As you probably know, there will be an eclipse on Monday, but the weather forecast says it will be cloudy. Today I wanted to share some Austin eclipse stories from times when the clouds didn't ruin it. However there wasn't a whole lot of stuff to find in The Statesman archive on the subject. The last total eclipse where Austin was in the direct path was in the year 1391. But there was one in the summer of 1878 which came pretty close. Here's the before and here is the after.

The smoked glass brigade was out in full force yesterday gazing at the sun's eclipse. We wouldn't care, if there were an eclipse every day these sunny days and a double one on Sundays...

Amen to that. But for lack of other eclipse stories, I thought I would share some Austin crime stories from the early to mid 20th century. We'll hear some stories of daring heists, dumbasses who thought they were slick, and perhaps a few other weird Austin mysteries. So cue the unsolved mystery music and read along as we turn back the clock to a simpler time when simple crimes were easier to get away with. Really this is just searching for terms like "police baffled" in the local newspaper archive and seeing what comes up. So without further ado...

Crime #1 - Police Baffled by Robbery - November 3, 1936:

Police were unable to report! progress Monday night on the bold burglary of the J. H. Schmidt store at 1724 South Congress avenue Sunday night in which a 700-pound safe containing $674 in cash and checks was carried away. Mr. Schmidt who reported the theft of his safe early Monday morning, had taken $250 cash home with him, and saved that much from the burglars.
Entry to the store was gained by drilling four holes through the rear door and reaching in to unlock the door with the key on the inside, officers reported. Included in the loot were 10 cartons of cigarettes, four $2 bills, a $10 gold piece, four 1853 50-cent pieces, and other cash amounting to $140.

Crimes #2-6 - Police Baffled by Burglaries - January 4, 1922:

All clues which might lead to a solution of the series of robberies among Austin business houses Monday night were traced out by officers Tuesday and ended fruitlessly, according to Information ' from police Tuesday. Every angle of the cases has been investigated thoroughly, according to Chief Sam D. Griffin of the police, but eo far no clue has been unearthed which might lead to a solution of the mystery. Officers are convinced that the same person or persona were connected with the cracking of the safe in Frank Raggio's Grocery Store at 112 Congress avenue, the burglary of Pete Voudouris's confectionery and Pete Malavanso's Palace of Sweets, and the attempted robbery of the Becker Lumber company's office. They are also of the opinion that Austin's Monday night visitors were the same persons who Saturday night played havoc with three safes in Buda and secured over $300 in cash and valuables.
The cracking of the Raggio safe and the burglary of the two confectioneries netted the robbers in the neighborhood of $500 in cash and other loot, according to estimates. The heaviest loser of the robbery victims was Frank Ragglo, grocer, whose safe was robbed of approximately $300 in cash, and other valuables. The fifth robberv of the night which was probably not connected with the other four, was the theft .of a suitcase filled with clothing from Fred Potts of Bertram, who was registered at a local hotel.

Crime #7 - Prisoner Hides Lock When Leaving City Jail;Police Baffled - July 10, 1925:

A young white man was placed In the city jail last night at 7 o'clock. At 11:30 o'clock he wasn't In the jail, and city police were unable to explain the delivery until several minutes after when it was discovered that the lock to the front door of the city jail and two locks of a cell Inside the jail had been broken. According to reports at the police station, no one, not even the night assistant or any detectives, had been down into the jail from the time that the man was placed In his cell until officers went down to lock up an 11-year-old boy. It was some time after It was found that the outside door lock had been broken before police discovered that the prisoner was missing. It appears that the prisoner pried open both locks with the cell stool and that a confederate on the outside of the prison opened the front door lock.

Crime #8 - Doctor's Bag Robbed By Narcotics Thieves - June 19, 1957:

An elusive narcotics thief has Austin police baffled by his movements in stealing doctors' bags from their parked automobiles. Detectives are working on the theory that the thief is a drug addict who has adopted this method to obtain supplies following a statewide crackdown on dope suppliers in February.

Crime #9 - Blank Cartridge Battles Rouse Town - May 23, 1927

POLICE WARN JOYOUS COLLEGIANS
Austin police, baffled by the appearance in the university, neighborhood of a man dressed as a seductive flapper, who plays upon the fancies of the younger students and leads them into an alleged gun battle, have declared war upon such antics, and promise to start a real scrape when North Austin residents register further complaints, Chief Littlepage said Sunday. From evidence gathered by men of the detective force, It appears that certain students, largely fraternity members, costume one of their number in feminine garb, lay a trap for a non-suspecting freshman, or one of their own cherished neophytes, and surprise the "couple" with a fusillade of blank cartridges. Several calls to police headquarters with the last week reported loud shouts, hurrahs, hosannahs, and gun firing that disturbed whole neighborhoods. Investigating detectives have discovered the Instigator of the affair, and know the group by names, Chief Littlepage said, and arrests will follow repetitions of the occurrence. Police noticed the practice among the boys several days ago, but left them to their pleasure so long as they were orderly, Littlepage said..

Crime #10 - Yeggmen Blow Safe and Get Away With $30;Police Baffled - February 28, 1915:

Sacks of Flour and Sugar Used to Deaden Sound of Explosion on West Side. Thirty dollars In cash was secured by yeggmen who ' blew the safe of Fischer Bros,' Grocery Store, 609 West Sixth Street, yesterday morning, The fact that the safe was blown was not known to the owners of the store nor to the police until about 7 o'clock yesterday morning. M. Straw, who resides near the store, reported to Joe Fischer that he heard a noise that was evidently the explosion, about 2 o'clock. An immediate search was instituted by detectives for the safe blowers, but up to a late hour last night no clue had been obtained.
The safe was entirely demolished by the force of the explosion, nitroglycerine and soap being used by the yeggmen. About fifty sacks of sugar were piled behind the safe and seventy-five sacks of flour were broken open when the safe was blown, and over the floor, indicating where the yeggmen had stepped. The footprints showed there were two men In the safe-blowing crew. Entrance to the store was gained through the second story, which Is used as a storeroom for stock. By means of a ladder the men gained entrance to an upstairs window and then crawled down the elevator shaft to the first floor where the safe was located.
Those who reported that they heard the explosion stated yesterday morning that they thought it came from the direction of the cotton compress. They failed to notify the police at the time. The yeggmen did their work neatly and left the stock and other articles in the store unmolested. There was evidence of the same business-like operations which characterized the safe blowing In South Austin several weeks ago and It Is believed that the same men were the perpetrators of both crimes.

