of readers noted that it actually would be possible to tag the sternum, heart, and spine in a straight shot, especially if the bullet fragments. Back when I was taking biology and anatomy, we didn’t get to work on humans but were restricted to the dinosaurs roaming the land. (The dinosaurs kept eating the humans.) I probably heard the sternum-heart-spine linkage on a TV show.

There were a few complaints that a pregnant Marilyn had a drink on the flight to the Bahamas and that Carl should have prohibited this behavior. There was even a demand that I rewrite the scene! Well, you can ask, but you can’t demand. It’s rude, if nothing else. As to the drinking being irresponsible, current medical thought is quite divided on the subject. Everyone agrees that heavy drinking is bad for the fetus, but there is absolutely no agreement on light drinking. The individuals pushing the no-booze-is-safe theory are also the ones pushing the no-booze-is-safe-for-anyone-anytime theory. The rest of the doctors are arguing over whether you can have one drink a day, one a week, and so on. Nobody has researched the limits.

On the other hand, Carl is facing twin daughters and will probably be drinking much more heavily in the future! He has a whole new set of problems starting!

A lot of readers wrote to me about the last two chapters. One gave me a technical explanation of why double jeopardy would not apply. (Leaving aside the technical details, Georgia and the United States are considered separate sovereigns for court purposes. Many thanks, really, many thanks. I like to be accurate.) One gave me a lengthy response about how what I described in Conover County would have never been allowed by various state, federal, and bar associations. All the others fell into two categories. First was “Wow! I didn’t know you lived in [fill in the blank] County! You just described my home!” The second was to toss in some details, many of which focused on drugs and corruption.

What can I say about the last three chapters? Into every life some rain must fall? Longfellow said so, but I don’t think he had this in mind. Anyway, enjoy - or not.

Interesting compliment from samurai: ‘Nobody does tragedy like rlfj.’ Thank you, though I’m not quite sure what that says about me. In one way it’s sort of like being proclaimed the best serial killer. I’ll have to ask my wife what that means. I’m not sure I want to know her opinion, either.

Many commented with sadness that we don’t respect our veterans more when they pass. We went through this with my father when he died. He was in the Navy during WW2. Never saw any action, did his time, and got out, but we all knew he served, and we all respected him for it. When he died we got a petty officer and a boombox playing Taps. Fortunately, my nephew, an active-duty Marine, was home on compassionate leave and in uniform. He took over for the PO and did the presentation of the flag to my mother. A year later my nephew ended up in Fallujah, and my mother would pray to my father in Heaven to watch over him. That was considered odd to the rest of us, since she was really hard-core Lutheran, and we don’t believe in saints watching over us. It worked, sort of. He came home from Iraq whole in body and damaged in soul, with a serious dose of PTSD.

Several people noted that a Glock would be a lousy gun to kill a nest of snakes. Instead, Grim should have used a shotgun with buckshot. Okay, I don’t know shit about guns. That being said, two points. One, Grim doesn’t own a shotgun. Several times it is noted he has two handguns and an M-14 set up as a sniper rifle. Second, don’t forget Grim is such a great shot he could easily have got them that way. Anyway, as he said, he wasn’t ending the menace, but he had to do something. One reader pointed out that it is illegal to kill snakes in Georgia. Correct, but incomplete. It is illegal to kill non-venomous snakes in Georgia. Rattlesnakes are venomous, and we know he killed rattlesnakes because he heard the rattle.

Several dozen readers commented on killing snakes. It seems that there is an ammunition for the Glock.40 suitable for snakes, rats, and other pests. It’s called shotshell and is made by CCI in a #9 size. For those wondering why Grim didn’t kill the snakes with that, there’s no reason to think he would have that sort of ammunition. There are many different types of ammunition. I googled ‘40 S&W ammo’ and discovered the following types: target, full metal jacket, jacketed hollow point, ball, shotshell, fragmenting, lead free, and round nose flat point. There are probably more. While I can’t speak for all police officers, I would think it unusual for a single officer to have every single type preloaded in a magazine for emergency home use.

Some readers want Grim to donate his remains to science or a body farm when the time comes. The shot glass idea is my thought, which I trot out occasionally when I want to gross out my wife and offspring.

We are taking another break from Grim and returning to Carl Buckman. Don’t worry, though. Grim still has a few chapters to go.

One of my readers pointed out several problems with the scenario I wrote in the bank, pointing out all sorts of problems with what the sheriff did, the deputies’ actions, lawyers, etc. Did I go a bit over the top? Sure! Most of what has happened to the Grim Reaper has been over the top. As one of my editors noted to me, the man’s a shit magnet! However, does crap like this happen? Yes! I found it a strange coincidence that when I was reading my emails after first publishing this story I was watching four Minneapolis cops get fired when one of them knelt on a suspect’s neck until he died and the other three watched and did nothing. I know it’s not the same thing, but it was eerie!

Chapter 19 is a bit shorter than most and basically wraps up the M&M storyline. Come on - did you really expect the Grim Reaper to become a corporate shill?

Lots of people were happy to see Grim turn down the job at M&M. Most thought it wouldn’t be a good fit. I think that’s right. Several thought that M&M would try harder to get him on board, but one thing to consider is that M&M runs a system. If a candidate isn’t going to fit the system, they won’t let him create his own system. It will be the employee being changed, not the system.

Several years ago, we sold our housing company to a national chain. They were (and are) a very successful company, but they had a system. We were wined and dined and treated wonderfully, and paid a fair price, but when the dust settled and the papers were signed, we needed to fit into their system, or else. It was a family company, but a bunch of us were let go, another bunch got a pay cut, and the rest found themselves under a corporate microscope. Like I said, the employee changes, not the system. There was a reason I retired at 63.

Anyway, Grim doesn’t seem destined for a sales position, but will stay a consultant and expert. Probably for the best.