From Jody's Journal

Mom and Earl: They're Famous, You Know

2008-03-10T00:04:00.002-05:00

I swear I wasn't intentionally eavesdropping. In fact, I've wanted to tell this story for a long time. I'd been saving it for a chapter in my book, but feel now I've got to share at least part of it as it relates to "Dad Earl" and my mother, Hope.

The year is 1992. We'd just recently moved to Northern California, where my husband had been assigned as an ammo inspector with the Department of Defense. My 11-year-old daughter, Jennifer (who, being very shy, made friends no easier than I had at her age), had unexpectedly brought two friends home from school. After introducing them to me, she ushered them toward her bedroom door, where on the other side I assumed they'd talk privately about the most important matters of the day -- boys, teachers, moving to a new school and what-on-earth-ever-brought-you-Here?

But before they reached my daughter's bedroom door, I couldn't help but pick up on her words, and I had to stop and listen.

"Yeah, we're from Iowa," she said, "but you probably know my Grandma and Grandpa Thelander. They're famous, you know."

She said it so matter-of-factly. The tone languished somewhere between a child's innocent bragging and one already versed in that which makes other people proud.

"Really?" I heard one of the girls respond.

"Oh yeah!" Jennifer said. "My Grandpa Earl and Grandma Hope ... you know, the ones who rent out all those apartments?

Everybody

knows them and I thought for sure you'd have heard of them..."

And then her bedroom door closed and I heard only muffled voices.

I remember smiling, and thinking:

How could I have so underestimated the importance of what my parents do?

Even my own daughter, at such a young age, clearly understood the role my mother and stepfather played in our community.

How could I have known that 15 years later, my stepfather would in fact make

international headlines

for having been killed trying to make life better for others?

The article in

Australia's Scone Advocate

may have a couple minor details wrong (Earl was preparing the house for a new renter, not to sell), but the underlying truth rings loud and clear:

copper theft

isn't a problem limited just to Iowa, nor even to the United States. It's become an international problem, and is costing hundreds of thousands of dollars along with innocent lives.

Though Iowa legislators currently are working on

House Study Bill 660

in efforts to control illegal copper theft sales, thieves continue to find willing salvage buyers at recycling businesses throughout and state and the U.S. In Las Vegas, Nev., where salvage yards have gone from 60 visitors a day to over 250 visitors a day with salvage wire,

KVBC News Channel 3 Investigators

recently purchased nearly $200 worth of copper pipe at a local home improvement store. Then, along with a hidden camera, they took the copper out to sell for salvage. The station randomly picked three recycling businesses from the phone book to see if they'd be asked for photo identification, required for salvage sales in Las Vegas.

All three salvage yards -- the Silver Dollar yard on Lossee, Nevada Recycling, and a yard at Lakewood -- purchased the copper without any identification. The seller's ID as logged by Nevada Recycling?

Zippy McGee.

With copper content at

all-time highs between $3 and $4 a pound

, the stories of copper theft are growing almost as fast as the illegal sales. In Buttonwillow, Calif.,

$10,000 worth of alfalfa withered

and died after thieves stripped copper wires out of irrigation systems throughout California. Almost $38,000 in materials was stolen in June 2006 in 10 copper thefts in

Yelm, Olympia and Tenino in Washington state

, and in Tacoma, the frequency of copper theft in the Nalley Valley industrial area now has investigators helping businesses install camera surveillance.

Kentucky

has seen at least

three electrocution deaths

associated with the theft or removal of electric copper wire. And just last month,

Detroit Firehouse No. 42

experienced delayed response times due to a repeat copper theft.

It's also happening in

and

., the

University of Arizona

Southern California

Chicago

Las Cruces, New Mexico

and

Wyoming County, West Virginia

North Carolina

, and yes, even in

Honolulu, Hawaii

.

I dare anyone to find a single state where copper theft is not a major problem. Still, to date there has been but one single innocent man who lost his life amidst the $48,000 worth of stolen copper here and the $250,000 worth stolen there. He became famous, all right, but I suspect

my stepfather, Earl Thelander

, would have preferred to remain anonymous and live out the rest of his life doing what he loved most: spending time with my mother, fixing up and providing homes for those less fortunate who couldn't afford housing elsewhere, enjoying his family and grandchildren, and tending to

his tomato plants

Please Support IA House Study Bill 660 on Copper Theft

2008-02-24T16:25:00.002-06:00

This used to be a home

. That was before copper thieves came in the night and cut propane lines and let it fill with gas to later explode with a man inside. That man was my stepfather,

Earl Thelander

.

My grandparents used to live here. After my grandfather died, my folks purchased the rural country home from my grandmother (who'd come to live with them after Grandpa died) and fixed it up as a rental property. This is how my folks earned their living; they worked hard fixing up homes and apartments for those who needed housing in this small Western Iowa community where everyone knows everybody else. They'd recently installed new insulation and put permanent siding on the house. They cared for their tenants' homes the same way they cared for their own, making sure everything always worked properly and that families who lived in their rentals were comfortable and happy.

Now, it's nothing but a pile of rubble . . . a haphazard scattering of bricks, nails, metal pipes, a tumbled-down chimney and ashes laid out in layers like a melted accordion. (

View the Slideshow Video on All that Remains

)

Earl had gone to install a new water pump when he discovered the break-in and gas leak. Local law enforcement officials arrived and aired out the home, and several hours later Earl returned to get back to work. He plugged in a fan, and the home exploded. He died trying to make life better for others. Despite a

$5,000 reward

for information on those responsible for his death, there have been no arrests in the case.

The Iowa Legislature, however, now has

House Study Bill 660

assigned to a Judiciary Subcommittee. I pray this bill will become law. For Earl. And for the thousands of other lives affected financially and in countless ways by what has become a national epidemic.

Copper Thieves Steal Lives. Please join me in supporting Iowa House Study Bill 660.

