Merry Christmas from Alex Taylor's Outdoors

A couple years after the final Alex Taylor's Crime Stories ran, he found himself still a frequent contributor to the Gainesville Times, although writing about a topic he holds a bit more deer.. er.. dear than crime. Dad has always been an avid outdoorsman, particularly known for hosting countless hunting expeditions to lesser-known and remote ranches out west. Montana to South Texas, waist-deep in frigid powder or blistering on a hilltop boulder with rattlers underfoot. Camping via horseback trails and days-long hikes. He became so well-known for it, Ed Dodd or comic strip Mark Trail fame regularly consulted for source material. More to that story, but I simply need to relay that Dad hunted... a lot. Let's just say, we were one of those households with the extra deep freezer always packed with venison, which was Dad's favorite currency. If you ever did him a favor, chances are you received a couple frozen white wax paper bundles 'o meat whether you wanted them or not. Anyway, one anecdote of many. I have a few of Dad's outdoor articles and I will publish them from time to time. Today's is sort of a repeat that first appeared in December 1987's Crime Stories.

Last appearing in the Gainesville Times December 24, 1992 (with updated photo!), we revisit the Christmas story of Old Joe and the homesick bloodhound that almost sent him to prison.

Alex Taylor Says Goodbye with a Movie

And now his last…

Many of us go about our lives in east coast Martrix fashion—heads down, tapping away at keyboards, biding our time until hopefully some ritual fun interludes. Rarer still comes the time of high adventure—a big trip somewhere exotic or an activity that lands way outside one’s comfort zone. I suppose that’s why so many of us gravitate to action and adventure movies as a temporary escape. They take us places we would never see and provide the only proven method of time travel. For my father, his preferred setting is the Old West. The bottoms of his soles have touched the dirt of so many western novel and movie locations, I cannot possibly begin to list them all. Perhaps this wanderlust of his germinated from the traits of his favorite author Louis L’Amour, who insisted on visiting and took detailed notes for each potential setting. This was long before the days of Google Earth, Wikipedia, and YouTube, so this was indeed important. Still is. Could you imagine Robert Ludlum never dining at a Zürich lakeside café? Point being, Dad never wasted a travel opportunity; it kept father time away similar perhaps to Baron Munchausen’s fable. And, being as learned as Dad is with the west of olde, it is a pleasant surprise when he heaps praise on a Hollywood western as “mostly accurate”. I tend to think he was particularly fond of Robert Duvall's card cuttin'.

Last published in the Gainesville Times, February 14, 1990, Prof. Alex Taylor provides his take on what has become a much-loved and awarded classic. 

More follows the column.
  

 

How good is Lonesome Dove? Oh my... see for yourself!
Never saw it? Lordy, Lordy... The miniseries is currently available for streaming on Starz.

On a sad note, Alex's long-time huntin' buddy and family friend Fred Shope passed away this past July, aged 90. He sold his automotive service business and indeed retired just a few years after the column published. Much huntin', fishin' and 'advisin' ensued.

Okay, confession time. I lied. Sort of...
Alex Taylor's Crime Stories actually makes one more appearance in the Gainesville Times shortly before Christmas 1992. I thought it might make a fitting resolution to end his republication in similar fashion.

About Alex's referenced books? Funny thing—life and its distractions. I can talk about this because of all the delays with Dust's sequel WHICH I AM WORKING ON! Sorry... had to vent. News Flash—I'm near the end. R e g a r d l e s s, Dad's books were never completed. No real excuses, just a function of life and time. I can attest that they were in fact being drafted. Crime, of course. If or when I get time, it's my plan to coax the old man into completing at least one of them, or at least nailing a sketch. We'll see...

Catch y'all next week!

The Big Men

Welcome Back!
And now the last couple Alex Taylor Crime Stories...

That's John Jacob Astor on the left. You'll read about him and other derided magnates shortly. Will it feel as jealousy when a wildly successful person comes to greater power and influence? Haves vs the Have-Nots? I never once took that position, preferring to view many of them as persecuted and immensely burdened with cradling the livelihoods of thousands. Their responsibilities are, in fact, enormous. Problem is, further exposure to the power elite (to use the C. Wright Mills label) yields inevitable narratives of corruption, greed, power trips and personal drama with little regard for their workers. Okay, some of these people; certainly not all.

Sounds like an Industrial Age fairy tale until you see it for yourself. We took a trip a few years ago to Central and South America. The banana plantations were striking in this sense -- that of the robber barons. Huge swaths of carefully-cultivated product, farmed with the best, most modern techniques and machinery, all operated by impoverished hoards who live (exist) in bordering shanties. Oceangoing cargo liners dock, are filled to the decks, and off they go to the First World -- to your local grocery store -- pennies for a pound. I think of those people every time I see cheap bananas. The socialists would say it's capitalism run amok, and their detractors would certainly cite mere opportunity and free economics. More on this below...

