Author: Eric Margerum

Margerumalia – International Museum Day

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – May 23, 2025

PHOTO CREDIT: icom.museum

This past Sunday, I heard on the radio that it was International Museum Day. Well, why did you wait and tell me on the day of? C’mon people, give me some room to run with this little gem!

Having set my novel in The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, and building on that theme in the much-anticipated sequel The Most Amazing Museum of Chicago (I, for one, am dying to know how it turns out), I should be informed about this International Day for Museums. Heck, I even blogged a recommendation for Mike Gayle’s book The Museum of Ordinary People (Margerumalia, January 17, 2025). All museums honored here!

Clearly it’s up to me to seek out the information and share what I learned. You’re welcome.

Oh, dear. I went to the icom.museum website and I’m afraid it’s rather stodgy and very academic sounding. Their photographers, on the other hand, really know what they’re doing. There are lots of really interesting photos that make you say, “That’s interesting. I wonder what’s going on here?” Especially in the Sharing Is Caring section.

That’s what we want to know, isn’t it? What are these people doing here and why? …And then what happened? …And then what? Stories are our common bond. 

Somewhere in the Black Forest of Germany, my mother sensed that my brothers and I were bored by the tapestries, the thrones, and suits of armor gathering dust in the umpteenth castle of the day. So she took us outside. 

A small square pond about the size of a Little League infield sat low in a clearing surrounded by  tall shaggy oaks. Mossy bricks edged the still water and no breeze blew through this fine and private place. 

“Hello?” my mother shouted, only to be answered by her own voice. 

“Hello?” it said back. 

We looked at her blankly. 

“That was the Echo,” she told us. “Let’s see if we can find her.” 

And even though we knew it was a game, we dashed up and down the little hillsides, looking behind tree trunks and vine-covered stones to see if we could find the mysterious Echo. I think we even shouted a few times to hear her shout back in our own voices. 

After about twenty minutes of this game, my brothers and I were nearly spent and remarkably capable of touring another bedroom in the nearby castle.

Echo went with us. I know because I heard her mocking the tour guide with his own voice even though he didn’t shout.  

Fifty-plus years later, I still remember that exciting moment when Mom made the echo into a sprite called Echo. 

And this morning, two little boys walking with their mother and calling me “a grandpa” rushed ahead when I told them that the yellow post at the top of the hill was good luck if they touched it. We all earned our good luck this morning.

That’s the kind of museum I want to remember. And a lot of the curators have figured that out. Especially the children’s museums who say, “Go ahead. You can touch it,” because they know we learn through all of our senses, not just our eyes.

TTFN

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – The Great Chicago Fire

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – May 16, 2025

PHOTO CREDIT: NewYorker.com

Did the Great Chicago Fire really begin in the O’Leary’s barn or was that just a story?

Were the sidewalks of Chicago in 1871 made of wood like you see in the old westerns or were they made of paving stones? Because wood burns, stones, not so much. 

Why do the photos of Chicago from that time period show telephone poles along the streets when telephones weren’t invented yet? The patent for the Bell Telephone wasn’t granted until 1876.

It’s interesting the questions that pop up when you’re writing about historical events. I hadn’t thought about the number of things I’d want to know to create a realistic picture of the past.

In The Most Amazing Museum of Chicago two of my characters travel back in time to the Great Chicago Fire and I want the readers to feel like they were really there. 

Yes, the fire did start in the O’Leary’s cow shed but there are multiple theories about how it began and who was responsible, so I get to make that part up. The kids in the story will witness it and may be partly responsible. The O’Leary’s house was spared because the fire spread north away from their home and you can find maps on line showing the devastation that followed. 

The sidewalks of Chicago in 1871 were wooden slats in some places and paving stones in others, depending on wealth and location. Modern poured concrete wouldn’t come into use for another twenty years. It was probably used in the later rebuilding of The Windy City.

And the telephone poles are actually telegraph poles. I had no idea that the telegraph lines would be all over the place like that. I don’t know how I’ll use that information, but it’s interesting to know.

