Hey, Brenda. Long time, no talk. I’d normally apologize for not writing sooner, but I know you see everything now that you’re on “the other side,” as your father once referred to it. I think of you and your family this time of the year. Christmas was a big event for your family, a tradition […]
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VII: A letter to Brenda Keller Read More »
As I wrote in this series a few years ago, 1995 was an odd Christmas. It was the year we had Mexican food for our big meal and watched, of all things, “Mortal Kombat.” It was also cold and snowy, the latter of which isn’t always the case on the holiday. I also remember that
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VI: Booker was one cool cat Read More »
“Every day at 3:30 p.m., I watched as you came running and hopping home from school. You were always so happy.” Those were the words of my father about our short stay in Joplin and my experience at Emerson Elementary School, where I spent all of one-and-a-half years as a first- and second-grader. I think
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part V: About Joplin, my hometown Read More »
Tis the season … to be in Arkansas. At least it was in 2005, when I spent the week leading up to Christmas there. I was 29 years old and fairly low on the totem pole at the Topeka Capital-Journal, where I worked as a sports copy editor/lead sports designer. I was also single. I
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part IV: Christmas in Arkansas (almost) Read More »
This column ran in the Nov. 25, 2006, sports section of the Topeka Capital-Journal, the day of the then-annual Missouri-Kansas game. The Tigers won that game 42-17. This column featured the 1960 game, which was the biggest in the rivalry until 2007’s “Armageddon at Arrowhead,” which Missouri won 36-28 to move up to the nation’s
Just win, baby. If you grew up with my father, you heard that often, notably during any sort of competition. It typically came with minor (and sometimes major) bending of the rules. Stealing cash when the banker isn’t looking during Monopoly? Just win, baby. Completely altering the score during a one-on-one game of basketball? Just
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part II: ‘Just win, baby,’ even at the Pine Tar Derby Read More »
My fascination with true crime began with a random television special about Gary Ridgway, infamously known these days as the Green River Killer. In 1988, though, that moniker had no face. It was a creepy story without an ending. At the same time, the iconic “Unsolved Mysteries” was a hit on TV. It was one
Twelve Days of Christmas finale: The search for James ‘Danny’ Hollingshead continues Read More »
Note: This excerpt is from the true crime book I’m writing about the shocking murder of Brenda Michelle Keller on Oct. 19, 1991. Just 12 years old, Brenda was riding her bike in tiny Dover, Kansas, when she was abducted. You can read more about the book and how I started on this journey in
Man, did I hit the jackpot. It was Christmastime in the fourth grade, and the richest kid in our class drew my name as a Not So Secret Santa. A toy car? A handheld video game? A set of really good baseball cards? Sky’s the limit! It was one of the few times I was
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part IX: Fast times at Maplecrest Elementary Read More »
An omelet cooked on a rock. A rainy night marred by mosquitoes. Sleeping in the back of a pickup truck in the middle of August. A two-mile walk to McDonald’s for lunch. And nearly being run over by a moving truck. All of that happened at my favorite craft show, the Festival of the Little
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VIII: Dad and St. Charles, my favorite craft show Read More »
