7/12/05

5:55 a.m. Well, I had no luck yesterday. After my Subject's wife finished digging in the trash, she got in the Navigator and drove off. The rest of the morning there was zero movement at the house. I even set up along a side street so I could observe the backyard. Nothing. I call several marinas down on the St. Croix River because there have been rumors he's working on the docks. But nobody has heard of him. I finally end up having to break off at 11am because I can't confirm Subject's presence at the residence. I come back every couple of hours until 6pm to check on things, but still nothing. I'm afraid they've gone on vacation.

I get back to my parents' house and grab a Diet Coke from the fridge before going out to sit on the porch swing with mom. Dad is out mowing. We chat for a bit before I reluctantly acknowledge I need to get on the computer and work on some reports. I fish my laptop out of the truck and sit on the porch steps. I have found this to be the best place to get reception out here in the Minnesota farm fields. Frustratingly, my signal is weak and gets dropped frequently. Then I have an idea. Hell, if it works for TV antenna, why not wireless internet cards? I go into the kitchen and grab the tin foil. I wrap my tiny little antenna...making an ungainly tower about 3 inches long. I try to connect. It works! Haha. I AM McGuyver! I try to make the reciever more powerful by adding soda cans and more foil. With just a piece of gum, a tin foil helmet and several empty Diet Coke cans, our unlikely hero saves the day! I finish work and spend the rest of the evening playing music and singing with mom and dad. I think of what it's like when all of my sisters and brothers are here. We're like a demented Partridge Family. Only less cute and hopefully better dressed.

Well, a bit later today I am going to talk about suicide. It's a tough topic, but something I saw a lot of in my time working as a forensic death investigator. People are usually shocked to find out that probably 1/3 of the cases at the MEO were suicides. It's such a taboo subject that family, friends, and even the media stay clear of it unless it involves young people. I found that the average age for suicide, however, was between 40 and 50 years. I plan on talking about the whys an the hows and using a lot of examples from my experience. It should be an interesting discussion. If not a bit sad.