Crime #11-12 - Cigarette and Gum Loot - February 15, 1932:

Burglars broke into the wholesale establishment of Sweeney and Company, Inc., 208 West Fourth street by removing bricks from one of the walls and carted off 24 cases of cigarets and tobacco and 100 boxes of chewing gum, totaling $337.63. W. S. Benson and company in the Enfield building at 205 West Seventh street also was entered, presumably through an unlocked window. The burglars opened the safe which contained no money, and pried open a cash drawer removing a strong box which contained about $40 in cash and several dollars worth of stamps.
Police were baffled as to the means of entry into the building and as to what means was used to open the safe. They found no trace of violence to the windows or safe, it was announced.

Crime #13-18 - Variety Loot Is Work Of Thieves - October 17, 1934:

Variety was the spice of thieves overnight operations in Austin. At the residence of Martha Wiggins, 507 East First street, a burglar lifted a screen off of the window, took a pearl-handled pistol, a portable typewriter, a small overnight bag. A low estimate of the loss was $15.
Residents J. G. Haralson and P.T. Estlack of 2315 Nueces St. both lost radios, the former's stolen from a cabin on Lake Austin, the latter's from 1811 Congress. A thief took a $10 watch from Steve Davis, 2103 Nueces St..
Tony Langston, 1310 East Ninth, was victim of a thief who stripped a tire and wheel off his car, valued at $6.
Aaron Jones, 1611 East 11th, also lost a tire, valued at $3.
Uno Arnhan, a Mexican farmer living near Lund, reported to sheriff's officers the loss of nine shirts and nine pairs of pants. Shoe tracks of the thief were found leading away from the house.
Mrs. L. O. Graham, 2009 Whitis, reported to police the theft of a $2 silver candlestick, and Mrs A. H. Tool, 2711 Guadalupe, reported the theft of a bicycle. Officers at New Braunfels asked that police here look for a 1930 model black Ford coupe with red wheels, stolen last night.

Crime #19 - Woman, Ill Abed, Robbed of Cash - August 17, 1936:

Two gunmen who Sunday night robbed Mrs. J. F. Jennings of 1118 East Third street of $6 after threatening her with a pistol are being sought by Austin police.
Detectives obtained a working description of the two men, one a Mexican, from Mrs. Jennings, who said the white man used a black pistol with pearl handles in forcing her to give up the money which she had secreted in a fruit jar in her home. The white gunman, she said, had one finger missing from his right hand. The men, Mrs. Jennings told officers, entered her home through an unlocked door. Having been confined to her room with illness during the past six weeks, Mrs.
Jennings was suffering from shock resulting from the intrusion when city detectives rushed to her home upon receiving a report of the robbery. All radio cars and traffic officers whose motors are equipped with radio receiving apparatus were called into the search for the bandits. Capt. Rex Fowler was working on new leads in the case at detective headquarters Monday morning.

Crime #20 - Burglar Gets $18.90 at Rubber Company - March 8, 1941:

His method of entry through the roof was so good it baffled police for awhile but the burglar's knob-knocking technique was amateurish and he failed to open the safe of the Hicks Rubber company. Fourth and Congress, early Saturday morning. From a filing cabinet in the company's office he took $18, however, police were told. Investigating officers said the burglary occurred between the store's closing time at 9 p.m. Friday and the time it was re-opened at 5:30 a. m. Saturday.

Crime #21-24 - $289 Burglary of Store Here Baffles Police - August 5, 1941:

Somewhat baffled, police Monday were investigating the burglary of the Schneider Red and White store at 2900 Guadalupe street which resulted in a loss of $289.46 in cash. The bafflement was caused by the report of investigating officers that they could find no evidence that the store was forcibly entered. The money was taken from its hiding place in some paper bags in the office of the store, the report showed.
Meanwhile police Monday had arrested an employee of the Capitol Laundry in connection with the theft of a large number of clothes from the laundry July 21. The man was arrested following discovery of an article of clothing in his possession marked with the name on one of the stolen bundles, police said. He was turned over to county officers, but no charges had been filed late Monday night.
Police reported also Monday that one of their fellow municipal building workers, Asst. City Atty. W.T. Williams, Jr., was a thievery victim. A wheel and tire were stolen from his car in the Williams garage at 3820 Avenue F. An automobile which Ernest Strandtman, Calcasieu Lumber company, reported stolen from him, was recovered but a tire and battery were missing from it.

Crime #25 - Four License Tags Prove Too Much For Baffled Police - April 11, 1950:

Police had the car and the license plates in the most baffling auto tag mixup case of the year, Tuesday, but that's not all.
Patrolman J.R. Jones noticed a 1936 Ford Sedan parked in front of 1200 East Sixth with a 1949 license plate on the front.
Jones stopped and jotted down the tag number: KJ4082. But on checking the back license plate he found another number: KJ7874.
To add to the mixup, there was one 1950 plate wired on the back, too, number AF7434.
Jones thought he finally had a clue when he noticed a sticker from Bergstrom Air Force Base: No. 0938. But when he called base officials they told him that number had never been issued at Bergstrom.
The car with the four licenses is now sitting in the City Pound, waiting for the owner to explain it to the judge.

Crime #26 - Money Said Stolen From Locked Auto - August 20, 1952:

A report of two wallets and a ring stolen from a locked car Tues day night baffled police. O. K. Anderson of 2018B South Lamar told City Detective Bob Miles that he and a friend, Don Stewart of 2101 Bluebonnet Lane, parked his car at the Taylor Slough boat landing dock. They left their valuables in the locked car and then tried out a boat. When they returned, Anderson's wallet containing $75 and Slewart's wallet with $3 and a gold ring were missing.
The men checked the car, but were unable to determine any way the car had been entered, Miles said.

Crime #27 - On Brink of Holdup, Youth Quits - November 26, 1958:

A youthful bandit virtually on the edge of successfully robbing the downtown City Finance Serv ice of $500 suddenly changed his mind Tuesday and slowly walked out of the building. The strange attempted robbery of the company at 616 Brazos Street baffled police. The robber, estimated to be about 20-22 years old, was headed toward an open safe when he turned around and left as nonchalantly as he entered the office. City Detective R. C Scott said there was nothing out of the ordinary that normally would frighten sway a would-be robber, A woman clerk in the building was alone.
Although the young woman already had told the robber she would not give him any money, he could see that the sale was open. The robber entered the office about 5:45 p. m., when Miss Eva Porroz was preparing for the p. m. closing hour.
The man strolled to a loan window and asked Miss Porroz if the manager was in. When she informed him that Manager Clayton Boyd was gone the robber showed her a brown paper bag and said, "Put the money in this bag." By then the man was holding a facial tissue over his face, and his words were muffled. Miss Porroz asked him to repeat him self, and he again told, her to put the money in the bag. What money?' she asked, "I'm closing up for the night. Pointing to an open safe, the man said, "I know you have money, i can see it.
The clerk told the robber she would not. give him any money, and he said he would get it him self. He started to push open a swinging gate at the counter. Then the robber paused, turned around and slowly walked out the front door. Miss Porroz watched him go down Brazos and turn on Sixth Street.
She then went to the phone and called police. The clerk said she never saw a gun during the proceedings, but presumed the man had one under a coat hanging across his arm.

Well time is short and space is long so I guess I better leave it at 27 crimes today. You can see how things like safe cracking and the car license plate fraud would be much harder to get away with today, but some of those crimes, such as the unexplained jailbreak from the guy who left the broken lock at the police station, are just plain weird. That's all for today. I only have one Bonus Pic today and it wasn't even taken in Austin.
Bonus Pic #1 - "Photograph of seven astronomers -- Leonard Waldo, R.W. Wilson, J.K. Rees, W.H. Pulsifer, F.E. Seagrave, Alfred Freeman, and A.M. Britton -- with various telescopes set up out-of-doors near a large wooden barn or other structure. According to accompanying information they are on the S.W. Lomax farm, waiting to observe the total solar eclipse" - July 29, 1878
Bonus Article #1 - "The Sun's Death and Resurrection" - July 30, 1878

I want to start a baby clothing label as an online business (re-labelling only). After months of chatting to suppliers on Alibaba, I’m thinking of just booking a flight and going there so I can see the quality in person instead of taking a gamble and buying 100 pieces of same item and it not being up to the standard I want.
Ideally, would love to not buy in wholesale as I’m only starting out. Are there shops that sell low quantity (say 5 pieces per garment)? Where are those shops and any tips in going to those places would be appreciated.
I’m just going to stuff my suitcase with baby clothes on the way back home, much cheaper than paying fedex 😆

Hey! So I'm that guy you love to hate. I have everything you want, and I am everything you wanna be.
But lemme tell you this, I'd give you everything I own right now, if it would help me.
On the surface…I'm rich, charming, intelligent, good looking, and I'm never short of someone on my arm (any gender, no gender, I don't discriminate). I have cars, a big house, lots of tech, whatever. If you look at me and wish you had what I had, well, I understand. But you don't. Not really.
Because one time I pissed off the wrong person…well, wrong Something, anyway, and got cursed. Yeah.
Once, I lugged boxes in warehouses, did some bodyguarding, whatever I could find. Sold a little weed on the side too. I was a pissed off stoner, mad cos I had to work to get money and fucks. I might've grown out of it. I'll never know. That was 40 years ago. I know, I don't look a day over 29. That's because I was 29 when it happened.
I sorta fell into this sweet gig where I was basically a glorified bodyguard. Drove her around. Carried suitcases. Went on interminable shopping trips. It was pretty light, and she paid real well.
But I was a fuckup, so…I fucked up. I stole from her. One fuckin necklace I never thought she'd miss out of all the ones she had. Wasn't even a valuable one. I'd just smoked more than I'd sold, so I needed to trade it to my wholesaler for some new bud.
But I got called into her study the next day. I figured I was getting fired, had my "aw heck, I'm real sorry" face all ready to go. I wish she'd fired me.
I walked in and she was chanting in a circle, weird shit drawn around it, candles and that stinky shit all burning. I tried to back the fuck out but she'd dragged me into the circle before I knew she'd even moved.
I tried to leave again, but I was on the floor and all that weird shit made me kinda droopy. I slept, I guess.
Next I knew I woke up in my craphole apartment, confused as hell.
But after that, well, things got better. I'm still not sure how. But I moved on up in the world.
Still. When I told you she cursed me I wasn't lying. Cos you see all this and you reckon I have it made. But lemme tell you, she took something from me that day. I dunno what. I just know since that day, I've never felt anything. No happy, sad, angry, nothing. Everything is ash in my mouth. I can't even die—believe me, I've tried.
So here I am. Sending this into the ether, hoping somehow she sees.
Please, lady. I don't even want the curse off, just let me die. I beg you. Just…just let me die.

Hi there! I’m starting an interior design business and have a few projects under my belt. Going to Chicago on Monday to check out the Merchandise Mart, but just found out today that the upper showrooms aren’t open to the public anymore and that I’ll need a wholesale license to gain access.
I plan on relocating to a different state, so I’m hesitant to get a wholesale license for the state I currently live in. And I’ve run out of time to get one online before I leave for Chicago.
Does anybody have any suggestions on how to gain access to the upper floors? Or is there a way to borrow a wholesale license for a week? (ULPT: Like a pic on my phone?) I don’t plan on shopping, just browsing and collecting information for my personal, digital material library.
Any suggestions are most welcome. Thanks!
*cross posted to InteriorDesign and chicago
Update: Thanks for all of your thoughtful answers, Mike and seo666 for the win! I've been all through the building with zero pushback. Most vendors were more than happy to allow me browse to their showrooms. Several of them even offered me water, and a place to rest, this place is overwhelming! They also advised me on how to contact them to set up a resale account when I'm ready. Updating this in case anybody else has this same question. Even the Mart operator and designer on call gave me inconsistent info.
I found it easy to just be pleasant, and ask if they mind if I browse, and then tried to stay out of their way unless I had a specific question. Came away with a mountain of samples. Should have brought an empty suitcase...next time.

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https://reddit.com/link/16t8gaq/video/zgny86lvnpqb1/player

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https://reddit.com/link/16p4cbc/video/gf4d2y76krpb1/player

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https://reddit.com/link/16j5qap/video/5dsc4lx56dob1/player

