A Salute to Carol's Hometown

     The leaves are changing colors and the slight chill in the air signal a very special time in Indiana.
Autumn is here and with it memories of a young woman who was remembered in part because of the bright yellow scarf she wore the night of her fateful encounter with darkness.

      On these beautiful fall days, I choose to remember Carol for her vibrant spirit and the hope that her legacy can illuminate in us all.   I've never been reminded so much of this, as the Saturday afternoon I spent in Rushville, Indiana... Carol Jenkins' hometown.

      Several of the town's forward thinking businessmen and women extended a kind invitation for me to visit Rushville for a book signing for "The Girl in the Yellow Scarf."   What transpired was awesome!

      Our book team was met with amazing warmth and a perfect day to talk about Rushville, Carol and the book that many Rushville residents say they're glad has been written.  For many it filled in missing gaps on what happened back in 1968 and beyond.  I learned a few things too!   Someone shared that no news articles had ever been written in Rushville about Carol, her death or the 33-year old murder mystery.  Most of what residents say they knew was based on information from outside of their community.   It was truly my pleasure to sign books and to talk to Carol's former high school classmates about their times with her.

     We told stories, took pictures and shared smiles for hours.  What delighted my heart most was to see how the community embraced  Carol's father, Paul Davis.  They were there to support him as much as anything, and to me that speaks of real community!   It was a day that he could bask in knowing his town would remember his daughter, and that they cared enough to support a work in her honor.  At the same time, they would learn more about another daughter, one who shed light on a case that had baffled so many.  

     It was also fun to talk with David Willkie..Wendell Willkie's grandson.  He too stopped by to support us, and shared about working in New York at 60-Minutes when the 2002 arrest was made in the Carol Jenkins Murder Case.  Here he was in our nation's largest city reading on the front page of  the New York Times about the case that was unfolding back in his home state of Indiana!   It was fascinating to hear his version of this big news.   It gave me such a different perspective.

     Thank you Rushville for a remarkable day.   It was a great stop on our journey.  We're heading now to Indiana University in Bloomington for "Themester 2012 to talk about the molecules to morality!