I’m reminded of when I directed a production of The Outsiders a couple of years ago—not the musical version that’s currently just on Broadway—and I had to tell the kids not to give each other high fives after they successfully fought off the other gang of teens. When I told them the move hadn’t been invented yet, they looked at me like I was telling them shoes hadn’t been invented yet. The high five developed out of the “gimme five” hand slap of the 1960’s and wouldn’t be commonplace until the early 1970’s. The Outsiders takes place is the mid-1950’s, so a high five would be completely out of place. The actors found other ways to celebrate their victory.

As a writer friend pointed out, you don’t want to cause your reader, or audience member, to get distracted by things that are out of place. You just want them to be in the story.  

TTFN

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – Wander Indiana

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – May 9, 2025

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Healy/Indianapolis Star

Fresh out of college and soon relocating to Los Angeles for grad school I got my first credit card. A Shell Oil Credit Card, my first dive into high finance. Debt.

“You’ll need to establish a credit record,” my college roommate had assured me. “I have three gas cards already. And a card for Sears & Roebuck!”

If I ever wanted to get a swing at the big leagues—Bank Americard and Master Charge*—I’d have to spend some time in the minor leagues.

Okay: grown-up life. I’m in it to win it.

I pulled into a Shell station on the outskirts of Los Angeles and filled the tank of my VW Rabbit with unleaded gasoline, careful not to ruin my transmission with the regular leaded kind. 

The attendant came out to my car after I finished pumping and I handed him my Shell Oil Credit Card, just like I’d seen Dad do over the years. Within a few minutes the attendant was back with a little plastic tray that held my card upright in a slot behind the receipt baring the imprint of my name and card number.

Before handing me the little plastic tray, though, he went to the back of the car to write down the license plate number. He was several years younger than me and sounded like he spoke more Spanish than English, so I figured he was being careful to do everything correctly, and by the book. 

I watched him in my rearview mirror look carefully at my Indiana license plate and write something down, only to look at the plate again and write something more, and then look at the plate again and write something more, repeating that process several times over. He seemed to be writing one number, or one letter, at a time. And he didn’t look confident that he was getting it right. 

When he finally brought the little plastic tray to my driver’s window, I saw what had happened. He got the license number written accurately but in the little box for the two letters of the state, he had written in careful bold capitals WANDER, with the letters spilling over into the box beside it. 

Indiana had launched a bid for more tourism called “Wander Indiana,” and the new license plates had the word WANDER in brighter, bolder letters than the name of the state. I figured this guy’s hesitation was because he had never heard of a state called Wander. 

Hey, I’d lived in a couple of foreign countries where I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. Even on my first day of Primary School in England, I was mocked by my schoolmates when I asked where to find the bathroom. 

“You want ta take a bath?” 

“No…” I fumbled figuring I had used a gross Americanism. “The…the restroom.” Yes, that’s what they would call it! 

“You want ta rest?” 

Now I was blushing furiously, trying not to say that I had to pee. They took pity on me. 

“You want ta use the loo?”

I had forgotten that word. “Yes. Yes, please!”

I looked at the word WANDER on the onion skin receipt and decided not to say anything. I signed the box at the bottom, took my Shell Oil Credit Card and handed over the tray, thanking him with a smile and a nod. 

I wondered if he would wonder about that state called Wander.

TTFN

(*They’re now called Visa and Master Card.)

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Spring Has Sprung

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – May 2, 2025

Yes, spring has sprung in the Midwest and the multitudes are multiplying aplenty. 

I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink when this baby bunny appeared in our front garden, calmly chewing away at the greenery and helpfully eating the head off a dandelion. He was just so darn cute that I had to pull out my iPhone and capture the moment. I love the way the sun gave him backlighting that produced a halo effect around his head and shone through his perky pink ears. 

I had a toy bunny sticking out of my Christmas stocking when I was four and he still sits on my desk shelf today. I petted him bare in a couple places over the years, and I can’t help but think how much the bunny in the garden reminds me of that treasured friend.