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
POV: Mavis
Mavis had to plan her days better.
She struggled to get up out of bed, especially as Collins didn't seem to want her to work at all, and her dreams were filled with disturbing imagery; burning in Hell while a devil pushed her down with a pitchfork into a boiling cauldron.
Being locked up behind glass, a much colder dream with the thermostat set so goosebumps raised on her arms, and the only thing to do within the three white walls and plexiglass was to sit. She stared at the metal cap filled with holes in the glass like Mavis was a bug trapped in a jar.
Dreaming she was the last person on Earth.
Another shiver passed through her when Mavis thought about the other coroner and she burrowed deeper under the comforter that vaguely smelled like dust. Of all people to cross her mind upon waking.
Collins did not set well with her at all.
Did he know about her?
Mavis was uncertain, and this cloud hung over the back of her mind while even on that beautiful outing with Hurst. Collins made her irritated, more than afraid at this point. A few days had passed since then and her anger against the man only built, as he took up space in her head, taunting her with what he might or might not know!
Why else would he think that Mr. Dent was dead? The body had been found, the both of them, which was bad enough. The man had acted as though they already found a corpse, however, not even 72 hours after the police were at the house, and before the bodies were found.
The question circled around her head once again, and once again there were two possibilities; one, it was a mere assumption. Two, he somehow knew what happened.
The latter even being a possibility suffocated her.
She tossed and turned fruitlessly, pulling the pillow over her eyes in a weak attempt to block it all out.
Mavis was used to high-stress moments; running from a house in the middle of the night, the feeling of her heart plummeting hard and fast when a door opened and shut in the dark and her hands were still drenched.
Hiding in dark corners.
Running from the cops.
Her phone reminded her that she wanted to wake up extra early at that moment. Her alarm, Don't Let Me Down by The Beatles signaled that it was time for her to get her ass in gear.
Mavis groaned.
This low-level, consistent tension just did not have the same flare that Mavis loved. It was getting on her last nerve, actually. Collins was a thread that stuck out on her hem, a loose end that wouldn't tie. She decided that it was time to make a cut.
That's why it was still dark outside when she got up. Mavis slammed her hand down on her phone. Her day was planned on a carefully calculated schedule. She got his address from a ripped package he had thrown in the trash at the facility the day before. Collins apparently had some camera equipment arrive and wanted to show it off. Meanwhile, she made calls to the realtor to look at the house where Mr. Dent had lived.
Mavis had finally taken a tentative drive around Hurst's neighborhood to the old man's house. To her surprise, the body wasn't even cold yet and already there was a For Sale sign staked in the ground outside.
Thank her stars, she was about to run out of fresh clothes from her suitcase.
Mavis couldn't hole up in hotels for much longer.
They cost too much to sleep on a bed potentially filled with mites.
First, she was going to pay Collins a visit, with a cleaver and enough lye to dissolve the man in her big pot, then, she was going to an open house at nine.
Mavis buckled up in her truck and pulled out of the parking space of the hotel. Gray clouds drizzled down, interspersed with the occasional flash and a rumble in the distance. She turned the radio on for once to distract herself from the noise, as Mavis was never a big fan of thunderstorms.
They disturbed her with their unpredictable claps.
Her windshield wiped back and forth in a steady rhythm, soothing her nerves for the trip across town. It was an inconveniently long drive from the hotel to Collins' duplex. She turned the radio to a 70s station, catching the opening of Pastime Paradise.
The music came through slight static and rain. Another flash split the air and it came down a little harder. Her eyes fell on the placard on her dashboard, blinking dully and then staring out at the traffic directly ahead.
Mavis let out a ragged, long sigh and reached for her glove box. She flipped open the carton and drew one out, flicking her lighter. The smoke kept the headache building like a storm on its own from pounding down on her skull.
Mavis rolled the window down ever so slightly before she blew out. Mavis hummed to the lyrics to collect herself. She was going to kill the bastard for making her wake up this early in the morning. The dark hung over her when Mavis drove away from the town without the reprieve of the artificial lighting.
Another lighting clap was a striking contrast to the darkness that swallowed the road ahead the farther down it went. It was a nice cover admittedly. Mavis drove for another forty minutes and mercifully the rain slowed back down to a fog-like drizzle.
She rolled up to the neighborhood, with streetlights interspersed and shining directly on the rows of townhouses that lined the road. Mavis turned her headlights down and slowed as she rolled into the entrance of the neighborhood.
She squinted at the numbers on the buildings, the gold shine on them that reflected on the dim streetlights duller than others, some missing from the brick altogether.
Finally, Mavis found it.
1113
The first number one was replaced with a black number, easy to miss in the dark, and so she had nearly driven past the house at the end of the street before backing up.
Mavis would kill him for that, too.
She pulled into the parking space and got out, not too quickly. Moving normally worked best, as no matter what time of the day or indeed night, someone could always be watching. It was smart to practice at least a little bit of subterfuge.
Mavis popped open the trunk. She took out her large stainless steel pot with bags of powdered lye inside. It was a little bit difficult to lift and carry on her own, and once again Mavis pined for an accomplice, one preferably big and strong and blond.
She made it up the porch on her own and picked the lock on the door, opening it a crack to pick the pot back up and push it open the rest of the way with her foot.
Mavis would be getting a little bit caustic tonight.
While acids are generally known to be corrosive, their chemical opposites, alkalies, were also nothing to balk at. Acids are highly regulated as they are used to make bombs. Not so much the case for the latter.
The wholesaler had more lye stocked than a Mexican drug cartel. All she needed was to show her license. A little bit more regulated than the local bar and grille.
Heated to three hundred degrees, a lye solution can turn a corpse into a brown watery liquid not unlike the contents found in toilets at Taco Bell, in just a few hours. Mavis did not have her own pressure cooker, so it could take a little while longer, she surmised, but her own cookware would work just fine.
This solution would not be good for her skin, however. She came back for the gallon bottle of vinegar, ultimately to neutralize the process, and as a precaution. Goggles and gloves. She snapped the latex between her forefinger and thumb.
Mavis smiled fondly as she remembered a story her mother told her about her own grandmother, Mavis' great-grandmother, who made lye soap to sell so that her family could afford the roof over their heads.
Her great-grandmother's mother made a dress for her out of a potato sack and dye, coloring the dress with a floral pattern not unlike what she liked to wear some days. Her great-grandmother was playing around the vat with the other children, and she had somehow fallen right into it.
It didn't dissolve her great-grandmother into a pile of ooze, obviously. Mavis was grateful for that or she wouldn't be there otherwise, for all the times her lineage had avoided death by a shoestring. However, it was enough to corrode the flower pattern on her dress, and she stepped out to the other children laughing with her, otherwise unscathed.
Her mother wanted her to share this story somehow, somewhere, so that her family wouldn't be forgotten. Mavis made a mental note of it to tell Hurst this story later, and hopefully later on, their progeny.
It was a sweet little anecdote.
She knocked on Collins' bedroom door with a cleaver in her other fist. First Mavis had to take care of the rat that threatened to ruin her future prospects, as it were. The man opened the door and squinted at her with bleary eyes, only to get a cleaver right in the side of his neck that connected to his shoulder.
These parts wouldn't be so connected for long. He screamed as she came at him again, blocking the path of the large blade to his head by splitting his hand open on it instead. Blood gushed forth as Mavis tried again.
Collins gripped her arm and pushed her against the wall. The look in his eyes was like a wild animal, hurt, scared. All inklings of tiredness were gone and he looked her up and down in shock. Collins stumbled away, unpinning her.
"What the hell?" he gasped.
She pointed the cleaver at him.
"You're going to explain to me how you knew about the dead old man."
Collins let out a few strangled breaths.
"What?"
"I know you know what I did," Mavis whispered harshly.
He blinked in rapid succession, his eyes flying between her and the cleaver that threatened to sink into him again.
She sneered at him and moved from the wall.
"How did you know that Mr. Dent is dead before the body was found? Did you know what I did to the others?"
The man wheezed.
"What?"
"Collins, I want a straight answer."
Her voice was surprisingly level, almost amused.
"I can't tell you anything, please! I'll be killed."
Collins looked to the left and right as if there was a threat other than her in that very room.
Mavis fought the urge to follow his eyes, as a light shiver passed through her.
"Explain," she demanded.
His breathing became heavier and he stumbled into the footrest of the oversized bed.
"I-I don't know anything," he stammered.
Blood made a mess on the cushion where he slumped down.
"Who will kill you?" she asked, her voice dipping low.
Her mind reeled.
"I need to go to the hospital. I'll tell them ever-"
Mavis brought the cleaver down over his head.
There was a crack like the earlier thunder and the room went eerily silent. She dragged his body to the bathroom, which connected to the room conveniently. Her mind flashed with a brilliant idea. Time to get a bath going!
That was much faster than relying on her pot and her arm was tired from using that cleaver already. Mavis was grateful for her great ability to improv when her plans needed it and filled the tub. She snapped on her goggles, then Mavis dumped the lye powder with the body into the tub, ripping open several bags one at a time.
She turned the nozzle up all the way and red bloomed under the scalding water. Mavis was going to take her time with boiling the water, but the bathtub would do the trick soon enough. It was time to search the house.
In a few hours, she had all of his contacts copied into her phone and Mavis found some interesting results in the man's search history related to one of these numbers. What a stupid person, leaving everything out in the open.
She snapped a picture of the site laid out on his laptop and closed it down. His house was clean other than this. Soon it would even be rid of him. After several hours, Mavis carefully unplugged the tub and nothing was left except for his teeth and a few bones that she crushed on the deck outside.
They turned to gravelly dust under her shoe and Mavis swept it off the deck with her sole.
Try to find this body, motherfuckers.
She chuckled.
Daybreak turned the wood a radish red, the first rays of sun breaking through the trees and revealing everything dewy and fresh.
Mavis took a deep inhale. She let out a yawn and a reluctant moan. Time to get back on the road. The adrenaline flooded from her body faster than Collins did in his tub as Mavis gathered her things and got back to her car.
Why did the drive have to be so far?

I took/gained so much from this subreddit in my planning that I figured I would give back:
First-time trip for my wife (35F) and myself (34M). I booked our flights and hotels within a week of the announcement of reopening to general, non-guided tourism. Our planned stay was 3/19 - 4/5.
This was a bucket-list trip for us + 3yr delayed honeymoon. We didn't ball out but I wasn't too concerned about our spending for a celebratory occasion. Our focus was to eat well, have fun, and see cherry blossoms.
Prep for Japan:

• I had been lurking this subreddit for weeks, combing through comments for recommendations and travel tips. There was also a resurgence of content from Youtubers living/working in Japan that was helpful to know which businesses survived Covid, what tourist changes had occurred. 95% of my final itinerary was shaped by this sub.
• Reservation prioritization: Flights > Hotels > Specialty trains> USJ and major entertainment attractions> High-end meals (depending)> Shinkansen seats. I reserved everything online via SmartEx or used my Suica card to get around.
• Between Oct - Feb, over 90% of my lodging, nice meals, itinerary and POIs were reserved. I was trying not to over plan, but in hindsight I probably still did.
• Exchanged $1000USD back in October at JPY144:$1 rate. First time I timed something right.

