My Nose Saves the Day

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Late yesterday afternoon, I decided to make a dash for the grocery store in light of the weather forecast. They were predicting a potentially nasty ice storm and then rain for the rest of week. Knowing we couldn’t make it the week without groceries, I went.

When I came home, I was unpacking groceries and thinking about dinner. Since I was late and my husband was due home in short order, I decided to broil some ribs I had left over for dinner.

I turned on our rickety and cheap range which we acquired with the house in its lovely cream and black splendor. I put the ribs under the burner and then made a mental note to myself to NOT forget they are cooking!! I then walked back over to the groceries and continued unpacking.

Some ten minutes must have gone by and I had, in fact, forgot about the ribs broiling at a supposed 500 degrees.

Next thing I know, I am coming in from the outdoors after letting out my sweet dog – and the smell hit me. It was strong and very recognizable.

It was natural gas.

I quickly realized the stove must not be working and that gas must have been spewing out of the stove for a good ten to twelve minutes. My kitchen was full of gas. I got that pit-of-a-feeling, yet unlike my normal self, I remained calm and opened all the windows and doors letting in that lovely fresh 20 degree air– and then I took the dogs out and we stood on the patio a few minutes while the house aired out.

I started to doubt that something was wrong and that perhaps I had just over-reacted. About ten minutes later, my husband arrived home and ate cold ribs. Just before his first bite, I told him of my ordeal.

After dinner, he tested the oven himself — and sure enough after about three minutes, it started spewing gas again. The smell made us certain.

Our oven has a serious defect and considering the top range igniter just broke down less than six months ago (and we replaced it) — we are chucking this thing! It’s a piece of crap!!

I was hoping to buy a new range when I redid the kitchen because the new ones I am looking at won’t fit in this kitchen. Plus, now I have to investigate all my options and I don’t want to spend the time. I busy planning for our current remodel!!

Ugh. I needed this like a hole in the head. At least, I didn’t die from the gas or burn up in some explosion! Lordy. I should be thankful but instead I’m rather annoyed!!

A Super-liar

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On Saturday night, 48 Hours on CBS profiled the story of a doctor’s wife, Miriam Illes. She was shot and killed, as if by a marksman. The killer stood some 70 feet from her kitchen window — in the dark, in a creek — fired once — and shot one bullet directly through her heart using a silencer so no one would be alerted.

The case was chilling, but what was even more chilling was watching the husband of Miriam Illes, Dr. Illes. He proclaims to this day he is innocent.

Throughout the entire interview on CBS, Dr. Illes never once gave away a HINT that he was lying. His stories were believable. He said the exact right things — EVERY TIME. His facial expressions didn’t contradict what he was saying. He didn’t project anger or frustration. He was calm and totally BELIEVABLE.

He didn’t give away ONE characteristic of a liar — yet as the investigation revealed itself — the circumstantial evidence became so overwhelming against him — you couldn’t help but believe he did it. He just had to be the killer. Dr. Illes, I suspect, is a super liar — a liar no one could ever catch by listening to him alone.

This guy was cold, calculating and beyond creepy especially in the end after he said and did everything “right”. When he was arrested, the police found a manuscript that he had written on his computer titled, “Heart Shot: Murder Of The Doctor’s Wife.” In his manuscript, he even used correct names for people. Yet as the murderer killed, his manuscript read that the murderer found it “erotic” and more exciting than sex!

Bone-chilling!

Dr. Illes response? Why did he write this book knowing the situation? He replied:

“I thought it would generate more interest and more widespread knowledge of the actual facts of the case, which were not being disseminated by the police. That was my motive.”

I wonder how many of his surgery patients may have died at the mind and hands of this clever, highly-intelligent madman?

You can watch a video of Mr. Illes titled: Shot in the dark to see if you can tell if he is lying. Go ahead, check it out. Watch him speak. You can also read all the details of the crime investigation here.

This is one case I can honestly say I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint with any accuracy that Mr. Illes was lying by purely watching him speak alone. He came across as trustworthy — yet with all the evidence found — even without any directly linking him to the crime — I just can’t believe him. Too many weird behaviors implicate him to the crime in a bizarre way.

They say this man was a genius, exceptionally smart — smarter than any one of the people investigating him as said by the District Attorney — but as a group collectively, he wasn’t smarter than all of them.

Thankfully.

Chilling!

What do you do?

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What do YOU do when you see a friend who is in a difficult situation– who doesn’t see the truth — but you clearly do? Do you tell him or her what you see and risk upsetting them and possibly ruin your friendship? Or, do you just turn your head and keep your nose out of his/her business?

I’d love your thoughts. If you could explain why you do what you do, I’d be honored. I will respond with what I do in the coming week.

Ain’t that the truth?

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Tim Allen had this to say about Martha Stewart:

“Boy, I feel safer now that she’s behind bars. O.J. Simpson & Kobe Bryant are walking around; Osama Bin Laden too, but they take the one woman in America willing to cook and clean and work in the yard and haul her ass to jail.”

Amber Frey: Oddities

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Over the last few days, Amber Frey has been making the circles in the media, pushing her new book, Witness.

I’ve listened to her story, and while I feel she is simple girl who acts on emotions instead of logic, she isn’t coming clean about everything.

She talks to Matt Lauer on NBC.com in a video entitled “I was just so scared”. In the video (time marker 4:38), she says she was afraid to go home. That was December 29, 2002. She says she was so afraid that she didn’t go home for a week.

Now, in Oprah’s interview which airs today, and I believe in her book (though that is a guess) she says that Scott told her in one of their taped conversations later in February 2003 (more than five weeks later) that he left her a gift for her birthday in a nearby hotel. Amber Frey tells Oprah that she went and retrieved that gift out of curiosity. She doesn’t say a word about being afraid this time.

Isn’t that odd???

Clearly, something is amiss. If you are that afraid early on, you don’t become less afraid as the story thickens with insane lies, a full-blown police and FBI investigation. Something has to give here. What is the real truth, Amber?

Amber also gets very defensive with Oprah Winfrey when Oprah asks Amber if she had seen the breaking news. The whole country had seen the news. Amber flat out denies ever seeing the news or hearing about Scott Peterson’s story prior to being told by friends on December 29 that her Scott may indeed be “this” Scott.

It doesn’t sit well with me. Why did she ramble on about all the reasons why she didn’t watch TV for five days?? It was Christmas, she has a young child, she didn’t have time, etc. She didn’t read the paper, either? Not only did she get really defensive, but she stumbles for words. She wants to seem mad, but doesn’t quite pull it off.

I believe that Amber truly hoped and wished that Scott would be cleared and that he would come back to her. I believe she was in denial at times and could not accept the truth. Accepting the truth isn’t easy in the face of such a tragedy. Anyone would have a difficult time with this one, no doubt. It is understandable.

But on their first date when Scott Peterson first tells Amber that he is single, living alone, has never been married and doesn’t even own a dog (time marker 2:21), and then within three weeks on December 9, 2002, changes his story and says he had a wife but lost her, Amber should have gotten mad at him. He admits to his lie, plain and simple.

He lied, but instead Amber felt sorry for him and wanted to believe him. She didn’t question him. This is where she violated herself. She should have realized that a lie of this magnitude would never bode well for anyone—ever.