On the other side of the house, Rocki Raccoon is usually at our back door in the morning, peering in to see if I might bring her a nice bowl of cat kibble. The other raccoons who stop by are like pigs, literarily snorting and grunting while they use their butts to shove their siblings aside and dive their greedy forepaws into the bowl, spilling kibble all over the back deck. 

Rocki is very polite and appears to be praying at the window beside the door as if to say, like Oliver Twist, “Please, sir, may I have some more?” 

And when I bring out the food she takes the food delicately and chews for a bit before kissing my hand in thanks. Okay, she might be wiping her nose on my fingers but I like to think of it as kissing my hand.

I’ve read that dog food is better to feed a raccoon, but try telling a raccoon only to eat the dog food when you’re also putting out rich, odorous kibble for the cat. Not gonna happen!

Besides, Rocki is clearly pregnant and she’ll be needing all the nutrients she can get. I think we’ll get to greet her babies before the end of May. 

Speaking of pregnant animals, Tabitha is also pregnant. I hoped I had successfully chased off a Tomcat who was assaulting her in February, but I guess it was only a short reprieve. Considering where he was trying to poke her, I wonder if he’s even the father!

Soon we’ll be capturing kittens again, hoping to find them homes. We learned a lot about the process last year with Tabitha’s other kittens. We just never figured out how to capture Tabby herself and take her in to get spayed. She’s a wily cat who runs away at the slightest noise, but swats at our hands if we put her food bowl down too slowly. She’s a survivor.

Writing about these animals is something like creating character sketches for a novel or short story. Each of them has their unique personality traits, just like you and I. 

Enjoy the spring weather wherever you may be.

TTFN

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KITTEN UPDATE: Two days after writing the Margerumalia above, Tabitha arrived at our back door looking much slimmer than the day before. We have no idea where she goes at night but somewhere out there a litter of kittens is eagerly waiting their mama’s return. 

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – High Rollers

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – April 25, 2025

PHOTO CREDIT: forums.wdwmagic.com

What does a starving actor do to earn money in LA? Work at a coffee shop? Did that. Paint houses? Did that. Tend bar? Did that… Hey, ever been on a game show? It’s easy money! Just learn the game, answer trivia, and roll the dice. 

I did that, too. On HIGH ROLLERS. 

My game show host was Wink Martindale who passed away recently at 91 years old, may he rest in peace. He’s in the picture holding the game dice. The other picture is also him from when he hosted TIC TAC DOUGH.

(Side note: Alex Trebek was the HIGH ROLLERS host before moving on to host JEOPARDY.)

The essence of the game is to eliminate the numbers 1 through 9 without “crapping out.” That means if the remaining number is a 9, you have to roll a 4 and 5, or a 3 and 6 to win.

That’s the luck part of the game and you get to yell “Good numbers!” when you throw the dice down the length of the red felt table.

But the game is a combination of luck and skill. First, you must be quick on the buzzer and successfully answer trivia questions before your opponent. If you answer right, the dice are yours. If you answer wrong, the dice go to your opponent.

The second part of the skill set is strategy. When you eliminate numbers from the board you earn a slew of good prizes, but only if you win. By answering the trivia question correctly you get control of the dice. Now, do you roll, or do you force your opponent to roll? 

The game show contestant coordinators were very good about explaining that almost every game is won by forcing your opponent to crap out. If they roll snake eyes when there’s only a 9 left on the board, they lose. You win! 

You want to roll the dice yourself when there are plenty of numbers on the board, and hand off the dice when there aren’t many winning combinations left. You choose.

I was buzzing in on trivia questions right and left on my first game and I played the strategy. When I took over as reigning champion I defeated my next opponent with several quick answers and good rolls before he crapped out. The strategy worked!

My reward for defeating my first challenger was an opportunity to roll for the Big Numbers! That bonus round involved rolling the gold dice and eliminating as many numbers as possible on the Big Board. I scored a decent amount of cash to add to my prizes, but crapped out before I could earn the big $10,000 prize.

“That’s okay,” Wink assured me, “you’re doing great with the questions and I’m sure you’ll get another shot at the big numbers.” Thanks, Wink.

The next challenger was a cute blond I had seen in the contestant holding room. She gave me a fetching smile and stepped up to the table. I knew I would feel bad about preventing her from earning any cash or prizes, but I had bills to pay.

I dominated the quiz portion and even buzzed in before Wink finished reading the questions. That could have been dangerous because he stopped reading whenever a contestant pressed the buzzer. But I got them right one after the other. 

I eliminated my share of the numbers and then passed the dice to the cute blond for the rest of the game. 

Damn, if she didn’t eliminate every last number! Even the producers backstage were shaking their heads as I signed the paperwork to collect my cash and prizes. 

“You answered every question right!” 

“We were sure you were going to win that one.”

Easy money, huh? Only if the dice roll your way. 

Oh, I did get one more prize. I got the cute blonde’s phone number.

TTFN

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Local Author Fair

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – April 18, 2025

BOOK SIGNING

Tomorrow is the Local Author Fair at the Tippecanoe County Public Library and I’ve been practicing a short reading from Chapter 6 of MAMLA. It’s the part where Maria and her mom take an elevator up to the clouds and have quite the ride getting there!

I wrote in my January Margerumalia about a resolution to retrain myself to speak with the kind of clarity I’d developed as an actor, and I’m just a little nervous in spite of daily practice. I know I’ll be my own worst critic, but it’s because I used to be able to do this so easily.

I have a remarkable confidence about getting up before a group of people, and I’m continually surprised now when I stumble over my words. The words that I can hear so clearly in my head.

Please keep me in mind and send me good vibes so I can give my listeners an entertaining piece of the story.

If you’re nearby, the Local Author Fair is April 19th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. I’ll be signing books, and giving away mazes and bookmarks. There ought to be many more interesting authors to meet and greet as well.

SOPHOMORE EFFORT

As a freshman in college everything is new, everyone seems to know so much, and it’s all you can do to find your place in the scheme of things. 

Returning as a sophomore you now know how all the pieces fit together, and you laugh with superiority at the foolish freshmen who are so hopelessly lost. 

By the time you hit your stride in your junior year, you’re working hard and have more than a little compassion for the new class of hapless frosh. 

Senior year brings the stunning reality that you’ll soon be leaving this safe haven, and have to earn a living in the big bad world. 

I’m reminded of this quotation of Dōgen, the 13th Century father of Zen Buddhism: 

“Before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after a first glimpse into the truth of Zen, mountains are no longer mountains and waters are no longer waters; after enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and waters once again waters.”

In writing The Most Amazing Museum of Chicago, I’m suddenly aware of my sophomore effort. I want the sequel to be able to stand alone, but also bear a resemblance to the first book. I thought I knew how to proceed. “Hey, I’ve done this once already!” But now I’m starting to realize how much I don’t know about how I did it the first time. 

The mountains and the waters are so much more than merely mountains and waters. I’m on a journey to see them once more as just mountains and waters. 

My acting teacher used to remind me, “Anything can happen.” If I take that Zen-like approach without the loaded expectations, I can still forge ahead.

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – The Star Trek Consultant 

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – April 11, 2025

PHOTO CREDIT: paramountplus.com

I was working the early morning shift at a coffeehouse in Los Angeles called The Blue Parrot (named after the bar in Casablanca). It was sort of a tropical-themed Starbuck’s where I learned how to froth milk—whole and skim—make croissant sandwiches, and wipe down each and every table on the patio with steaming soapy water before we opened at seven.

A morning regular who struck up daily conversations with me when I brought him his latte and English Muffin told me he was a science consultant for “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” I enjoyed asking him questions about the series and he indulged me because I was a bit of a fan as well as an aspiring actor.

When “Star Trek III” came out I told him I had seen it and really enjoyed the story about the “Search for Spock.” He eyed me for a few seconds and asked me if I noticed anything else about the movie. 

I knew he wasn’t consulting for any of the movies so he wouldn’t be offended if I pointed out a discrepancy. 

“Well, there was one thing…” I said. 

“Yes?” he leaned into the question, obviously keen to hear my answer. 

“When the Klingons used the cloaking device, the Enterprise couldn’t fire on them because they couldn’t tell where they were. But then Sulu came up with a solution to launch a photon torpedo that followed the ion trail of the Klingon ship.” 

“And the problem with that…?” 

“Well, the cloaking device was introduced back in the original series. If a photon torpedo could track an ion trail they would have done that a long time ago.” 

“Thank You!” he said, practically leaping out of his chair in righteous victory. “If YOU could see that, why didn’t any of the science types see that?”

He wasn’t insulting my intelligence but he did seem to have a bone to pick with the folk making the movies.

“Do you think they didn’t catch it?” I asked. 

“No,” he said firmly, “I think the producers wanted an easy solution and told the consultants to ignore the problem because no one would notice.”

I learned something that day about storytelling: integrity. I’m not talking about moral principles, I’m talking about the integrity of a dam that successfully holds back the floodwaters. Whether it’s a science fiction story, a whodunnit, or a romance, there is an internal logic that has to be followed, the integrity of the story. Otherwise you lose the audience and they won’t trust you the next time. 

By the way, my wife and I figured out that she had been coming to The Blue Parrot for months before we met but she always arrived after my morning shift. I picture a romantic comedy in which the couple keep missing each other until the inevitable meet-cute. 

Live Long and Prosper 

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – April Fools’ Week

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – April 4, 2025

This was the line I submitted for the New Yorker’s monthly caption contest. I hope you enjoyed it. Mine wasn’t chosen, but I like trying my hand at the game.

My wife laughed out loud when she read it and she doesn’t give up those LOL’s easily, so it’s already a winning caption in my book.

I thought a bit of humor would be a fun theme for April Fools’ Week. 

ADDITIONAL WELLNESS CENTER FOLK

I described eleven different types of folk at the Wellness Center in my Feb. 21 Margerumalia. Since then, I’ve come up with three more: 

Tippy-Toe Trudy: No exaggeration, this young lady is walking around the track on the balls of her feet! I’ve seen her leave the oval walking flat-footed, but she walks several laps on the balls of her feet. Is she building up her calves for high heels? Who knows. 

The Bond Villain: A middle-aged man with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair gave me a steely-eyed look when I said good morning as he was putting on his shoes. He said nothing, just stared, and the voice I heard was saying, “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.”

The Loving Couple: These two are on Cloud Nine, hands clasped and walking at a pace better suited for the seashore. Maybe that’s the world they’re actually walking in. I remember making out with a girlfriend in a parking lot when a passer-by in a car yelled at us to get a room. We broke out of the embrace both laughing. No shield like love.

A BIT OF PARODY

You may know the famous first line of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. No? Oh, go look it up, it made me laugh when I read it at fifteen. (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42671)

On a recent quick trip I packed a single bag in order to avoid additional airline fees and I came up with this thought in imitation of Jane Austen: 

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a traveler in possession of a good bag, will be in want of adequate space for the same possessions on the return trip. 

BUTTS ON THINGS  

I got this page-a-day calendar from a member of my writing group. She’d gotten it for her husband and he was kind of indifferent about it. It tickles the same little boy in me who giggles at fart jokes. I now enjoy a giggle every day. (You can find more of his silliness at briancook.net.)

MAMCHI HUMOR

In The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles I made a point of letting my readers know how to say the MAMLA acronym by way of the docent, Doris Weatherton. For the sequel I decided to provide the readers with a similar moment with the MAMCHI docent, Morris Weatherton, but with a humorous twist: 

“I am MORRIS WEATHERTON.” He continued his speech with large gestures and dramatic tones that belonged in the center of a three ring circus. “I am your DOCENT. Your guide to MAMCHI.” He pronounced the acronym “MOM-chee.”

“I’d have said it MOM-shee,” Tamara said to the others.

“Or MOM-shih,” added Brock, “because it’s short for SHIH-cago.”

“No, that doesn’t work,” said Yesta. “It sounds too much like you’re gonna say sh—”

“CHILDREN of all AGES,” said Morris Weatherton quickly…

BOOK SIGNING

No joke. The Tippecanoe County Library invited me to participate in a Local Author Fair on April 19th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. I’ll be signing books, giving away mazes, and giving a 15-minute presentation about writing and about my book. 

If you’re nearby, I hope you’ll swing by and say hi. 

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – Five Year Anniversary

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – March 28, 2025

PHOTO: Angel wearing her festive holiday sweater on a winter walk. She’s wondering why we’re not jumping over the fallen tree limb.

Could it actually be five years from the start of the COVID epidemic? And do you know where you stashed your masks to pull them out for the upcoming Bird Flu epidemic? No? Hopefully we won’t need them.

I have a surreal and haunting memory of the spring blossoms and the budding trees from 2020. 

Angel and I continued to take our morning walks every day, keeping all of our trail buddies at a discrete distance if we stopped to say hello at all. This was before the vaccines were developed, of course, and I remember walking about fifty yards behind another hiker, smelling her shampoo and thinking, “If the virus is carried through the air and I can smell her scent, is six feet of social distancing even enough?” 

I developed a strong sense of self-preservation during that time and will admit that I consciously stood upwind of people who stopped to talk to me. The world was in lockdown, after all, and still people were dying by the hundreds, the thousands, every day. 

Then suddenly Mother Nature shook off her winter lockdown and started to run headlong into spring. My logical mind understood the natural state of things but my emotional mind couldn’t process this. We were on hold! Nature shouldn’t be breaking the the rules. No one should!

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” 

I guess I passed the test, but not before processing those opposed ideas. That required me to lean into my mixed feelings as well as the unnerving pull from two directions.

I remind myself to let my characters have such contradictory experiences as well. It makes for weighty moments in their lives, which is always a more interesting read.

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – You Have The Lindbergh Baby!

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – March 21, 2025

Do you know the famous story of the Lindbergh Baby who was kidnapped out of his crib in 1932, with a ransom note left where the child had been sleeping? It was called “The Crime of The Century” and, in an era before social media or even television, everyone and their neighbor was on the lookout for the Lindbergh Baby.

The whole world was horrified by the thought that this cute curly-haired innocent had been grabbed by someone nefarious, someone who would bring harm to the little son of an American Hero. Ever since Lindbergh flew his single-engine, single-seat plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, across the Atlantic from New York to Paris, he had earned his way into the hearts of the American Public and the world.

Here is a picture of my mother, Sonya, who was born in 1930 when Charles Lindbergh, jr. was born. 

You see the resemblance, don’t you?

My Mom’s father was a lawyer working for the government in Washington, D.C. and the family was living nearby in Maryland. 

People literally stopped my young grandmother in the store or on the street to gasp, “You have the Lindbergh Baby!” The two babies were the same age, after all, and they both had a generous mop of white curly hair. Everyone was on the lookout for the child, picturing themselves as the hero who would would bring him home.

She wasn’t the Lindbergh Baby, of course, and people were disabused of that idea when they learned that she was a little girl. She sure matched the description, though. 

Unfortunately the story had a tragic ending when a truck driver found the little boy’s body by the side of the road. An immigrant was accused of the crime and was found guilty in “The Trial of the Century.” He insisted that he was innocent of the crime but all appeals failed and he was executed in 1936. 

Agatha Christie was moved to write a murder mystery inspired by the kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby, without actually naming the famous aviator. It was called Murder on the Orient Express and I won’t give any spoilers but the story provides some poetic justice to the story of the kidnapping. 

In that story, the kidnapped baby is a girl, and her mother is named Sonia. 

It’s one of Christie’s most famous novels, and her readers knew all about that kidnapping. Now you do, too, so you can read or re-read the book with new appreciation. 

TTFN 

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I found the WANTED poster and additional facts about the Kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_kidnapping. The article also discusses the many theories about the guilt or innocence of the accused kidnapper.

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.