Something On Your Mind, Isn't It?
The unsolved Hanel Murders after all these years
I have to face the fact that I am truly a beginner here. What would lead me to believe that I can make a difference in a story unfinished for 37 years?
Up to now, “true crime” was a fun, occasional distraction but never something I considered myself devoted to. Books every so often, occasional documentary dives, a few podcasts here and there. It was always on the edges, even though it was around me my whole life.
Is there something behind the unsolved crime. The Dunning-Kruger effect. Your performance becomes more error prone as your familiarity with the landscape becomes more comfortable. Overestimation of competencies. Can experts learn from beginners?
Beginners mind.
It feels deeply Vermont to have an episode so bizarre, so brutal in such a small community - only to see it lost to the past. We move on. We do not get excited by these things. We put these events out of our mind. A murder in a small town that people live in, the killer among us.
I’ve been waiting in hotel rooms for the last week, hoping that my father recovers from what hurts him. Too much history sits with him. Praying that he recovers so that he can tell me his history.
I’d also love for you to leave a comment here. I’m starting something new here and need to hear thoughts. These are lonely, isolated times and in our own little chamber, it is easy to believe that people are listening or that you may be just speaking into the void.