The Fallen Reindeer

Here's the story.

From the time we were kids, Mom has always put up this stuffed Rudolph head as a decoration for Christmas. I, personally, never thought much of it. But when Ilene was a kid, her dad was a fan of mounting actual deer heads (taxodermically treated, of course), so she's always found that stuffed Rudolph to be a little morbid. She was commenting on that a couple of months ago when it hit me: what if someone were to have hunted down Santa's reindeer and then mounted them on their wall? And what if that someone were Dad?

It wasn't a large leap, but there was a lot of effort involved. Thanks to Cindy and Ilene who did the bulk of the cutting/sewing, etc. to get the heads together. Thanks to Tanya for writing the very well crafted articles (text below).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fernley Leader-Courier

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 30, 1996 __________________________________________________________________________

Arctic Dignitary Sought in Homicide Investigation

The body of Utah resident Hortense McEwen was discovered the morning of December 25th near Highway 95. McEwen was in town visiting relatives for the holiday, and had left a Christmas party at her grandson’s house as it was beginning to wind down.

“She was still caught up in the spirit of the holiday,” explained her grandson’s wife, Linda Platt, a long-time Fernley resident. “She got a little carried away and decided to do some impromptu Christmas caroling.” Judy Pannell, who also attended the party, added, “We thought she’d be fine. Sure, she may have overindulged in the egg nog a little, but there wasn’t even any alcohol in it.”

According to police officials, the primary person of interest in this investigation is Kris Kringle, a man known to make annual holiday visits to the city of Fernley. “We aren’t ready to make any accusations yet,” said Officer Dan Castle, “but the evidence is piling up. The hoof prints found on the victim’s forehead alone are noteworthy when you’re looking at an area like this with no significant deer traffic. But the autopsy also turned up evidence of Claus marks on McEwen’s back. That’s incriminating, to say the least.”

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Fernley Police Department.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reno Gazette-Journal

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, December 10, 1997 __________________________________________________________________________

Local Man Swears Vengeance for Death of Grandmother

Marlan Platt, an accountant residing in Fernley, Nevada, has declared his intention to bring the murderers of his grandmother to justice.  Hortense McEwen was killed last year, a crime originally blamed on foreign dignitary and prominent member of the League of Legends, Kris Kringle.  Kringle has formerly been accused of drag racing and speed limit infractions, as well as violations of no-fly zones,  but has  evaded  charges because of his diplomatic immunity.

Kringle, however, denied that he had any connection to the incident in Fernley last year, instead suggesting that his reindeer may have been incited to exercise poor judgment by what he called the “stimulating Nevada atmosphere.”  The reindeer have since been ruled unfit to stand trial, and no one was ever charged with McEwen’s murder.

“If the courts won’t act, I will,” Platt allegedly told Fernley official Judge Lehman during a heated altercation over the decision not to try the reindeer.  When the judge tried to warn Platt off of his vigilante ambitions, Platt respond- ed, “I’m just going hunting.   There’s nothing illegal about going hunting.”

Platt’s decision has sparked controversy, given Kringle’s recent popularity among children and mythical beings.  Many claim he is harmless, even going so far as to call him jolly, but Platt disagrees.  “Don’t be fooled,” he told reporters.  “Kringle is no saint, and those reindeer of his are animals.”