Chapter One Murder in the Golf Shop - October 1951 Austin, TX A fresh breeze blew in from the north rattling the leaves from the tall cottonwoods that surrounded the pitch and putt golf course next to the railroad tracks. The foliage had begun to turn, and the big yellow leaves floated down dotting the greens and fairways in a mottled mosaic. A dozen golfers were stretched out around the course’s nine par-three holes. Frank and Jack were on the eighth hole, perhaps one hundred yards from the pro shop when the pre-war blue Pontiac rattled up and parked on the gravel shoulder next to the small white clubhouse. A hand-painted sign on the window proclaimed, “Hole in One Wins a Free Round for Four!” A stocky man in khaki pants and a windbreaker jacket got out and stood by his car for a few minutes. Frank noticed him because he was drinking a can of beer. The beer wasn’t so unusual, but drinking it on the street at noon was not normal protocol in t...
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Joe Frank died not so long ago, I'm not sure if it was for our sins, but his passing should have counted for something. He was always kind of an idol or apex creature for me, and perhaps other acolytes of Ken Nordine and other great spoken word geniuses of the aluminum age of radio... what do YOU think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIhZuc6gYkM
Prologue Hawkins City, Texas Winter 1925 Darkness. The keening whistle of a high-pitched north wind blowing through a screened porch. A loose door on a distant shed clatters now and again. The family sleeps in a sprung clapboard house with no insulation. Children huddled under quilted comforters. The only heat in the home comes from their bedcovers. Midnight, the parents are evenly snoring in the main bedroom. Quietly, furtively, the 15 year-old brother steps from his bed and pads on the freezing boards to the room of his sisters. He slips under Florence’s covers and presses his body next to hers. He whispers, “Ah’m so cold sister, please help me to warm up.” Florence is 11 years old. She is petrified. She doesn’t know what to do. If she calls for help, she will be blamed for something. No one ever tells the fifteen-year old Preston that he is wrong. Even Daddy is scared of ...
This is all a new effort for me as I pass my 80th year on planet earth. When you're my age, it's hard to find 'new' things, though there are still plenty of surprises that I find every day. Boom! Wow, I didn't think it would do THAT! I like to screw around with Photoshop and I also make videos. I also like to write endlessly on one of my 'books in progress.' Perhaps I should or will share some of these just to test the waters, and to see if I'm barking up the wrong dog. Comments are welcome and encouraged, even if you hate what I say, I'll take your opinion under advisement. I also take photographs, I take a LOT of photographs, and my videos almost rise to semi-popularity. For example: https://youtu.be/bTZNo8rgORU Or: My photos can be seen at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49849426@N00/ I don't know 'Blogger's' file size limit, so I don't know how many photos I can post, but I'll start testing to see. I'll ...