The Frying Pan Incident
The Frying Pan IncidentShirley didn’t mean to hurt Mother. It was an accident, pure and simple, just as most accidents usually are. It was one of those bizarre things that happen every now and then, and there’s no way to explain or excuse it. When Shirley told me the story, her words tumbled out helter-skelter. She said she loved Mother and had no idea why Mother had tried to hurt her. But something happened that snowy morning of February 2, 1985 in Newberry, a nondescript town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Maybe the wind caused the problem. It had howled all night and kept Shirley awake. Maybe the snow was to blame. A foot of it had fallen burying everything beneath a heavy, white shroud, forcing her to cancel her breakfast plans with a gentleman friend. She ra