*

Follow-up: While a number of other states have passed tough laws cracking down on copper theft, Iowa's HSB 660 failed to make the first funnel date and died. Iowa remains the only state where an innocent victim lost his life due to this crime.

Bush Budget Proposal Slashes Iowa Law Enforcement and Victim Service Programs

2008-02-08T20:13:00.000-06:00

He's doing it again.

Perhaps he

doesn't think

crime takes place in Iowa. Or, perhaps he

doesn't think

Iowans care about the crime taking place within our state. Then again, perhaps he

doesn't think

crime affects Iowans' lives.

He's wrong. It does. We do. And, yes,

it does.

Thank God, our U.S. Senator

Tom Harkin

(D-IA) realizes all the above.

Once again,

Sen. Harkin

is fighting for Iowans and leading the effort to restore critical funds to this year's budget in response to Bush's latest proposal to

slash another 63%

from state and local law enforcement programs. This, while Iowans are still recovering from

last year's 67% cut

to the Byrne funded drug task forces across the state.

Harkin and his Senate colleagues announced on Jan. 30

that they seek to increase funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program to $660 million. This would increase Iowa’s estimated share of 2008 funding from $1.5 million to $6.1 million. Harkin -- in his announcement -- was joined by police officers and local sheriffs, including

Marshall County Sheriff Ted Kamatchus

and

Iowa’s Drug Czar Gary Kendall

"Iowa is already reeling from funding cuts to law enforcement programs, which I am currently fighting to restore in the current year’s budget," Harkin said in response to Bush's latest proposed cuts. "I will continue my work to ensure Iowans do not have to face these devastating cuts.”

Federal assistance allows local law enforcement to better coordinate drug fighting efforts, hire officers and purchase equipment, stop domestic violence and effectively deal with drug dealers. Unless funding is added to the budget, these important programs will be cut.

The Bush Budget Impact on Iowa

· The Bush budget would slash or eliminate many programs aimed at bolstering local law enforcement, including the

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program

, which helps local police departments put more officers out on Iowa’s streets. In Iowa, law enforcement agencies would have to absorb a loss of $6.5 million dollars if this was enacted.

· The President’s budget will eliminate

Byrne Grants

that fund many drug fighting programs across the state. Due to the President’s veto threats, last year’s appropriations bill underfunded the Byrne Grant program. Senator Harkin is already working to restore this money this fiscal year which would restore $3.5 million to Iowa so law enforcement will not need to cut staff and program resources. He will vigorously oppose any attempts to eliminate this program in next year's budget.

· The President’s budget also proposes to eliminate all

Department of Justice grant programs for victims of domestic violence

including legal assistance, grants for safe havens for children and victims of domestic violence with disabilities. Due to this loss of funding, most, if not all of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs around the state would have to close.

Fellow Iowans, is this acceptable to

you?

Bush never got the privilege of meeting

Dad Earl

. Perhaps

the death of Earl Thelander

meant nothing to Bush, nor the deaths of many more like Dad Earl whose fates were sealed by Iowa law enforcement entities doing the best they could in the face of numerous budget cuts under an administration whose mantra is and has been

Shoot-First-and-Ask-Questions-Later.

But,

the People

are quick studies.

Iowans

are quick studies. And, we're watching you, Mr. Bush, just like you've been watching us.

Thank you, Sen. Harkin, for keeping watch on issues that matter not just to Iowans, but to all Americans.

PETSMART CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: BUSINESS AS USUAL

2008-02-08T12:48:00.000-06:00

PetSmart may be smart about making money, but it's clueless when it comes to taking proper care of the animals it buys and sells by the millions.

The company's trade in live animals supports a mass-breeding industry just as cruel as—and less regulated than—the puppy mill industry. This results in abysmal treatment of tiny, vulnerable beings and ultimately leads to their overpopulation, homelessness, neglect, and suffering.

Take a closer look at PetSmart and please do not buy anything from PetSmart until it stops selling all animals.

Watch the Video Here

What You Can Do to Help

He Thinks He Got Away with Murder...He's Wrong

2008-02-01T00:05:00.000-06:00

We humans, by nature, are forgiving people.

We should be.

After all, we

all

make mistakes. None of us are perfect.

We all, at one time or another, have done or will do something so incredibly stupid we can only hope and pray our neighbors ... our friends ... and (

God forbid

) our families, never discover about our sinful souls.

These mistakes, however, do not by nature involve taking the life of another human being.

At one time, and despite the ordinary man's quest (and, often, need) for vengeance, I truly felt I could forgive those responsible for taking my stepfather's life. My mind enlisted every kind of reasoning.

The thief/thieves didn't deliberately mean to cause Earl's death.

When they broke into the farmhouse and cut and stole the copper propane lines to later sell for scrap metal worth perhaps $10 to $15, they probably didn't realize the basement's cut lines would continue to discharge propane gas into the house.

They probably didn't think about the smallest actions and reactions -- the plugging in of a fan hours after the burglary when the house had long since been aired out -- that would lead to an explosion and melt the skin from a man who, even at 80, still worked hard every day and was there to install a new water pump in one of the rental properties he and his wife depended upon for their livelihood.

The truth is, I envisioned the thief and/or his accomplice (yes, there

were

two of them present that night) coming forward, acknowledging the fact one had burglarized what used to be my grandparents' former country home while the other kept watch, with at least one of them asking for forgiveness and saying something like

"This didn't turn out like we thought it would,"

and last, but certainly not least,

"I am so very sorry for the painful death this caused for Earl Thelander and for what this has done to his wife and 11 children."

Yes, laugh if you will at my unusual (and perhaps unrealistic) expectations from a petty thief. But, given the number of individuals who know who did this (

make no mistake; there are many

), and given the leniency and understanding my family has extended in the first five months following our father's unnecessary and untimely death, we honestly expected a day would come when one good man (or woman) would step forward to do the right thing.

Thus far, they have not.

