the only way, that no one would have recalled seeing the little boy, with the bloody nose, sitting alone, in the cart, outside the public restroom, at the busy farmers market,, (where she unceasingly alleged that she had “stepped in for just a second,, just a second,, that is all it could have been,, just long enough to grab some dry paper towels and dampen a cool compress for his head…”) was if,, he was never really there….
they had found his blood under her fingernails.. on her tee shirt.. and embedded in the dirt on the bottom of her shoes.. they had found outstanding arrest warrants,, in three states.. they had found previous convictions on drug and prostitution charges.. all of which were scattered over a ten year period… fifteen years ago…. but what they never found,, was her boy…
like a torn page from the front of a tabloid,, she instantly became today’s top story.. they dissected her childhood,, in intimate detail.. they resurrected a most distasteful history of physical and sexual abuse.. they scrutinized her subsequent descent into the slick underbelly of prostitution and drug addiction.. they stripped her naked,, and paraded her thru the living room of america,,, three. times. a day…
so convinced,, were they,, that she had killed him,, that they never even looked, for her boy.. instead,, they formed huge morally outraged search parties who combed the fields,, the woods,, the warehouses… for his body… (and loudly protested her sentence of life without parole,, as passed down by the court,, with righteously indignant cries of “an eye for an eye!!!”) but no one, ever even looked,, for her boy…
and had he not freed himself from the wreckage of the old root cellar,, beneath the tornado damaged farmhouse,, not two miles away, from the site of the old farmers market,, (some five years after she exhaled her last,, at the wrong end of a knotted bed sheet, in her solitary prison cell…) no one,, would ever have found,, her boy….
June 6th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I liked this a lot Paisely..somehow I am not able to find the reason by..whatever is the reason something extremely good about this
June 6th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Is this a true story? Or just one that could easily be? I have always had a terrible phobia about wrongful arrests, to take a person’s life and destroy it, christ. Anyway, this was a tight, scary read.
June 7th, 2008 at 3:06 am
This is quite timely for me. It has just now been announced in Australia that a man imprisoned for life in the 1920’s has now been pardoned and found, finally, not guilty of murder! Why o why! Why so long?
A powerful piece of writing!
Gemma
June 7th, 2008 at 4:22 am
paisley,
knee-jerk responses and prejudgements are all too common a human trait and so…more heinious crimes sometimes result.
Well told!
rel
June 7th, 2008 at 4:29 am
good post on an always timely subject
June 7th, 2008 at 5:32 am
fantastic post. it was so detailed that it read true. i noticed your interesting experiments with commas too.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Media frenzies like this sparks our collective sense of righteous indignation.
First in line are the bloodthirsty mobs from First Stone Ministries (as in he who is without sin cast the first stone).
Like sharks collecting at a Maritime disaster, they are attracted by the yells, bells and smells of the wreckage.
The court of public opinion springs into action because the legal system, I refuse to call it a justice system, is so slow….and so seemingly unconcerned with what is right and what is wrong, that people have given up on it.
It reminds me of The Crucible. We are so quick to judge and we will believe what we want to believe in order to feel good about ourselves.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Assumptions are a dangerous thing! Sadly this goes on too often, and mostly to the poverty stricken minorities! Add the possibility of the death penalty and boy you have a real crime here!
Well written as usual!
Hugs Giggles
June 7th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Your piece is a perfect Meta reflection, balancing on tippy toes the vagaries of victims and the masses that either convict or support them…well done…
June 7th, 2008 at 6:37 am
sad, I feel bad for the little that no one looks for but at the same time wonder why people are so quick to judge
June 7th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Amazingly riveting! This has the qualities not only of fantastic writing that scrapes the bone but of an Irish ballad as well… I love this piece so much - I know that it is heart wrenching but what a reflection of the ills we inflict on the already tortured souls of our society (for example) we are still debating whether prison in the US creates criminals instead of rehabilitates them…Thank you my paisley faced friend for writing such a stunning piece.
June 7th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Such a sad story… it’s interesting how so many of the writers doing Friday five have been inspired to produce texts full of melancholy and a feeling of loss. And yet the words themselves aren’t necessarily sad! Yours is a triple tragedy - that of the mother, that of the child, and that of the people so blinded by their prejudices. I’m also intrigued by your use of punctuation, which gives the text an interesting rhythm… I have to admit I tend to overuse the ellipsis, but your use of different combinations of commas and full stops works for me.
June 7th, 2008 at 7:43 am
God you’re good..
June 7th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Happy Birthday Jodi
ON the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a Dream Come True
(to borrow for the Carpenters)
God made This day was made for you.
