Just forget the words and sing along

Sunday, July 25, 2004

OK, folks, first things first.  Got the latest column up.  As promised, we have An Ode to the Narc:

"Let’s hear it for the narc! The term comes from “narcotics officer,” those dedicated police officers who fought the war on drugs by infiltrating the drug rings to bring them down from the inside. It has since grown to apply to just about any law enforcement professional who’s drunk on their 2 cents worth of power. They are the ones who think zero tolerance is too tolerant. They’re the ones who’ll lock you up and throw away the key for the most minor of infractions. They don’t speak softly, but they carry a big stick…and a big gun, a big gun of pepper spray, all kinds of weapons. As long as they’re big. I recently came face-to-face with a narc and I tell ya, it was all I could do to keep from laughing my ass off. "

How did I come face to face with such a person?  Click here to find out!

Tonight, before bed, I'm trying to do a little reading up on Eric Wilson.  Who else read his books when they were younger.  Wilson started writing the Tom Austen mysteries in the late-1980s.  Tom Austen was dubbed "Canada's answer to the Hardy Boys."  Austen, the son of a Winnepeg cop, would occastionally get embroiled in some kind of a crime at a famous Canadian landmark and use his amateur detective skills (learned from his dad and his love of Hardy Boys books) to solve the crime.  Sometimes, he was joined by his teenage sister Liz.  (In fact, several books in the series star Liz on her own.)  My brother was the bigger fan and I always just borrowed the books from him.  The only book I bought for myself was Code Red at the Supermall, because it takes place at West Edmonton Mall.  The plot was simple enough:  the Austen family is on vacation at West Edmonton Mall when a terrorist strikes and begins planting bombs all over the place.  Naturally, it's up to Tom, Liz, and Tom's best friend Dietmar Oban to unmask the identity of this mad bomber. 

I stumbled upon Eric Wilson's official site.  The last Tom and Liz Austen mystery came out in Y2K, starred Liz on her own, and had something to do with Emily Carr.  Might be worth seeking out.

Next Issue...A Mark Cappis Mystery


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