Even where pleas to one's conscience have failed, so have our family's attempts to rouse anonymous tipsters with a $5,000 Reward.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," said the British Statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke.

I only wish Mr. Burke were around today because I'd sit him down and tell him,

"Evil will not triumph this time."

Not with Earl Thelander. Not with

this

family. And, we're a

forgiving

family. But, our patience is running out.

So is

time

. Not just for those responsible for my stepfather's painful and needless death,

but those

who know who they are and what they did.

They, by God and under law, will be held just as accountable.

It's not too late for them to still do the right thing. But, the clock is ticking.

Make no mistake about it.

A Message from my mother ...

2007-11-07T00:04:00.000-06:00

A message from my mother, as only she could write . . .

November 1, 2007

Two months ago today, my husband of nearly 25 years passed away at Clarkson Burn Center in Omaha of burns he suffered from an explosion at my parents' old home in rural Onawa. Earl and I had purchased the home and had been finishing up work there after one of my daughters and her husband moved out.

Since the accident on August 28, and Earl's subsequent death four days later, my family and friends have taken all interviews in order to protect my feelings at such a terrible time. There have been several newspaper accounts of that day, and though I am extremely grateful for the media's help in keeping this investigation in the forefront, as Earl's wife I feel I need to address some misinformation as to what actually took place.

Earl had turned off the propane at the tank when he first arrived at about 8:30 a.m. He then had me call the sheriff's office to tell them of the break-in.

Between approximately 10-10:15 a.m., Sheriff Pratt and Officer Joe Farrens arrived to take a statement. At that time Sheriff Pratt, Joe Farrens, Earl and myself, my brother-in-law, Dave Anderson, and my daughter, Kysa Ewing, went through the house opening windows. (We later were told we didn't have the explosion then because the oxygen level was too low.)

We all came back home to Onawa, having left open all windows and doors to ventilate the house.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., Earl went back to the farm to hook up a new water pump and tank in the basement. Ordinarily, I accompanied him when he was working at the farm, but he insisted it wouldn't take long and that he would not be too late for lunch.

My nephew, Norman Johnson, arrived at our Onawa home shortly after that, bringing Earl and me some lunch.

Shortly after 12:00, Earl came in the door with his burned shirt hanging around him in shreds. He was badly burned and said the house "exploded" when he plugged in a squirrel cage blower to dry the water on the floor that had leaked after the water lines on the water heater had been cut. (

Not

to air any remaining propane fumes as has been mistakenly reported in the media.)

Norman and I – not the ambulance – took Earl to the hospital where Dr. John Garred Jr. called for life flight to take Earl to the Clarkson Burn Center in Omaha. Dr. Garred explained to us the prognosis of someone Earl's age surviving the vast scope of the third-degree burns was not good -- despite Earl being otherwise quite healthy.

Four days later, after being kept in an induced coma to prevent pain, Earl passed away. At his side to say last goodbyes were his children, stepchildren, grandchildren, and myself. We have been through anger, frustration, grief, loneliness and disbelief that he is gone, particularly because he was taken away so suddenly and there was so much more he wanted to do with his life.

I miss him so much.

I miss the coffee breaks (every 15 minutes).

I miss him watching Bill O'Reilly's "No Spin Zone" at 7 p.m.

I miss seeing him fill the bird feeders and calling me to see a cardinal whenever they would fly in.

I wanted so badly to have him see that his three

puny

tomato plants produced literally hundreds of tomatoes.

If there is anything to be thankful about over this, it is that he didn't have to endure months of painful treatments for his burns. In addition:

I'm thankful he didn't know I was diagnosed with breast cancer six days after his funeral.

I'm thankful he was able to get out of the basement and drive home to me.

I'm thankful that he woke me up at 4 a.m. August 28 to look at the eclipse of the moon with him in what we didn't know then had just become our last morning together.

I'm thankful that instead of five children, I have 11 to help me with the things he'd always insisted on doing himself.

Yes, he was a good man, a good friend, and a wonderful husband and father.

We will all miss him, but we will work together to solve this senseless and needless crime.

In Earl's memory

Respectfully yours,

Hope Thelander

The Tangled Roots of Hope

2007-10-30T22:34:00.000-05:00

In the film

To Kill a Mockingbird

, there's a scene where young Jem goes back to the Radley's collard patch late at night to retrieve the britches he'd abandoned earlier after snagging them in a fence. Some days later, when his sister Scout catches him admiring the trinkets he found in a tree near the Radley home, Jem confesses to her the truth about the night he went back after his pants.

When I'd left 'em, they were all in a tangle and I couldn't get 'em loose

, he says.

But when I went back for 'em, they were folded across the fence... sort of like they was expectin' me.

For the past two months, every time I pulled into my mother's driveway and saw Earl's tomato plants spread out further and thicker than they were the day before, I could hear echoes of those words ...

sort of like they was expectin' him

...

Like a loyal dog sitting faithfully by the door -- an ear tilted sideways, awaiting familiar footsteps and sounds of the master's return -- the tomato vines kept listening, leaning, yawning, spreading out their arms to sleep and curling themselves around the empty lawn chair's legs where he once sat and then waking to another day to nudge against the bright yellow Tonka truck toy he'd parked in their bed ... almost as if

they still were expecting him

to come back home and play and pluck an annoying weed from their loom like an unsightly burr from a retriever's golden coat.

He had waited for them first, using his index finger and one good eye to sight the one he'd chosen as his favorite.

"Right there. It's already turning red. See it?" he'd said, hunching over and pointing into the sparse vines. And I'd followed his gaze to where the small but plump orb blushed amidst its less developed sister fruit. "That's the one I'm waiting for," he'd said proudly. "That one's mine."

On his knees, he'd planted these seeds and gently blanketed them with soil and cared for and tended to them with the same kind of commitment he bestowed upon all things he molded and created with his own two hands. But some time in the night's dark hours, the Boo Radley of Jem and Scout's deepest fears came to rob this man of his life and loves and the pleasures he derived from taking simple moments like these and turning them into something spectacular.

