Larry Scheckel

The jury was treated with great care throughout the trial …. Excerpt from the book: The jury was brought in at 8:47 a.m. on March 29, 2022 and sworn in by the clerk. The Court made a seating chart. Judge Goodman read a set of instructions and told them that a set of written instructions would be given to them in the deliberation room. The jury will not be sequestered, but Judge Goodman admonished the 14-person jury to not discuss the case, nor view any social media, or any news reports of the trial proceedings or any computer accounts of the trial. He said, “Do not speak to the lawyers, witnesses, or family members. Do not investigate the case or visit the scene of the crime. You can talk to anyone about the trial after the trial is over. You may take notes except during the opening and closing arguments, but don’t let note taking distract you from carefully listening to and observing the witnesses. You may use the notes during deliberation. After the trial, the notes will be collected and destroyed. You will not have access to the transcript during deliberations, but you can ask to have portions of the testimony read back to you.”

My publisher urges me to blog every three days about the book, Murder in a Small Town: The Kyson Rice Case. Release date is May 1. We are having a Book Launch gathering at Taphouse Twenty on May 1 from 5-7 pm. Kyson would be six years old and in First Grade. His story needs to be told. Domestic and child abuse should not be happening, but sadly, it is.

The police work on this case was first rate, detailed and methodical at every step. Here the Tomah Police nd Monroe County Sheriff’s Department work together to apprehend the suspect Marcus Anderson on Superior Avenue in Tomah the day of the murder.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-a-small-town-larry-scheckel/1147103010?ean=9798992238303

To pre-order your kindle ebook, click this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Small-Town-Kyson-Rice-ebook/dp/B0DWPX9VR7/

This house, left side, was the scene of a vicious murder in 2019. A three-year-old boy beaten mercilessly by a convicted felon with a long rap sheet. There were warning signed ignored. The book, Murder in a Small Town: The Kyson Rice Case, details this horrific crime. To pre-order, go to this link for paperback.

Releasing on May 1, 2025!

This crime was one that shocked us all with its sheer brutality right here in the community where we live. I was compelled to document the story because of its far-reaching impact.

This is a story of how a small city, well-trained police force apprehended the perpetrator, secured the crime scene, thoroughly assessed, and meticulously investigated the crime. It’s an inside look at how that city police force worked together with a county police force and investigators, who question the killer and his relatives, friends, and contacts. It’s also the story of an ambulance crew and a hospital trauma unit laboring feverishly to restore life.

It’s an account of an award-winning District Attorney and an award-winning Assistant District Attorney who skillfully weaved together a prosecution that guaranteed a killer will never again walk freely, or buy, use, and sell drugs, and, to employ the informal colloquial term, never again “beat the crap” out of little kids.

It’s a narrative of a mother who lost her only child and is not likely to have another, and of brutality, loss, shame, and families torn apart.

It’s the story of an eight-day trial that cost tons of money, but in the words of the sentencing judge, “money well spent, and worth every penny.” And finally, it is about our society that won by putting away a criminal who was totally bereft of feelings and empathy.

To pre-order in paperback, go to this Barnes & Noble link:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-a-small-town-larry-scheckel/1147103010?ean=9798992238303

To pre-order your kindle ebook, click this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Small-Town-Kyson-Rice-ebook/dp/B0DWPX9VR7/

Yes, scientists enjoy telling and hearing jokes just like the rest of us. In January 2016, Scientific American published an article entitled, A Scientific Theory of Humor. The article talked about how people, including scientists, use humor to diffuse difficult situations, soften criticism, mask nervousness, and cope with failure. 

Humor also serves the role in both platonic and romantic social interactions, as it helps us break the ice, gain social acceptance, and initiate romantic overtures. Both men and women tend to seek mates who have a good sense of humor, and we perceive funny people as smarter, more attractive, and more personable.

Given that humor is such a powerful tool for social success, it’s not surprising that scientists have sought to determine the perfect formula for being funny. One key ingredient can be found in a 200 year-old theory proposed by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.

In a nutshell, Schopenhauer suggested that humor derives from an incongruous outcome of an event for which there is a very specific expectation. It is the violation of the specific expectation that creates humor. Consider this pun: “When the clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.”  The notion of a clock eating is incongruous with our knowledge of the world.

            Jokes sometimes run in series or have a certain lifespan, such as blond jokes, elephant jokes, refrigerator jokes, Jeffery Dahmer jokes, and O.J. Simpson jokes. Ethnic jokes have lost favor. Here are some groaners that deal with science.

            A neutron walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “How much for a beer?” The bartender looks at him, and says, “For you, no charge.”

Two atoms bump into each other. One says, “I think I lost an electron!” The other asks, “Are you sure?”, to which the first replies, “I’m positive.”

What did the Nuclear Physicist have for lunch? Fission Chips.

What do you get if you drop a piano down a mine shaft?  A flat minor

Why did the germ cross the microscope? To get to the other slide.

Two blood cells meet and fall in love. Alas, it was all in vein.

Why can’t you trust atoms? They make up everything.

What did one tectonic plate say after bumping into another? Sorry, my fault.

 How much room do fungi need to grow? As mushroom as possible.

Why don’t aliens visit our solar system? They checked the reviews and saw only one star.

Why don’t magnets have mates? Because they’re polar opposites.

Which runs faster, hot or cold? Hot, because you can catch a cold.

What are the essential elements of humor? Sulfur, Argon, Calcium, and Samarium (SArCaSm).

What do you do with a sick chemist? If you can’t helium, and you can’t curium, then you might as well barium.

What is the quickest way to determine the sex of a chromosome? Pull down its genes.

Do you know what makes my day? The rotation of the Earth.

Do you know the name Pavlov?  It rings a bell.

Sources: Scientific American, psychologicalscience.org 

Send questions and comments to: lscheckel@charter.net.