…..Happy Birthday…..to…you
And many more
June 7th, 2008 at 8:49 am
whoa. Um…is this a TRUE story? It sounds like it could be. And if its not…holy hell YOU RULE
June 7th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Riveting and haunting. The photo and text a perfect marriage. I love punchy,tight text like this with all superflous stripped.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Righteous indignation started to sweep its way across these United States about eight years ago, with a religious ferocity, and the rush to judgement began in earnest. The Red-State mentality even now intends to cleanse Gomorrah so that goodness and mercy and a chaste kiss on the cheek (never on the lips and certainly with no tongue) will prevail in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Amen.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Oh, and (almost forgot)… don’t forget, let’s kick Iraq’s ass for supporting Osama, too, with all their weapons of mass destruction and dictators and such. Harrumph!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:43 am
What a story. The way you describe her death, at the wrong end of a knotted bed sheet, very raw and vivid. Her boy, I just keep thinking these words…..
June 7th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Oh, this one gave me the chills. I agree with Meleah. If this isn’t a true story, you rule! Actually, even if it is, you still rule for your interpretation of it!
June 7th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Wow! You have a way with words. I truly enjoyed the way you portrayed this story. Very touching.
PS: I hear a Happy Birthday is in order. I hope you have a wonderful day!
June 7th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I want to give you a big frickin High five right now! You are spot on, this instantaneous morale outrage that happens in this country drives me crazy! I also think of the Schaivo case and how they crucified her husband. It doesn’t help that the media grabs onto these types of stories and milk it for all it is worth.
And hey, a very Happy Birthday to you talented lady!
June 7th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
This gave me chills….exceptional writing!
June 7th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
wow
but happy bday to
u
prince
and my daughters
lets swaqp blog rolls if u like
June 7th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
So believable and possible. My heart aches.
b
June 7th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
So much in so few words … brilliant as always, you never cease to enthrall. xoxoxo
June 7th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Very profound piece Jodi! It scares me how far they will go to get a conviction.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Chilling write Paisley. The media can certainly misconstrue things nowadays without trying to get the right story. Bittersweet ending. Keep up the good work. Have a nice day.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:57 am
wow…i think that’s all i’ve got for this one, WOW.
June 8th, 2008 at 8:27 am
taking the moral high-ground is always the root of all evil, if you ask me. this was a phenomenal piece….not sure if it was based on a true story and, if not, excellent interpretation of one of today’s societal ails.
June 8th, 2008 at 10:57 am
i am the founder and editor of Glossolalia (http://www.glossolalia7.com), an on-line journal for flash fiction.
i am currently conducting a call for submissions for the inaugural issue of Glossolalia. all rights remain with the author.
if you are interested in submitting your work, please email submissions@glossolalia7.com.
thanks so much, and stay creative!!!
regards,
vesper de vil
June 8th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Nice read. Made me uncomfortable. True, too, as they convict innocent people by the hundreds. This could be a poem, as well. Hmmm.
June 8th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
The media disgusts me. Your perspective powerfully, yet poignantly captures so much.
June 8th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
This is a powerful piece with a lot of realism. I too hate the lurid circus they call the “news.”
June 8th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
This is so full of sorrow and loss. It has happened so often under so many different circumstances. The way you communicated the fact that she was capable of some things but never, never would she hurt the boy was so powerful. My heart broke for her. What must it be like to be accused of being a monster when all you’re guilty of is being lost? The melancholy in this piece is palpable.
June 9th, 2008 at 7:22 am
seriously…YOU RULE
June 9th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
It took me a while to get the story, because I didn’t have a clue what happened with the boy and how was able to free himself from a root cellar five years after she hanged herself, but then I thought, OMG he was kidnapped and she was sentenced for a crime she didn’t commit and one of the worst crimes you could ever blame a mother for. I also love your social commentary about America’s media frenzy about high-profile court trials.
You write very condensed and very thought-provoking. The black holes in the story really force us to compile the story through our own interaction with the words. I’d love to see what you do with longer stories. If you can keep this kind of style up, you might be the newest revelation in literature.
June 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Beautifully condensed material, Paisley! (Of course, by my count, it’s 38 words too long, but that’s just me.) The bloody nose is the perfect detail to undermine the rush-to-judgment theory. Well done.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Excellent…powerful…gripping…disturbing! You just knew I’d love this, didn’t you?!
If you start encroaching into my field too often I am going to become extrememly worried indeed!
I think you’ll enjoy this film short called Mercy - it has similarities with this and is worth watching (only 15 mins long).
June 11th, 2008 at 6:04 am
In case the link doesn’t work:http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=145026