Still, his tomato plants waited.

They waited while

... six days after his funeral ... my mother passed by them on her way to the hospital for the breast lumpectomy and returned with her breast cancer diagnosis.

They waited

and spread out toward the east while ... one week later ... Mom's doctor told her she needed to make a decision.

They waited

and spread toward the west and wrapped around the heart-shaped sign reading "Grandpa and Grandma - Kids Spoiled Here While You Wait," while ... two and one-half weeks later ... another car took her away for the mastectomy and returned with all these other vehicles and so many lively children.

They waited

while ... amidst all the muffled voices and words like metastasized and chemo and numerous close calls with small running feet and shrill laughter and surprising phrases like

bad-year-for-tomatoes-everywhere

and questions like

he-did-what-with-his

... new buds spurted forth and heavier vines swept down and around them like mother hens pulling rowdy chicks back and away from the busy traffic in Earl's driveway.

They waited

and snaked around the legs of his white chair and climbed up higher for breathing room and a view of dozens more green offspring below while ... careening near the chair's arm where he used to lay his elbow ... they sucked in the late October sun as new words like

collapsed lung

and

it'll be freezing soon

drifted over the rail near the door and filtered down between the effervescent green foliage.

And so, as the month drew to a close and I returned my mother to her home after the morning's hospital visit where they made her blood radioactive to prepare for chemo treatments and she said we need to get the tomatoes out by nightfall lest they freeze, I looked down at the tangling vines and thought about how their roots of hope had somehow spawned hundreds of tomatoes, and, against all odds, continued to multiply and produce as if their very life -- or, perhaps, ours -- depended upon it.

"But some of them are still so...small," I said. "They haven't even had a chance to ripen." Yet, I knew.

Like Jem and Scout and Dill mourning summer's end, Earl's tomato plants hadn't yet realized their season had come and gone. Their vines, like Earl's, had so much left to give. They hadn't completed their life cycle.

Still, I could not bring myself to pick them. Perhaps I wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to summer. Perhaps I wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to the interlocking green stems that still drew energy from the sun and soil. Perhaps I wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to Dad Earl. Cutting down his tomato plants -- even in the face of a freeze that surely threatened to kill them all -- was too much like severing all hope he'd return once again to gather his offspring in his arms...if only for one final moment.

Flannery O'Connor wrote

A Good Man is Hard to Find

, and, like Harper Lee, recognized that which separates good and evil and redemption from sin.

In Earl, we found a good man. In Earl, we found our own Atticus Finch. His spirit will be there with us when we go to sleep at night and it will be there when we wake up in the morning.

The Faces Behind Those Who Loved Dad Earl Thelander

2007-10-28T04:42:00.002-05:00

Yeah. It’s us. And then some.

Watch the Slideshow

(It may take a few seconds to load. If it doesn't appear after several seconds, please hit refresh.)

The "H" Word

2007-10-22T16:36:00.000-05:00

We weren't supposed to say the word out loud, let alone put it in print. The surreptitious nature of the secrecy confused me at first, but others were quick to provide reasons why: anyone seeing

that word

would be less inclined to come forward with new information. And, even the guilty party's so-called friends or associates might also be reluctant to

get involved

and come forward, lest they, too, somehow be held accountable for the information they'd possessed but had chosen to suppress.

So, when I stood in my mother's kitchen the same day she found out her breast cancer had metastasized and I saw the spiral-bound book lying right there on the table with the H-word written as big as the hole it left in all our hearts, I felt relieved there was someone -- albeit the

Iowa Department of Justice

-- willing to call what happened by its real name:

Homicide.

"A Guide to Survival: Information for the Family and Friends of Homicide Victims," it was called.

Homicide.

Yes. Exactly.

Finally.

Did it mean we now could utter the "m" word, too?

How Can People Be So Cruel?

2007-10-16T02:07:00.000-05:00

From the

Omaha World Herald

Published Tuesday | October 16, 2007
Reward offered in dog poisonings

Eight dogs have been fatally poisoned in the past 18 months in Neola (IA), and Pottawattamie County authorities are offering a $750 reward to find the person or people involved.

The latest poisoning killed a 13-month-old chocolate Labrador retriever that was in its kennel at its owner's residence, said Stacey Robertson, Pottawattamie County animal control supervisor.

"Somebody's baiting the animals," Robertson said. In the latest death, "the poison was put on the meat and tossed into the kennel."

Robertson said the poisonings could harm children.

"We've been working on this for a long time, and our investigation has reached a dead end," Robertson said. "I really hope somebody will point a finger."

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incidents.

Anyone with information can contact Robertson at 712-366-1143 or the Sheriff's Office at 712-890-2200.
- Abe Winter

Sounds of Silence

2007-10-09T00:24:00.000-05:00

It's a strange sort of silence that's settled over all our lives.

It's not just the absence of "Dad" Earl. Or the soft tone of his voice. Or even the echo of Mom and Earl's combined laughter that reverberated through a room in such a finely tuned harmony it sounded more like a symphony.

It's something akin to a world sitting slightly off its axis, frozen in time, waiting to move once again but wary of doing so lest one squeaky turn unleash a thousand vociferous cries and the chokehold they've had around our hearts.

It's a strange sort of silence that's settled in tonight, despite today's laughter as my siblings and I gathered 'round our mother at the hospital as nurses inserted IV lines for Mom's 9 o'clock mastectomy and others arrived to wish her the very best and said the front desk told them just-follow-the-noise-and-you'll-find-her-room and Mom kept telling us to hush because after all, this

was

a hospital and you

know

how your voices carry and we laughed and told more stories while carefully steering clear of one of the last jokes Earl had made in the very same hospital only one month earlier when Mom brought him in with those third-degree burns and he'd joked about everyone thinking he was "trying to steal the attention away from Mom" since her breast surgery for the biopsy was scheduled for the very next day.

It's a strange sort of silence that follows fear but has deep roots in hope.

Tonight, I'm listening close to Andy DuFresne ... trying to remember, perhaps not perfectly, the words he spoke to 'Red' in "The Shawshank Redemption" ....

Remember ... hope is a good thing.

And no good thing ever dies.

I'll Remember You

2007-09-04T12:53:00.000-05:00

I’ll Remember You, "Dad" Earl Thelander, with more love than you’ll ever know.

Click Here for my video tribute to Earl.

Jody

I Can't Believe "Dad Earl" is Really Gone

2007-09-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, with his 11 kids and my mother surrounding him, my 2nd father, Earl Thelander -- who's been a part of my life for more than 25 years -- died as the result of a cowardly thief who burglarized my grandparent's former country home (which was mostly empty and now belongs to my folks), for a $10 piece of copper piping. The burglar didn't bother to shut off the gas before cutting the copper gas line, and let the home fill will gas for the inevitable explosion.

"Dad Earl" -- as my four siblings and I always called him -- wanted to live. And, he had everything to live for. He was healthy, happy, and couldn't wait until his tomatoes finished ripening on the vines. He'd planned to give each of us some, and looked forward to the BLT sandwiches my mom always made for him.

Yes, he wanted to live. Even after the explosion, he somehow managed to crawl through the fire, climb into his pick-up, and drive the two miles back home in town, where my mother then immediately took him to the hospital. With both his knees burned clear through to the bone, he'd managed to make it back to her.

Yes, how Earl wanted to live.

Yesterday, we each took turns holding the tips of his fingers ... one of the few parts on his body without the full-thickness, third-degree burns, and we told him again and again how much we loved him, how much he'd taught us about life and respect and hard work and looking out for one another and reaching out to help a neighbor in need.

I shared 28 years with my first father and 28 years with "Dad Earl." Both my fathers died on Labor Day weekend. Both died the Saturday before Labor Day. Both died unexpected and extremely tragic deaths.

Who was this person who exchanged $10 worth of copper piping for a good man's life? What right did he have to make such a gentle and loving man suffer so?

We will find him. I tell you this with certainty; we will find the one who did this to our father and he will be brought to justice. God, the pain this has brought to my family.

Earl, you will always be with us, in all ways. The heavens opened and the angels wept down upon us the day they gently carried you through the clouds and then lay you down to rest here while we prayed and held your hand and they prepared your place in heaven. And when they came back to take you home, they opened your eyes one last time to hold with those of the woman you so loved ~ so that as you ascended to meet your God you knew you were ever safe and wrapped within an everlasting love that would never die.

A Site Worth Seeing

2006-07-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

Many kudos go to CNN Correspondent Gary Tuchman for his wonderful article on Sam Bailey on Anderson Cooper's 360º Blog. Mr. Bailey is responsible for founding The Pontchartrain Humane Society in Pearlington, Mississippi, a town hit by the full force of Hurricane Katrina.

You might want to grab a tissue or a hankie. Sam is truly a modern-day hero.

Thank you Sam, and thank you Gary for telling Sam's story.

News Full of Ews

2006-04-05T10:05:00.000-05:00

After 18 years working as a writer, it’s not often the news shocks me anymore. Sure, people lie, they steal, they kill, and they often get away with crimes -- sick and twisted acts against humanity -- that never should go unpunished.

Today, however, several news articles caught my eye. They all don’t involve murder, and some aren’t even crimes against humanity but rather crimes against canines and wild animals.

Still, they all had the ability to stun me, to leave me asking questions like “How could someone do this?”

Ergo...

Dept. of Homeland Security official arrested in child sex sting
Meet Brian J. Doyle, 55, who didn’t even bother to conceal his identity while engaging in online conversations “too extraordinary and graphic for public release,” according to a statement from the Montgomery County (MD) sheriff’s office. Doyle not only gives the “14-year-old girl” (actually an undercover officer) both his home and work numbers, but even his government-issued cell phone number.

A back to school special...

Teacher charged with raping student 28 times
Rachel L. Holt, a 34-year-old science teacher at Claymont Elementary School in Deleware, is charged with having sex with a 13-year-old student 28 times over a one week period. But not without an audience, of course. A 12-year-old.

And the final stomach twister...

Dog decapitations shock Michigan town
Nine dead dogs -- including four without heads -- are found dumped in a rural Michigan township, along with piles of skinned foxes and coyotes. Despite a growing reward, officials have yet to determine who is responsible or even who the dogs belonged to.

Jody - who won’t be visiting Michigan (with her dogs) anytime soon.

7 Dogs did NOT need "Big Bang"

2006-02-19T11:16:00.000-06:00

Shame shame shame on Fremont (IA) County dispatcher Deborah Weiss of rural Shenandoah for lying to and misleading Police Chief Nick Millsap, who took seven dogs out into the country and shot them while the dogs' owner was in jail.

The Des Moines Register has five audio tapes of phone conversations going back and forth between Weiss and veterinarian Richard Jamison, and Weiss and Police Chief Millsap.

While Millsap is charged with animal cruelty and currently is on paid leave, dispatcher Deborah Weiss is getting a "letter of reprimand" placed in her file. There is something very wrong with this picture.

Weiss led Chief Millsap to believe the vet was refusing to accept the animals, and that is not the case. She also told Millsap the dogs needed a "big bang."

What Millsap did is clearly wrong, but in my opinion, Weiss is no less accountable. I hope to God Fremont County residents will make their voices heard in this matter.

Read the article and listen to the tapes. You decide.

DesMoinesRegister.com

"Pull" on Amazon Shorts

2006-01-26T13:46:00.000-06:00

From the moment I first heard about the new Amazon Shorts program, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. As a writer who’s frequently interviewed other authors, what could possibly be better than getting to read non-fiction articles and essays by some of my favorite novelists, or an author’s account of why he or she decided to write a particular book?

