Dixie

For those of you who did not grow up in my hometown, we have a long lost secret. Well, secret is a bit of a heavy word. A long lost bit of juicy gossip. Back in 1946, Texarkana was haunted by a serial killer known as the Phantom Killer and the Moonlight Murderer. The series of murders were the basis of the film "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" in all of it's ...ahem... glory. And now that I am finishing my screenwriting class this last semester of school, I'm visiting the information again. I'm in the process of using this time as a backdrop for a screenplay about my maternal grandfather's childhood. I think it will be interesting, though I don't pretend that it is based upon much more than articles I find online and a snatch here or there of borrowed memory.

In other news, my final movie of undergraduate work is all but done and being readied for release. Excitement and the daunting task of entering film festivals are at my doorstep.

Finally, Dixie Carter died and no one told me. It isn't that I've had some especially strong connection with the actress, but I certainly don't think she deserved the treatment she received in death. That is, I found out by seeing her picture on the front of People magazine while waiting in the check-out line in Kroger. God rest your soul, Dixie. She died on April 10 in Houston.

T