Got awful quiet around here, eh? Sorry ’bout that. Distractions include paying chores and a friend and neighbor who is in hospice and bound for whatever is next. Here’s hoping it includes spicy food, good books and musicians who can improvise.
More of the same is on tap this week, but I didn’t want to dive back in without noting that Dr. Demento was convicted on all counts yesterday and led away in handcuffs immediately thereafter. I understand he faces as much as five years as a guest of the State, and I hope he gets every day of it. As some of you know, Ron Peterson, the guy who went through the good doktor’s rear window when the asshole zipped in front of him and hit the binders, is an old friend and a former Mad Dog. So, yeah, it’s personal.
Be careful out there, and I’ll see you soon.
• Late update: My man Marv’ died last night, I am informed by Herself. More to come later. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed, and not just by us.
Mad Blog Media 
I know Ron would have rather never had this happen. Hoping Ron can get back to enjoying his life/cycling. Who knows maybe he’ll one day come back and tow our fat asses all over El Paso county again. He still looks fit, not likes some of us.
According this LA Times story, he’s looking at a max of ten years in prison. Given that a) he’s white, b) he’s a “professional”, and c) California is about as cash strapped as any state can be, he’ll probably get just six months. They’ll probably even knock off half his sentence on day one to save some money they can spend putting away some evil pot dealer.
Excuse me for being so pessimistic. Maybe I’ve been seeing the Larimar County Sheriff on TV too much lately. I’d like to see them stick him in a balloon and let it free.
But, John, at least he will now be a convicted felon and that sends a message to other ego-fueled asshats. That straps one’s style.
And, I would love to see a video of this:
“Thompson, wearing a dark blue suit, grimaced and shook his head as a bailiff cuffed his hands behind his back.”
Clink.
Guilty, guilty, guilty!
Hi Patrick,
It was very nice of you to post a message about my Great Uncle Marv. We met a couple of times while I was passing through, staying at Marv and Judy’s house on my way to moving here and there. I’m now in chicago, working as a reporter for a Tribune publication. We talked shop a couple of times on the driveway. It was nice to find your site and your message about Uncle Marv. He was a special guy. I went on the net to look for his story which I remember you posted on your site, which I did find. I remember on my last trip to Colorado Springs, I surprised him by showing him that if we googled his name, he was sure to be found on the Internet. He got really into it and we spent the night googling a bunch of names and listening to music and naming old songs I have recorded of him and his brothers. It was a nice night.
My condolences to you as I know you’ve lost a special friend and neighbor too.
If I were the judge, I’d give him a choice of either taking 5 years in the pen or taking 6 months and cycling up and down Mandeville canyon 500 times in the span of 2 years. He might even learn to enjoy it …
Yeah we may be strapped for cash here in Cali, but this twisted sister is going to have to spend time picking up Bruno’s soap. On top of that, after he is released he will have a lot of explaining to do for that “Convicted” part of his life. As Harold Ramis mused in “Stripes”: “You did say convicted?”
Now if the other prosecutors across the state would take this in to account when trying a similar case, there might be more justice round these parts. Seeing as now there appears to be a legal precident for assault with a deadly weapon between a driver and a cyclist. Presuming that the judge let’s it stand upon sentencing…of course.
Hi, Amy,
I remember our chats, and I appreciate your condolences; please accept mine in return. Marv’ was indeed a special guy, and the world is less interesting without him in it. My biggest regret is that I never jammed with him, me on flute and him on guitar.
But it paid off for me in the end. If we’d ever tried to play together, he and Judy would have sold out, packed up and moved away. It’s one thing to put up with a 55-year-old neighbor who dresses up in Lycra and rides a bicycle; it’s something else altogether to live next door to an amateur flutist who thinks he can jam with your Great Uncle Marv’.
OK I looked up the statutes and he is facing a probable 5 year sentence, 10 if they stack it. I see the probability of stacking about par with my getting compensated for my wreck, but stranger things have happened.
Wow. If this collision had happened in Houston, the cyclists would have been ticketed for riding too closely to a motor vehicle, and they’d have had to pay for the damage they did to the car.
I like John’s idea of having the doctor ride the same road on a bike, over and over.
I wonder how drivers might change if they were ordered by a court to ride a road bike on public roads. Fifteen miles equals one hour of community service? I’m sure bike computer/GPS technology is good enough for a parole officer to confirm if the bad guy actually rode the bike and didn’t just stick it in a car and drive it around. It would also be pretty obvious if a bad guy was riding a lot–might get thinner, oughta get bad tan lines, might get faster–might get hit by an angry driver. Hmmmm.
Sorry about your neighbor Marv, sounds like he was one of the family. Nice post from Amy too.
One less homicidal maniac on the streets of El Lay, kudos to the prosecutor! I hope interest in this case might translate into everyone pestering their local law enforcers and legislators into putting some teeth into the various “distracted driving” laws and their enforcement. Unlike Europe (especially Italy) we’ll likely never be seen as having any real right to use the road by motorists, but at least we can try to prevent the average bozo from clocking us from behind as they play with cell phone, “Fourbucks” latte or whatever while piloting their Chevrolet Subdivision and steering with their knees! It may take federal “incentives” like witholding highway funding (like was done with seatbelts) but it’s worth it to save some innocent folks JRA (just riding along) on the streets that belong to all of us.