I not only wanted to read these shorts, I wanted to write some myself. My mind went wild with all the possibilities -- expanding on my cold case series of unsolved Iowa homicides, or being able to write longer pieces than what the newsweekly that normally publishes my work could possibly allow?

My Amazon Short, Pull, is the first in this writer’s latest journey, and though I’ve published hundreds of articles over the years I couldn’t be more excited if this was my very first.

It’s actually an excerpt from my novel, which began as a memoir and slowly transformed into a work of fiction. I’m not quite sure if I molded my characters and their actions into other people or events I personally preferred, or if they spoke to me and said this is who I am, so let me tell you the way it could have been or how I wish things could have been different.

Like any piece of fiction, there’s kernels of truth sprinkled throughout Pull. Yes, the Clydesdale horse was real. Yes, the abandoned schoolhouse did exist, and my father really told us we’d be walking home if we crossed that gravel road. And yes, my brother and sister did cross that road in the summer of ‘69 and my father did run out of cigarettes.

He always said to us, “Let’s set ‘em on sick’em.” I am, Dad. Still.

Toxic pet food may have killed dozens of dogs

2006-01-11T11:55:00.000-06:00

Now, this is a story that absolutely breaks my heart. I can't begin to imagine what this 19-year-old woman is going through. Her father's in Iraq -- she lost her daughter last year -- then lost one of her two dogs last month after it consumed Diamond's contaminated dog food, and now her remaining dog is suffering from the toxic poisoning as well.

Pet lovers, please spread the word! The article below also provides a link to a complete list of states and brands affected by the recall.

Toxic pet food may have killed dozens of dogs - Pet Health - MSNBC.com

Hugh's story behind the photos

2005-12-01T11:11:00.000-06:00

As some of you may or may not have noticed, I changed a couple of photo credits on my Johnny Cash/Hugh Waddell story. Though the photos had been provided to me by Cumberland Publishing for use with the article, they formerly did not state who'd taken the photos. That's now included, and Hugh even provided some background info on the stories behind the photos. (Again, with permission to reprint!) Here's what author Hugh Waddell had to say about them:

I love your website. Change it to JODYROCKS.COM. It is so cool. AND how nice to see the article we did. Oh, at the article page, how about those photo credits? Can you change 'em? The one of John and myself was made by Mark Seliger for Rolling Stone Magazine at Red Rocks just outside of Vegas in 1993 (actually during a shoot for Stone and he was burning off a few left over frames on a roll of film).

Rolling Stone Mark sent me a portrait-sized copy of that picture, as I not only set up the photo shoot, I also found the Winchester lever-action rifle our cowboy Johnny is holding, by calling the non-emergency phone of the Las Vegas PD at 2 AM, and asking them to dispatch out over the radio, did any cops on duty have a rifle in their collection for use at 6AM for a Rolling Stone/Johnny Cash photo shoot. (By 9 AM it gets over 100 degrees in the desert, so you have to shoot early - the photos, not the gun.) I got 4 calls from cops within thirty minutes and they all met at the Hilton by giving our bus (Johnny's bus he called JC Unit One - yup, it said so on the side rear) a police escort to the photo shoot location.

We were originally going to shoot at the theatre stage at the Hilton where John was appearing, but that would have been too - how shall we put it - too Wayne Newton.

The other shot is by Jim Marshall, who also did the famous "Johnny Cash giving the finger" photo. This was a promotional photo that Columbia Records put on a post card and used to promote the Folsom "live" album. That photo, of course, was shot at Folsom Prison in '69. He (Jim Marshall) signed a print of this to me back in '88 and I used it in the book.

Hugh also went on to tell me about some great bargains he was finding on QVC at 2 a.m. and some especially good deals last on The Home Shopping Channel, but, alas, I don't want to embarrass Johnny Cash's former road manager by telling the whole world what he really finds entertaining at 2 a.m. See there, Hugh? I don't print "everything" on my blog. :-)

Jody (who hasn't yet checked to see if jodyrocks.com is available)

Update: Did I say Johnny Cash Rocks?

2005-11-30T14:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, since I received such a nice e-mail from Hugh Waddell today, and because it's the last day of November, I thought I'd take another peek at my website stats so I could give him an update on how many people visited my site to read the article on his book, "I Still Miss Someone: Friends & Family Remember Johnny Cash."

As I mentioned in my previous post, nearly a thousand visited that particular page last month, but I honestly didn't except that number to quadruple in just one month. Yes, more than 4,200 people visited that individual URL to read about Hugh's book on Johnny Cash, with 900+ viewing the image of the Man in Black at Folsom Prison.

Did I mention Hugh has compiled one terrific book? And what a superb job Cumberland Publishing does with creating some very beautiful books? And now, after having interviewed Earl Hamner and James (Jim) Person, who wrote Earl's bio "From Walton's Mountain to Tomorrow," I'm really looking forward to working with the folks at Cumberland Publishing again. Stay tuned for more updates on the terrific interview with Earl and Jim.

Goodnight, John-Boy.

Jody

Johnny Cash Rocks (My!) Website

2005-11-19T20:40:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'll admit that in the year and one month since I've had my official website up, I'm still learning when it comes to deciphering all those webpage stats such as Total Unique Sites, Total Unique Referrers, Total Unique User Agents and the like, but the one statistic I have gotten to know well is Total Hits per specific web page -- and that's not counting my own visits (which, with all due respect to the articles I've written, is something I don't need to do. Hey, I wrote it. I don't need to re-read my own articles or see if they're still there).

So, in light of the fact I'm doing another Johnny Cash story (there's the film, you know, the documentaries and the books and all that juicy chatter about The Oscars), I decided to check "my" website stats. (The quotes, if you must know, are to differentiate between my personal website and the Weekender website, where most of my articles have their first online run after print, thus stats to which I don't have access.) I didn't question interest in the Man in Black or how sexy Joaquin Phoenix would be saying "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" -- of course there's interest in that, what with "Walk the Line" and all -- but to see if there'd been any interest showing up on MY website for one of my recent articles on Cash. (Heck, isn't every journalist writing about J.C. right now?) But did they visit "my" site? Did they read my article on Hugh's book?

