I listen to AM newsradio when I get dressed in the morning and the first thing I heard today was a man saying,
“I want to go so I can stare at the face of a madman.”
It was someone being interviewed about why he was going to the arraignment of Levi Aron, the guy who allegedly dismembered 8 year old Leiby Kietzy. Even though I’m fascinated by murders and murderers, I cannot imagine going to a courtroom to see a stranger be arraigned just to get a glimpse of a crazy person.
Evil comes in many packages and some of them are alluring. Not Levi Aron – he’s just Creepy with a capital “c.” But the Ted Bundy’s of the world…well now you’re talking. “Where Evil Grows” by The Poppy Family captures this perfectly. It is a pretty amazing song. It’s so poppy (no pun intended) but the lyrics couldn’t be less pop. It reminds me of the opening of Blue Velvet and the perfect white picket fence and roses that ultimately are anything but perfect.
The Poppy Family were husband and wife Terry and Susan Jacks. They divorced a couple of years after this song and the next year Terry had a massive hit with the god-awful “Seasons in the Sun.” Now if this isn’t proof that Terry Jacks knows something about being evil, well I don’t know what is. You know what they say. The Devil is a shapeshifter… I’m on to you, Terry Jacks.
margauxville 