PLAYING HERTA

Crook falls in Cooks Falls.

You may remember a while back we posted a story about a Los Angeles man who left his dead mum carelessly lying around for a year. Today, on the other side of the U.S., a New York man is in custody for doing exactly the opposite. 69 year-old Roland Alexander carefully stored his dead mother, Herta, in a freezer, so he could continue collecting her Social Security checks.

Eventually a bank employee where Mrs. Alexander did her checking voiced concern that she had been AWOL for more than a year, and police descended upon the Alexander home to find her frozen like a carp, and Roland long gone. New York State police finally caught up with Alexander yesterday in Cooks Falls, about 100 miles northwest of New York City, and took him into custody. Murder charges seem unlikely, because a post thaw autopsy revealed Herta Alexander had died of heart disease, but Roland still faces charges of grand larceny, unlawful disposal of human remains, and forgery.

Authorities should also consider tacking on a heavy fine for running a freezer on high, which is proven to contribute to global warming, especially when you do it for a whole year. And don’t get us started on the fact that he probably didn’t even consider Earth-friendly composting as an option. When oh when will we learn to think green, folks? If not for yourselves, do it for the children.

New York City, Herta Alexander, Roland Alexander

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

January 17

1950—The Great Brinks Robbery Occurs

In the U.S., eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. The skillful execution of the crime, with only a bare minimum of clues left at the scene, results in the robbery being billed as “the crime of the century.” Despite this, all the members of the gang are later arrested.

January 17

1977—Gary Gilmore Is Executed

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment in the United States. Gilmore’s story is later turned into a 1979 novel entitled The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, and the book wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature.

January 16

1942—Carole Lombard Dies in Plane Crash

American actress Carole Lombard, who was the highest paid star in Hollywood during the late 1930s, dies in the crash of TWA Flight 3, on which she was flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles after headlining a war bond rally in support of America’s military efforts. She was thirty-three years old.

January 15

1919—Luxemburg and Liebknecht Are Killed

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps. Freikorps was a term applied to various paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. Members of these groups would later become prominent members of the SS.

January 14

1967—Summer of Love Begins

The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park with between 20,000 to 30,000 people in attendance, their purpose being to promote their ideals of personal empowerment, cultural and political decentralization, communal living, ecological preservation, and higher consciousness. The event is considered the beginning of the famed counterculture Summer of Love.

DON GIOVANNI

Giovanni Benvenuti was one of Italy's most prolific paperback cover artists. His unique style is on display in multiple collections within our website.

WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT