Free The Animal

To be frank, I’d really rather not put this up. On the other hand, the nearly 800 visitors to this blog yesterday, mostly via Google and other searches for Darren Mack and Charla Mack, signals that maybe I ought to write something, then leave it at that — forevermore. Here was my June 14 post of 2006 about my cousin Darren, whom I knew quite well growing up. Once he was apprehended in Mexico a couple of weeks later I never followed anything much of the case. My mom did, and I got a sad update every now and then from her. She was and remains heartbroken for her own cousin, Darren’s mom. I haven’t seen Joan Mack since the events, but other family members tell me and it’s just damn sad all around. It’s “funny;” I just stopped and realized I never saw Joan with anything but a smile in my whole life. Even at times I may not have considered it the sincerest of smiles, she was always outwardly happy, jovial, welcoming. A very positive person. Daren, having taken a plea deal once the prosecution rested its case at trial, then attempting to back out of it and…

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