Originally published to the Gainesville Times, February 7, 1990.

Regarding the capitalist vs socialist debate, I see it as a personal responsibility of the wealthy powerful to improve and enrich the lives of their underlings, not so much a government's. Problem is, too many biz emperors don't see it that way, forcing politicians and their disgruntled, fomented constituents into regulatory action. Oops! That riotous conversation's a tad large for this column. I'll not risk the TLDR and leave it there.

Cue Bad Boys

Damn! Now I can't get that song out of my head.

Before you say it, no, that's not Johnny Depp's photo on the left. Does look like him though. I wonder why...

This week, Professor Alex Taylor discusses this guy's terminal criminality. Could it have been prevented if he'd been show a little love early on? Would it have gone differently if his gatekeepers showed this former nobody a modicum of compassion instead of throwing the book at him? Or, is this truly a case of one's fabric being cut from the cloth of evil? Truth or excuse? Question marks or statements?

;)

Published to the Gainesville Times January 31, 1989.
See a note that follows.

Nearing the end, folks! Alex Taylor's Tuesday Crime Stories only has a few left, so we're going to take a short break and resume the column on December 7th, 2021.  See you then!

 

Won't Leave You Hanging

 

Florida's current chair
('scuse the pun)

Published to the Gainesville Times January 24, 1989, Retired Detective and Criminology Professor Alex Taylor electrifies the history of Old Sparky. What most people today do not realize is that this form of execution remains an option in several states, including Tennessee, who last used their chair on Nicholas Todd Suttman, February 2020. 
Some folks are really opposed to taking shots!

Commentary follows the column.

Dad told me once that his school field trips were the best part of teaching. The classroom was great for discussion -- academia -- but the field brought out the best and worst of his subject matter. Imagine your first observation of an autopsy, taking notes off to the side while a prostitute works an urban shopping mall, or actually sitting in that electric chair after walking past real Death Row inmates. It's a fact that some sociology professors, especially today, disbelieve in deterrents, citing an increase in prison recidivism. I wonder how society would be if all students were shown the real, often graphic consequences of crime.

Your Fascination with Lawyers

It's your fault you know. Drama. You love a good drama.
Heck, you love bad dramas too. Tiger King outed us all on that. As long as the drama contains high drama, and by that I mean the lowest, evil skullduggery versus angelic highs. Oops, don't need that part, actually. Wanton stupidity often suffices. Anyway, the point is, we love drama. Well, so long as it's not ours. Lawyers know this too. 

Originally published to the Gainesville Times, January 17, 1989, Alex Taylor discusses our love affair with trial lawyers. Oh, and there's a bit on Bolita, towards the end. 

 

Factoid 1: Frank Ragano's Mob Lawyer provided a few inspirational nuggets woven into Bolita where artistic license mandated. Interesting but subjective read, and I'll leave the veracity part to its omnipotent critics.

Factoid 2: Melvin Belli's career included actual acting, including his appearance in Star Trek's Original Series as Gorgon (The Devil), who.. um.. had a thing for kids.

Pardon Me!

Bit of political muck on one's boots mentioning lightning rod Oliver North after 30 years of high conspiracy surrounding Iran-Contra and the diplomatic moralization of the "greater good". It's the stuff of books and movies, such as Tom Clancy's paraphrased Clear and Present Danger.
"How dare you, Mr. President!"

Nonetheless, Professor Taylor conjures North's case as a classic example of presidential pardons before delving into the history of pardons — something to do with whiskey, rebellions, and some litigious guy named Bradford.

Originally published to the Gainesville Times, January 10, 1989.

Can't let this one go by without a modernity jab.
Is it any wonder that Americans generally rebel at the notion of egregious taxation?
Yeah yeah... those that ignore history...

Injustice Out

Pat Lyon at the Forge

Forensic investigations are just as intriguing now as they were then. Clues, evidence, those missing puzzle pieces... Combine it with life-changing (sometimes ending) drama, and it's easy to see why. We love a good mystery. We also love righteous justice. Nothing sweeter. Conversely, there's not much more bitter than the miscarriage of justice. Criminology Professor Alex Taylor brings a couple cases to light that ended... well, better to let you read it, eh?

Originally published in the Gainesville Times, January 2, 1989.
A note about Alex Taylor Tuesday follows the column.

Well folks, "all good things..." as the saying goes. I though I should scratch a byline here that the publication of Alex Taylor's Crime Stories will be coming to conclusion around the end of November. Why? He discontinued it due to scheduling and other writing pursuits, namely wildlife sports and consulting. More soon!

Alex Taylor on Ethics and Morality

I’m going to be accused of click bait, I know it...