Here is a custom Google Maps list of all of the various POIs and dining options we considered. https://goo.gl/maps/WHbBgikoUbPzrUzP9
Accommodations & Transportation:

• Tokyo: Shibuya, Sequence @ Miyashita Park: Great location, small rooms. This hotel had some poor reviews recently for the minimal staff experience, but i didn't experience any issues. Everyone I spoke with was able to communicate in English well enough.
• Kyoto: TSUGU Kyoto Sanjo near Nishiki Market: Great location, rooms were nice and reasonably sized. On-site laundry. Would recommend.
• Osaka: The Flag Shinsaibashi: Amazing location, fantastic hotel with modern accommodations, the rooms and restrooms were great. On-site laundry & coffee was great. I'd highly recommend.
• Hakone: Yama no chaya Asebi 100sq.m room with private open-air bath. This came recommended often on this sub for Hakone. I decided to splurge here for 2 nights. It was good, but I feel like you can get better for the price. More later.
• Tokyo pt2: Ginza, Aloft Ginza via Marriott points. 3 nights in the Larger King for ~150000 points. Great location, good amenities. Would recommend.
• All specialty trains and shinkansen tickets were booked 3+ weeks in advance via SmartEX app or online.

TOKYO (4 days, Mar 20 - 24):

• Initial flight from Austin to Houston suffered mechanical delay. We missed our ANA-operated flight to Haneda and United rebooked us the following morning 6AM from Austin>SFO>HND. Lost about 12 hours of vacation
• eSim via Ubigi on the day of arriving. Got the 30day/3GB for my wife, and the 10GB for me. We both used maybe 75% of it over 16 days.
• Picked up 2x Welcome Suicas directly in Haneda Terminal 3 prior to exiting for the Terminal 3 Station
• We wound up spending a lot of time in Ebisu, Nakameguro, and Daikanyama for one reason or another due to interesting meals or shopping.
• Things I skipped/missed: Meguro River Cruise (rain), Shibuya Sky (flight delay/wet weather)
• Things I loved: We had a chance to visit Toyosu Market on the wholesalers floor for a behind the scenes tour with chef Sato-san of Hakkoku and our Austin-based sushi chef who is training under him for several months. It was a treat to be able to walk with them as they did their daily morning shopping and vendor visits. Sometimes they aren't down with photos so you apologize and move on.

KYOTO (4 days, Mar 24-28)

• Reserved Shinkansen green car w/ reserved luggage storage 3+ weeks out for the discounted rate.
• We walked the Philosopher's Path into Keage Incline because of the peak cherry blossom bloom. Despite the hundreds of tourists -- it was still a very idyllic scene.
• We booked the Fushimi Inari Locals’ Hidden Hiking tour that has been promoted by a few YouTubers and absolutely loved it. Probably one of the highlights of our trip. We saw maybe 50-100 people total in the first 2 hours of the 3HR hike up the back of the mountain. Only when exiting the front of Fushimi Inari did we catch up to the commonly-visited thousand gates area and sea of the general tourist population. I would highly recommend this hike if you want to enjoy a quieter path to visit Fushimi Inari. Be physically prepared for the uphill climb and have the right shoes for a modest hike.
• Things I skipped/missed: Arashiyama (weather + tired legs), Kiyomizu-dera night illumination (tired).
• Things I loved: Waking up and strolling around before 8-9AM before the world wakes up. Walking down - Nishi-Kiyamachi-dori St with blossoms everywhere, casual rooftop drinking @ ‘In the Moon’, foot soak + much-needed massage at Mominoki House. Besides blossoms, there were beautiful flowers everywhere.

OSAKA (4 days, Mar 28-Apr 1)

• Reserved the Kintetsu Limited Express sight-seeing train AONIYOSHI from Kyoto > Nara for a day-trip, continuing on to Osaka by 5PM for our hotel check-in. We really enjoyed Nara as a calm and delightful day trip. We walked past Nara park, towards the Mt Wakakusa base North Gate and scenic area filled with blossoms and deer.
• We then did a loop around Todai-ji before making our way to the crowded front entrance path and completing the loop back towards Kintetsu-Nara station to wrap our day trip. I purchased a damascus gyuto at Kikuichi Cutlery for myself and a santoku for my mom.
• Visited Team Labs Osaka at the Nagai Botanical Garden… meh, but it was better than Naked @ Nijo-ji.
• Visited USJ on our last day, Friday 3/31 to what seems like a full crowd of 25-30K people. Bought the express pass on Klook that included Nintendo World timed admission, Harry Potter timed admission, Minions Ride, Spider-Man or Jurassic Park ride. I’ve never really been big on theme parks and this was no different. 15-20 minute waits even with Express Pass for a 3-5 minute ride that sometimes gave us a bit of motion sickness was an experience that I won’t be rushing to do again. Spider-Man was pretty cool and the Forbidden Journey ride was immersively intense, but I was 2 minutes away from getting pretty nauseous. Good thing it was our last ride of the night.
• Things I skipped/missed: Osaka Castle Park (started to get blossomed out)
• Things I loved: The base of Mt. Wakakusa in Nara where there is a picturesque seated area with deers and park benches. Hotel the Flag Shinsaibashi was great and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

HAKONE (2 days, April 1-3)

