Penelope’s Loom

People give pain, are callous and insensitive, empty and cruel...but place heals the hurt, soothes the outrage, fills the terrible vacuum that these human beings make. --Eudora Welty We last left Leo and the Atlanta Police detectives at the National Pencil Co., on the morning of April 27th. He was then taken by police, to the factory cellar, in order to view the body. He was visibly anxious, but then who wouldn't be? Many of his family and friends later described Leo as being rather highly strung, so perhaps his reaction wasn't atypical. I mean, its' hardly proof, right? But, this was the biggest problem with the whole tragedy: circumstance, physical demeanor, and here-say, were used by the police and prosecutors as a 'smoking gun.' After retiring to Leo's office, detectives quickly determined that he had been the last person to see Mary Phagan alive (remember, that he'd giv...

We are the breakers of our own hearts. -------Eudora Welty This is Mary Phagan.  She was 13 years at the time of her murder. In preparation for this confusing and complex crime, I sure did read a lot.  I'd like to recommend all of these sources to you, but I'm afraid I had to narrow it down to this one: And the Dead Shall Rise   by Steve Oney.  It's about 600 pgs. long, and is, in this historian's opinion, by far the best consideration of this enigmatic case. So.  A Tale of Two Cities, eh? Well, in this case, it would be Atlanta, Georgia, and Manhattan.  In other words, North vs. South.  Sound familiar? It should, at least to those familiar with the tensions that still exist between these two American regions. Let us journey now to the earliest years of the 20th century, specifically, to Atlanta.  It was here, that a little girl, Mary Phagan, was murdered in the National Pencil Company, on "Confederate Day" April 26, 1913.  She was brutally b...

  or, perhaps this: Come on baby...let's do the twist! Because, folks, let's be clear--whenever you write about politics, it's a game of perception and/or lies.  But, we should also ask the philosophical question:  what is truth?  You know, this brings to mind a story my first bro-in-law  told me once, about how he'd aced his philosophy final.  On the test paper, the instructor wrote one word:  "why?"  He laughed, and wrote "why not?"  He told me he got an A. I believe it.  This story calls to mind some of the more extraordinary machinations I've observed over my long life watching the American political process--facile practices coupled with Machiavellian tendencies.  However, one could say that about any system of politics, right?   What follows, are issues I have dealt with in previous posts, but with the upcoming presidential nuptials, perhaps it’s' a good thing if we cover this topic from another perspective.... ...

  F&*k.  I just LOVE her expression:  'don't tread on me,' right? Alright.  This week, I'm going to write on this lady...who just happens to be the ancestor of both Diana Spencer, and Winston Churchill! Cool! Nope, I know.  I know.  Not much of a 'resemblance.' Yup.  Now, I can totally see the family resemblance, can't you? So, what was her early history? Georgiana was born in June, 1757, living until March, 1806.  She was a member of the well-placed Spencer family--truly among the more prominent of England's nobles.  She was the first of three children, and from the beginning, a favorite of her parents.  An odd thing about her parents--there is little or no evidence to indicate any extra 'romps' for either of them.  I gotta tell you, this was rare  for the period.  Sometimes I think, that in Europe during the 18th century, marital fidelity was essentially unfashionable for the upper echelons.   As she grew o...