Capable of Anything

I spent many hours of my time at Fort Sill Oklahoma at the post library. It was free entertainment and they kept the shelves stocked with a nice array of both old and new material. One of the highlights was an almost complete collection of Agatha Christie murder mysteries in hard back. I had read a few of her books prior to this discovery but not the gold mine that was awaiting me there.

For those who are not familiar with Agatha Christie, she has two main mystery solvers. One is an elderly lady who is extremely observant and always seems to be where the murder takes place. Her name is Miss Marple. The other is a short, rotund, Belgian detective named Hercule Poirot. He is renowned for his mustache, his love of chocolate drinks, and his uncanny ability to piece together clues to solve the mystery. There were some other minor mystery solvers but these were her two workhorses during her prolific writing career.

I recently purchased the last two books published by her. They are the last official cases of both characters. I just finished Curtain, the Poirot book and although I remember reading it in the Army and knew that the great detective murdered the murderer before he died of a heart ailment, I had forgotten how Agatha Christie presented her view of the world. Through Hercule Poirot, she says that anyone can be a murderer. At certain times in each person’s life, they have the capacity to take someone’s life or commit some other heinous crime. I must say, after reading Curtain, it is hard to disagree with that theory. It is so easy to focus on what someone is doing wrong that when they do something right, it is missed. As a parent, it is imperative that when behavior is bad, it is addressed swiftly and dropped. Rehashing bad behavior makes for sour feelings. When behavior is good, it is praised and becomes a topic of further discussion. Of course, that goes for everyday relationships also. It is just much easier with children. After all, they are you’re captive audience.

Icool

Cobb