• Reserved Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Odawara 3+ weeks early for the green car with reduced rate. We sent all of our big luggage from Osaka back to Tokyo, only bringing our backpacks and a small duffel to Hakone.
• We stayed at Yama no chaya based on a lot of positive reviews on this subreddit. It was a charming place and our host was great -- but a 3PM check-in and 10AM checkout doesn’t leave a lot of time for activity given you automatically lose about 3-4Hrs solely dining in your room each day. The meals were very good, the private baths were good. However the valley views and sound of nearby traffic from the road left a little to be desired.
• Our host recommended traveling via the Hakone Tozan Railway instead of by bus that would crawl in traffic. The railway was more scenic for sure, but it still took about 30-40 minutes alone to move from Tonosawa to Gora station so it was probably a push, time-wise.
• I must have screwed up my ticket purchase from Gora up the ropeway to Sounzan because there was some ticket misunderstanding for myself and seemingly several other tourists as well resulting in some halting, items lost in translation with the station staff, and confused frustration.
• Things I skipped/missed: Hakone ropeway down to Togendai and visiting Lake Ashi and the Hakone shrine (not enough time to get back well before 6PM dinner)
• Things I loved: Self-serve green tea in the mornings and A5 wagyu hotpot on the second night of our stay at Yama no chaya

GINZA (3 days, April 3-6)

• Returned to Tokyo to stay in Ginza. Reserved seats on the observation deck car for the Odakyu Romancecar from Hakone-Yumoto to Shinjuku. Getting seats on the first row of the observation deck must be super difficult to secure, but seems well worth it.
• We enjoyed our plans for a baller omakase meal via a 25 course dinner with Chef Ryutaro @ Hakkoku. Despite meeting and touring Toyosu with Head Chef Sato-san a week prior, we were still first-time foreign visitors to Hakkoku and thus highly unlikely to get a seat with the big-boss himself. But, he did greet us to say hello. Among the highlights were sayori (needle fish), ankimo (monkfish liver), masu (sea trout), katsuo (bonito), and obviously the chutoro and otoro.
• We did most of our shopping in this final leg. I bought a pair of grails that I have been eyeing for years at Hender Scheme in Ebisu. Reloaded on some basics at Uniqlo, did some thrifting in Kinji, oogled the merchandise at Worm, scoffed at the prices at Dover Street Market Ginza.
• Had reservations for NAKED Cherry Blossoms night illumination at Shinjuku Gyoen. I didn’t do my research for this one because all the locals came early in full force, and came prepared for a full evening picnic in the park. In hindsight, we would have stopped by Lawsons to grab a bunch of food and drinks before entering the park.
• Things I missed/skipped: Ueno Park (blossomed out), Akihabara (didnt have luggage space to entertain what ifs)
• Things I loved: Finding the Kirin Lemon Tea, hot or cold. Walking around Shinjuku at night looking for interesting alleys.

FOOD/DINING:

• Lawson’s tuna mayo + egg sandwiches have made me a member of team Lawson.
• I learned about how good Family Mart’s hot-and-ready chicken is.
• A5 + uni is just a bit too much richness. I'd rather be a A3 - A4 kind of guy.
• Ramen:
  • Even the ramen in the ANA Lounge was better than most i’ve had in the states
  • Ate at Ippudo, didn’t get a chance to visit Ichiran but I was surprised to see a line for Ichiran no matter which city. To me, modern was better than classic.
  • Got the tsukemen at Wajoryomen Sugari in Kyoto. I didn’t want to be the asshole gaijin holding up the line trying to translate their Japanese-only POS, so we rushed the ordering process and hoped for the best. Got the tsukemen + raw egg add-on. I definitely screwed up by missing out on ordering the chashu slices.
  • Had the specialty fatty pork-rib ramen at Hanamaruken in Dotombori. A lot of the reviews said it was overly salty but I thought it was delicious. Salty? Not really. Fatty/greasy AF? Duh, you’re eating rendered pork rib.
• Tokyo: Mark’s Tokyo - 3.15 on Tabelog which means average to good (for Japan). I saw this recommendation via a comment in a prior thread on /japantravel. Chef Mark is half Japanese/half Italian and was a former Finance bro turned late-blooming chef that trained in NYC. The meal was delicious and the atmosphere was charming. As someone who loves to cook, it was great to sit at a little 6-7 seat counter and watch him work a few feet away. And, it was a great opportunity to bounce my itinerary with a local in English at the beginning of my trip and get some future recommendations. He highly recommended trying Hirokazuya in Osaka, a hole in the wall okonomiyaki place and ordering the Buta Negiyaki.
• Tokyo: Yoroniku Ebisu - a 4.3+ on Tabelog which is usually means to expect great and I booked this via tablecheck. This was one of the BEST meals I had in Japan. The silky beef will be a memory i keep forever and the zabuton + truffle sukiyaki dip shaved fresh at the table was simply umami overload. I don’t often pay for fresh table-side truffle in the states because it is a rip-off but our host and griller simply went to town on a whole truffle between the two of us. I gasped when she didn’t stop shaving the half piece she started with and proceeded to begin shaving the next one.
• Tokyo: Hakkoku Ginza - 3.9+ on tabelog which is very close to great. I booked this via Omakase(dot)in. My buddy is an Austin sushi chef who is training under chef Hiro-san. I considered booking at other places rated slightly higher (Arai, Ryujiro) at his recommendation -- but ultimately I thought it would be more interesting to eat where he was training so that we had the chance to see him and discuss/reminisce about a menu familiar for all of us. The experience was great, we sat at a counter full of foreign tourists (couple from melbourne, couple from shanghai) and the chef Ryutaro-san did his best to make conversation. He was able to converse about the dishes well enough and he and I got along about golf. 25 courses was plenty of food but I came prepared, my wife was challenged at around course 21.
• Osaka: Yakitori Ichimatsu - 3.8+ on tabelog which is very good. I booked on Omakase(dot)in. The chef is an absolute pro in working with chicken. We got so full that we had to pass on some of the final rice or noodles. I don’t understand how some of these Japanese couples next to us were pounding down the same amount of meat and even more drinks. What champs.
• Tokyo: Tonkatsu Aoki Ginza - 3.75+ on tabelog which is very good. This came recommended from Chef Hiro-san for Tonkatsu in Ginza. We got both the mega fatty pork sirlion and the more modest pork filet. It looks like a lot of food at 300g + rice, cabbage, soup, but we both managed to finish our meals. It was worth a 30 minute wait.
• Kyoto: Hafuu Honten Main Store - 3.6+ on tabelog which is close to very good. The host spoke perfect English and was a pro at explaining the courses. The beef was very good and it was one of my more memorable meals in Kyoto. I booked this on some Japanese reservation site that I cannot find in my history. (“IKYOU or something similar?)
• Tokyo: Isshin Daikanyama - 3.6+ on tabelog which is close to very good. Some YouTuber recommended this as a place where locals go to eat. We were about 30-40th in line 30 minutes before the place opened. Luckily we were one of the last 2 tables to be sat in the opening wave of diners so we didn’t have to wait for tables to turn over. Quality wise, it was a very good meal for lunch.
• Yakiniku Black Hole Shinjuku - 3.4+ on tabelog. I think I bookmarked this place because of StrictlyDumpling on YT. We walked into this place without reservation on a Tuesday night after Shinjuku Gyeon and were sat promptly. I love all things grill-it-yourself, Korean or Japanese, so this was a pleasant experience. I couldn’t figure out how to get their touchpad POS into English so i relied on Google translate. Turns out thinly sliced sirloin wagyu is pretty fuckin great and we attempted to recreate our own sirloin sukiyaki with raw egg experience. All-in the meal was super affordable for the quality of the beef that you get.