(With a big gulp here) -- SURPRISE!! And a big Thank You to Hugh Waddell, author of "I Still Miss Someone," Hugh's brilliant, insightful, heart-tugging and fabulous tribute book to J.C. with more than 40 individual tribute chapters from some of "John's" closest friends. (If you were a close friend, you'd know why it's John and not Johnny. And so because I call him J.C. it gives away I wasn't a close [sniffle] personal friend, so what?)

I mean, we're talking tributes by Cash's daughter Cindy Cash, his son John Carter Cash, Luther Fleaner, W.S. Holland, Merle Kilgore, Lou Robin, Bob Wootton, his #1 fan Dennis Devine (from Iowa, yeah!) and many more, and that's not even counting the beautifully written forward by the Rev. Billy Graham and his wife Ruth.

Okay, so the big question: did they or didn't they? Well, I may not be the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune, but for a year-old website still in its infancy, I didn't think 941 hits to Hugh's story -- in October alone -- was too shabby. And here it is, only Nov. 19, and already 1446 hits for November! And these were just to the story on Hugh's book, not counting the hits to the J.C. images that accompanied the story. (Special thanks here to Michelle Brown at Cumberland Publishing.)

(Between you and me, I think I'm developing a close relationship with Cumberland -- on Monday I'll be interviewing Earl Hamner, Jr. [yes - The Waltons' Earl Hamner, Jr.] as well as James Person, author of the new bio, "Earl Hamner: From Walton's Mountain to Tomorrow" -- and yes, also published by Cumberland.)

Like I said, I'm not USA Today or People Magazine, but the highest number of hits I'd had before in any one month for one specific story were within the 300-mark, so to have over 1440 hits in less than a month just to read that one article is truly a big deal to me. And (in case you haven't guessed) Hugh's book is a big deal to me; it's simply phenomenal, and Nope -- I'm not receiving a dime for promoting it here. It's just one of those must-have books if you're a Johnny Cash fan. Or, if you're not and know someone who is, I think you know your way to amazon.com and also know the number of days until Christmas...

Oh, and when you leave your review on amazon.com, make sure to include your shoe size and hometown. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll have to read the book to find out.

Parting thoughts (solicitations?): on Nov. 24, be sure to check back and read my article (under my Author Interviews) on Peggy Knight's three books on Johnny and June and Mother Maybelle, as well as comments on the film. You Cash fans know who Peggy is. I'll also have more JC photos and some "Devine" comments from Johnny's #1 fan.

Pep Boys Watch Out

2005-11-15T09:55:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I have to wonder how eBay possibly manages to stay afloat with all the "spoof" messages (which, in my opinion, is way too soft a euphemism for what these criminals are really doing) flying around out in cyberspace. Now they've pulled Pep Boys into their little phishing scheme. (Okay, so to some of you, this is nothing new, but it's the first I've received where they targeted Pep Boys.)

What I'd like to know is -- with all eBay's power and money, why is it so difficult for them to stop these people? Why aren't we seeing headlines in the papers about crooks finally being prosecuted for phishing on eBay? I have yet to see a single one. Or perhaps I'm just reading the wrong papers.

But just for the heck of it, I thought I'd enclose the latest I received today. And I'm insulted, I tell you, because they didn't even address me by my eBay userid. (Maybe because I've used eBay only once or twice in the entire last year, and it certainly wasn't to sell a Pep Boys gift certificate!) Excuse me, but I think I could be a bit more imaginative than that. After all, I am a writer.

And, for those of you out there in cyberspace who are far more computer saavy than me when it comes to those very long e-mail headers, I've even included their information. (Though I'm betting no one can track it.) Anyone want to give it a try? I wish I could say there's a reward involved, but as a lowly writer, all I can do in return is make you a Hero on my blog. :-)

Here's the info:
-----------------

From: fraud@ebay.com
Subject: TKO NOTICE: eBay Safe Harbour Section 9 - Fraud Complaint
Date: November 15, 2005 9:10:33 AM CST
Reply-To: aw-fraud@ebay.com
Return-Path:
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Dear eBay.com Member ,

For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us.

A complaint has been filed against you in the Fraud Reporting Form at eBay.

************************************
FRAUD COMPLAINT
Complaint Tracking Number: 2000604522
Item #: 2996804910
Winning Bid: $469.00
Payment Method: PAYPAL
Date Complaint Filed: Nov-11-05 11:49:48 PDT
Nature of Complaint:
I sent a payment but never received any merchandise.
Text of Complaint: I won an auction for a $469 Pep Boys Gift Certificate. It was a certificate number which you
entered after ordering online. We were told by Pep Boys, that the certificate number was stolen and not valid.
************************************

In the next 3 days, please visit the Fraud Reporting Form to resolve this complaint with caseylynncarroll. If you do not do so, casualness will receive information about the appropriate agencies to contact and/or to file charges against you. Moreover, if these agencies determine that you have committed fraud, eBay.com will suspend your membership privileges.

If you are not aware of this item being sold on your eBay.com account, Please goto the link below and reactivate your account status:

https://signin.ebay.com/saw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?fraud?complaintUsrId=LogIn?MACSappi.dll?SignIn

If you received this notice and you are not the authorized service holder, please be aware that it is in violation of our policy to represent oneself as another eBay.com user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. eBay.com is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquiries related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Thanks for your patience as we work together to protect your service.

Regards,

eBay.com Customer Support Center.

This site is directed at or made available to persons in the United States and eBay.com customers only. Products and services described, as well as associated fees, charges, interest rates, and balance requirements may differ among geographic locations. Not all products and services are offered at all locations.

It's 5 a.m. Do YOU know where your parents are?