 

I suppose it’s the perceived duty of all published writers to play Grand Inquisitor (I really mean commentator) on public behavior in such a way that doesn’t specifically address a hot-button topic, but calls to question our interpretation of the topic so as to create an air of uncertainty. Given the date of original publication to the Gainesville Times — Tuesday, December 27, 1988 — I imagine this might have something to do with 1988’s presidential election and the serious rhetoric surrounding it, namely the Iran-Contra affair and its prosecution. Ethics, morality, and the common good. All perception, right? More after the column…

Can’t relate to the dead horse lotto? Here’s an actual morality tale that occurred just a few months ago:

A sparkling new local fast food establishment held their Grand Opening this past June. A couple weeks later, someone (me) noticed that this restaurant was charging the wrong sales tax rate — 8% instead of 6%. Since my overage amounted to a few cents, and the drive-thru was busy, I let it go. No biggie; they’ll sort it soon enough. I wouldn’t return until they did. A week later, a local social network was abuzz with queries regarding the tax overage. The restaurant’s management was alerted. They said they were aware of it, blaming their sales systems and corporate management. A hot debate ensued. Comments varied from accusations of mob lynching, absurd vigilantism, “Just think of all those employees you want to put out of work!”, “It’s just a few cents! You can’t afford it?!?”, tax codes broken, jail, mathematical computations of the three-week haul (it is significant, mind you), but mostly, “It’s just a mistake and they will fix it.”

Thing is, they didn’t until news of the online firestorm reached a local county commissioner. The rate quickly changed to the correct 6%. So, what happened to the ill-gotten tax dollars? (Estimated somewhere between $1000-$1800) Nobody seems to care.

For me, as soon as management was aware they were overcharging and continued to do so, they were violating law, ethics, and of course, morality— the other F-word… fraud. That’s from my perspective, a pickpocketing for extra change as it may be. From other customers’ perspectives, it wasn't a big enough issue to worry about because of the workers needs and the personal needs for that new restaurant outweighed the few cents out of their pocket. From the restaurant’s perspective, it wasn’t important to correct the issue quickly so long as no business was lost and nobody important made inquiry. Unfortunately, this seems to be a standard practice for certain upstarts who possess a playbook for deviant gains.

Oh, and speaking of whistleblowers, Facebook's latest appears to be leading a morality charge that also seeks to define and generalize what the company considers misinformation, which much of it is, while commingling/mislabeling truthful information that happens to disagree with its preferred narrative of "the truth". Today's filtering has become quite complicated, indeed!

The Unsolved Bunch

Harry Longabaugh and Etta Place
in New York City, circa 1901,
just before they sailed to Argentina

Chances are, you've seen the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katherine Ross. The movie ends with a self-evident question mark. While most historical narratives place Parker and Longabaugh's likely demise at the hands of the Bolivian Army, inescapable facts in real life may forever facilitate alternative endings. 

Originally published to the Gainesville Times on Tuesday, December 13, 1988, Criminology Professor Alex Taylor takes a shot at the mystery of the three principals of the film — a mystery that continues to this day.

The Quiet Ones

The movie Minority Report makes for comparative commentary here. Originally published in the Gainesville Times, December 6, 1988, Prof. Taylor speaks to the notion of Pre-Crime and a police state where psychological profiling is a practice compelled on all citizens.

Oh, and please excuse the typos. I think Dad’s editor was having an off day. See? That’s an example of external loci. As much as I loathe them, I’ve caught typos and other grammatical errors in at least 90% of the professionally-produced publications I’ve read. Mistakes happen to the best of us, and it makes me feel just a little better about myself when I, on such a rare occasion, happen to catch one. Tee hee!

I’m somehow reminded of Dr. Leland Goines’ (Christopher Plummer) lamentation of psychiatry in the 1996 movie, 12 Monkeys. Kidding aside, it seems our society is always in danger of creeping away from freedom in the name of some emergency.

The Hangman’s Ball

Prof. Taylor examines our never-ending culture of violence in this week’s Taylor Tuesday. Published in the Gainesville Times, November 29, 1988, his Crime Stories column features the career of Isaac “Hanging Judge” Parker, famous (or infamous) for his frequent use of ropes. Commentary follows the column.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Familiar then, familiar in 1988, familiar today. My father, perhaps wisely, eschewed a direct political commentary as it might not have favored the personal viewpoints of the paper’s Editors. Indeed, our culture of violence existed then as it does today. Movies have spared no imagination in the cruelty and gore splattered upon the screen. Video games have become play-per-view interactions of violent behavior, and many actually reward such behavior (Grand Theft Auto, etc). Direct comparative attributions are debatable, subjective to age and other dispositions, yet the level of civil disobedience and illegal, falsely-moralized entitlement has become a little more than notable, given the severity of recent riots, organized looting mobs, and their political puppeteers. We are as violent and desensitized as we’ve ever been.