TAKEWAYS/TIPS

• Was prepared for dealing with trash but damn, it is a real strategic challenge at times. You could rely on an opportunity to dump some trash (and acquire more) by visiting some Family Mart’s or when you pass through a station.
• You can rely on finding restrooms within specific areas of most stations and often at department stores. Maybe we were hydrating so much but we were pretty conscious to try to use the restroom each time we had a reliable window.
• Hydration is so critical. Drink tons of water on the plane so you don’t dry out. We were doing 25K steps per day for almost a week straight before we needed to tone it down. I was mowing through Pocari Sweats to stay hydrated from all the walking and casual beer drinking throughout the day at restaurants.
• Don’t overdo the planning and walking. After several days of 12mi+ and 25K steps, our feet were simply not happy. We ultimately visited Mominoki House for a foot soak or massage in both Shibuya and Kyoto to recharge our bodies for future travel days.
• Get an IC card for local travel, and purchase your tickets online. I don't get why so many people would waste their precious travel time waiting in line to buy tickets. Swiping in and out via IC card was so fast and easy. I did not wind up booking the 2-week or 3-week JR pass for my 16 day trip. Based on my calculations, i wasn't really traveling enough to almost break even.
• When riding buses in Kyoto, you enter through the middle door and pay as you exit the front door. This appears to be backwards from my experience in Tokyo and general common sense assumptions. I saw some foreigners get this mixed up and confused as to why the driver was telling them to do otherwise.
• Kids are so well behaved in Japan and i’m amazed at how they must be raised. I don’t have any kids yet but if it did, I’d want to learn how Japanese parents do it. Seemed like any kid that went noticed was likely a foreign child. At worst, a Japanese toddler would look disgruntled -- but rarely heard. Raising your hands to cross the street is so cute and safe in the world of tons of ambiguous intersections.
• Don’t always trust your GPS until you can get some better verification, like a printed sign with your station name or take a brief visit to a surface street. There were multiple times where my GPS told me i was in station A, while i was 3-4 stations away in B, and it could have gotten me on the wrong ride.
• Trusting Google Maps and the platform # is your friend. Ultimately knowing which platform to look for got me to the correct destination when running through the maze of a station. I still don’t think I grasp where the hell is was transitioning between within Shibuya station and the Shibuya Hikarie but I got there. There will be times where you rush into a train going the wrong direction. I would just get off at the next stop and reverse platforms/direction to the right route. It shouldn’t cost you anything except some time, assuming it wasn’t a shinkansen or limited ride.
• I prepared and studied-up on about 20-25 phrases in Japanese ahead of time. Besides the obvious basics, the ones that were most useful were probably, Eigo wakari masuka? (Do you know english?), Gomen nasai (sorry) obviously sumimasen (excuse me), ijo desu (that’s all, when ordering), yoyaku arimasu (i have a reservation), hitori desu(one person) / hitotsu (one thing) and futari desu (two people) and futatsu (two things), kore onegaishimasu (this please, when pointing to the chicken in the window) o kaikei onegaishimasu (check, please) ____ arimasuka? (____ do you have it?) and ____ wa doko deska? (______ where is it?)
• At least within Tokyo and Osaka, a lot of people and youth are fashionable AF. I’m not sure how many people are busting their ass for long hours to buy a single Celine piece or Prada boots but I was amazed at the sheer volume of luxury shopping and materialism on display. I am glad that both my wife and I have very little interest in that race.
• We did quite a bit of shopping for clothes, gifts and souvenirs. Among my big purchases were the MIP-25 by HenderScheme, based on the Air Max 90, a jacket from the Human-Made 1928 store in Kyoto, a 210mm gyuto from Kikuichi in Nara. We returned home with 2 large suitcases that we checked, 1 carry-on roller, 1 medium duffel-bag that held return laundry. We each also had a personal backpack for tech and valuables. We used Yamato transport about 3 times total over 16 days (ex. Kyoto to Osaka allowing Nara daytrip, Osaka to Ginza allowing light Hakone weekend.) Each time was about $17 for each suitcase and it arrived within 24-48hours. For me, it was worth it to avoid breaking into a mad sweaty hustle to move luggage around huge stations.
• A $250 per head sushi meal in Japan vs a $250 per head sushi meal in Austin or Los Angeles seems like it has diminishing returns up to a point. I would assume the quality + consistency of fish is high everyday at this tier in Japan. Whereas back home, I would get access to a very, very nice piece of otoro maybe once every 3-4 months, often times the otoro was average to nice. I think the ability to source very high-quality fish to cities all over the world recently has made very good sushi more accessible to everyone.. I’m not sure i’ve yet found life-changing sushi. There is always next time…
• Holy shit i wrote a novella.