2005-09-14T23:53:00.000-05:00

My children (much to their intense displeasure) knew exactly where I was at 5 a.m. today.
Outside.
In the dark.
In my pajama bottoms. (And that old raggedy sweatshirt and tennis shoes that haven't seen daylight in three years.)
Up in the pear tree.
(And no, I'm not a partridge.)

What, you ask, is one doing in a pear tree at five o'clock in the morning dressed partially in p.j.s and partly in worn, tattered clothing?
Why, rescuing a stray cat, of course!
And an injured one at that.

And why would my children be aware I'm perched like a partridge in a pear tree at five o'clock in the morning - especially when one has school the next day and the other has to be on time for work three hours later (incidentally, a job with the school district)...

Because I roused them from their sound sleeps beseeching them to help, of course!

The 16-year-old's response: "Ask Jennifer."
Jennifer's response: "Moooommmmm!!!!"

Luckily for me (and as it turns out, the cat) the pear tree just happens to be outside Jennifer's window and her window just happened to be open. Who could resist the sounds of that forlornly meow, meow, meow.

I don't dislike cats, I just don't happen to own any. My dogs have never been around cats before, which is why when they found one sitting on our steps at 5 a.m. they immediately decided it had no business being inside their fenced-in yard. They did what I assume any other dog would do: they chased it up a tree.

Unsure whether they'd gotten to it first, of course I had no choice but to climb into the pear tree to get it. I'm also unsure if raw bacon is good for cats, but that's the only thing I could think of that would carry enough of a smell to get the cat to come down to a point where I could reach him or her. (Hey, it was dark, and I didn't check.)

I'm pleased to report that with Jennifer holding the aluminum ladder steady while this fear-of-heights animal lover did her good deed for the day, we succeeded in rescuing it from the tree and sending it on its merry way. It did have a minor cut on its behind, but Jennifer said it looked more like a scratch from a cat fight rather than something our dogs could have done.

All in all, I have to admit the whole ordeal was quite exhilarating. If you haven't sat in a tree for a while with stars still sprinkled across the sky, you're missing out. It made my whole day. But probably not as much as it did for the cat -- who, my neighbor later told me, had been in and out of both the pear and the apple tree for three days trying to figure out how to get out of the yard.

At least he probably didn't go hungry.

'Gay cowboy movie' shatters stereotypes

2005-09-13T08:21:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to see Pulitzer prize-winning novelist Larry McMurtry still has his fingers in the screenwriting business, and doubly pleased he's doing so with writing partner Diana Ossana. The "Pretty Boy Floyd" authors teamed up once again to script "Brokeback Mountain," a film about two cowboys involved in a homosexual relationship and based on a story by (Shipping News) author E. Annie Proulx.

The controversial film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival Saturday -- that festival's top award -- and has earned acclaim at Toronto. According to cnn.com's Paul Clinton, the 'Gay Cowboy Movie' shatters stereotypes. It's slated for U.S. release December 9.

Directed by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Oscar winner Ang Lee, the film stars "The Brothers Grimm" heartthrob Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and revolves around two young men, Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), who are hired to tend sheep for a summer in Wyoming and find themselves attracted to each other. The story begins in the early '60s and follows the men over the course of their lives as they continue to meet. The actors said they hope the film shows a gay relationship in a matter-of-fact, unsensational light and that it contributes to tolerance.

God knows, we could use a little tolerance right now, particularly in a day and age when we have Governators who haven't yet overcome fear and prejudice and stand ready and willing to strike down an historic "marriage equality" bill enacted by the California Legislature.

(No word on whether that played any role in Ledger's decision to sell his Los Feliz home and move to Brooklyn, NY).

At any rate, I applaud Ledger for his courage to go beyond the confines of sexuality toward the more difficult topic of love and tolerance.

That's what I call a Patriot.

Sioux City helping "Sister City" Lake Charles on relief efforts

2005-09-03T11:02:00.000-05:00

I'm reposting a message I received from the Sioux City, Iowa, Orpheum Theatre's mailing list regarding help for Lake Charles, LA. For those locals out there in and around Sioux City's tri-state area, please do all you can. Thanks!
-----------------

Our good friends in Lake Charles, LA, including all those members of
the Krewe de Charlie Sioux, have been gracious enough to open their
community to over 5,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina. The displaced
people there will need many things and will be displaced for many,
many months. Many will resettle in Lake Charles, and others will
stay there for extended periods of time prior to heading back to
their communities.

Sioux City and Lake Charles have had a very long Sister City
relationship that began with a visit to the Saturday in the Park
fest, and that is why you are getting this message. There are many
things we can do to help. Following is a list of items that the
folks in Lake Charles need and there is a truck (provided by WIT)
parked in front of the movie theaters at the Southern Hills Mall this
weekend to collect any of the items you can provide. The most
helpful thing that they could use though is money. All funds
collected for the Lake Charles Relief Effort will be directed towards
a fund established by the Mayor of Lake Charles, Randy Roach and
administrated by the local United Way there, and all funds will be
used locally. Funds can be sent to:

Lake Charles Hurricane Relief Effort
c/o Wells Fargo Bank
PO Box 808
Sioux City, IA 51102

All funds collected locally will be forwarded by our City officials
to Lake Charles. If you would like to drop off needed goods at the
mall, the following goods are needed:

-Canned Goods
-Baby Formula
-Clean Sheets and Towels (they don't have adequate washing facilities
to clean items used in the shelters so they need a large quantity of
these)
-Canned Juices
-Diapers
-Pet Food
-Anything else that is non-perishable that can be useful for those in a shelter

Please keep in mind that perishable items cannot be sent. Thank you
in advance for your help. Lake Charles is an incredibly giving
community, as is Sioux City, and we hope that this is a small way
that we can help our incredibly generous, good friends down south to
make others more comfortable in their time of need. Thank you. --db
------------------------

Thanks again,
Jody