May 5
Can’t Wait For The Movie
My daily news scroll was arrested by the following headline”:
Missing Alabama inmate, corrections officer had ‘special relationship’: Sheriff
Now I used to write headlines for a living and that would never have made it past the slot man; too damn long and confusing. But social media is sloppier.
The story was riveting. An attractive blonde woman of a certain age, in her fifties, allegedly absconded with an inmate of the jail in which she was a trusted employee. The guy she went on the lam with? Tall (real tall: 6'9) tattooed, rangy and fit. Closed-circuit TV showing their departure should delight students of body language. It did me.
The story should have “legs”, in the old patois, if they stay missing. At least as much on-going attention as the missing Florida girl who turned up dead and coverage of her suspect boyfriend. I’ll probably stay tuned as a welcome break from war coverage.
I can hardly wait for the movie. Being my generation I imagine Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in modern dress. Who plays the blonde jail guard? Who plays the too-tall guy? I can hardly wait.
POSTSCRIPT: The saga was cut short, after only 11 days, by a car chase and gunfire. The woman pronounced dead in an ER, the allegation her gunshot wound was self-inflicted. Death before dishonor? Maybe. The too-tall con to be extradited back to the jail from which she took him. He will no doubt have a tough row to hoe among embarrassed badge-holders.
Maybe 11 days isn’t enough for a movie script. You can live a lifetime in one night if you’re lucky, though. So maybe 11 lifetimes? On the other hand, what an interesting woman this is. She sold her house, bought a getaway car, turned in her resignation — and carried away her companion on her last day at work. Methinks a capable screenwriter could dig into all that went before the 11 days. I’d watch it.
