The Writer's Life 11/30 - Stranger Than Fiction

Here's a story from Yahoo's Odd News that mystery writers might wish they'd created, edited by yours truly: In 2010 Igor took out a $2 million life insurance policy and named his wife Irina the primary beneficiary. They divorced later that year. In 2011 she identified a corpse in Moldova as her ex-husband's, returned to the U.S. with a death certificate and the cremated remains, and received payment. There was a funeral service at a Minneapolis cemetery, where an urn was placed in a niche. Irina, 51, transferred money to her son and to accounts in Switzerland and Moldova. Turns out Igor, 54, wasn't dead. He somehow arranged for a stand-in corpse to be dressed in his clothes, on which he planted I.D. before placing it along a road. He was indicted in absentia in 2015 on one count of mail fraud. Prosecutors called him in May 2016 and tried to persuade him to return to the U.S., but he said he would rather live with his new love interest on an apple farm. He was arrested this month and returned to the U.S.. Irina pleaded guilty and is serving a three-year stretch. The son was sentenced to probation. The identity of the corpse is still unknown. Igor has pleaded not guilty. Who me?

How many articles or interviews are there where someone is complaining about the cost of college? Some folks are so frustrated they are calling for government to pick up the tab, and those with common sense reply: "If you think it's expensive now - wait 'til it's free." Nothing ever is. Somewhere someone is paying for the politicians' largess. According to the Fast Takes column in today's NY Post. Purdue U. may have found a solution. First move: its president, former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, cut eight million from the operating budget. Subsequently, room and board decreased by five percent. And, thanks to a deal with Amazon, students are saving 30% on books. This has led to total savings of $57 million since 2013. Kudos.

I watched youtube highlights of last night's game between Dallas and New Orleans. The Cowboys' defense almost completely shut down the Saints' juggernaut offense. Only a few weeks ago the team seemed out of the playoff picture. The acquisition of WR Amari Cooper has been huge, but the entire squad has upped its play. The win puts them in Super Bowl contention. Only die-hards would've thunk it. Kudos.

No wind today, which allowed me to put in a full session of the floating book shop despite a temperature in the low 40's. My thanks to the woman who bought a Colin Powell bio, and to the other who purchased a novel in Russian; and to the gentleman who selected Concise Guide to Jazz by Mark C. Gridley; and to Mark, who found five works of non-fiction to his liking, three related to the Holocaust.

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