The Cupboard Under the Stairs: December 2014

If you have not listened to Serial and/or watched Gracepoint, or you are not caught up, please heed this warning: This post contains spoilers.
And also, if you aren't listening to Serial, you totally should.

First off, Serial. Part of me feels empty. I knew there probably wouldn't be an answer, but in spite of this, all I want is answers. I totally sympathized with Sarah Koenig when she said (I'm paraphrasing here) she just wanted to shake the facts out of people. What would Friday and Gannon do? They'd find answers! They'd get to the bottom of it! But, would they?
In my own research on Cpl. Robert Mrowka, all I've been able to find is that I think he married Anna, and that he might have fought in Korea, and that he might have died in 1991. These are all things that I think are facts. The only thing I am really sure about is that he was in the Air Force and he had his tonsils out. It's beyond aggravating! I really want to know what happened! But there is no way for me to fact check anything right now. The all-knowing internet only knows so much.
The other part of me is so excited about Serial because the entire Adnan (That's the ex-boyfriend who was convicted for killing Hae Lee) case made sense to me, in terms of the legal terms and how the criminal justice system works, because of my background as a criminal justice major, which isn't super great, but I have a better understanding than most people. I understood terms and I knew exactly what was going on when they talked to the people from the innocence project. The case against Adnan was a mess. But maybe he did kill her. Maybe he didn't. Maybe it is the serial killer guy. I don't know. But I do know that having the knowledge made Serial that much better for me. It added to my listening experience.
On the other side of the spectrum, the finale of Gracepoint was so disappointing to me. Up until this episode, everything was great. Nothing seemed too far fetched, and I really had no clue who the killer was! I figured the detective's kid had something to do with it, but I figured the priest did it.
But the "twist" was too weird. The husband is a pedophile and the kid did it. Uh, okay. I have yet to watch Broadchurch, so I don't know how they did it, but Gracepoint was janky. They threw out nine weeks worth of awesome TV and doing really well at keeping everything totally legit as soon as the killer turned out to be the detective's husband.
If you beat the shit out of someone in an interrogating room, your case is going to get thrown out. Even if it is your crazy husband. Even if he did (cover up the) murder of a twelve year old kid he may or may not have been having an inappropriate relationship with. And when she (the detective) and the kids went into hiding (sort of) they definitely would have had at least, at least one police guard. Partially for protection, and partially because they might have info pertinent to the case.And she definitely would not be allowed to wander around the city and hang out in front of the house of the family of the kid who maybe was in an inappropriate relationship with her husband and then was killed by her kid. That just wouldn't fly.
That ruined the show. Little things that just didn't quite work because even the average non-CJ Major viewer would have said 'well, that wouldn't happen like that.'
"I did the best I could with what I knew; now that I know better, I will do better." - Maya Angelou
-D.

So on my radio show for today (December 3rd), I read aloud some letters and cards on air. They are all from WWII and written to Cpl. Robert T. Mrowka. This post will be comprised of photos of the holiday cards. I hope to do some research a little later in the week about Cpl. Mrowka and his sweetheart Anna Buchbinder.