The Mystery Of "Old Mike"...!

This Monday let's look at the mystery of "Old Mike" from Arkansas. This, by the way, is a true story!

Actually this story is both sad and touching, with a bit of good intentions mixed in! However, often the best intentions don't get things done!

Old Mike

In the early 1900s, down in Nevada County, the man who would come to be known as “Old Mike” was a familiar face in and around the city of Prescott. A traveling salesman, he would swing by each month to sell stationery to homes and local businesses. He occasionally stayed overnight, but he always left the following day on the afternoon train.

One day, residents found Mike lying motionless under a tree. He had apparently passed away the night before. Knowing him only by his first name—and after a postmortem search failed to turn up any identification—the townspeople did the only sensible thing they could think of. They embalmed him and put his corpse on display outside of the local funeral home.

That’s where Mike sat for the next six decades. He was originally placed there in hopes that someone would identify him or claim the body, but no one ever came forward. Eventually, in 1975, the state attorney general’s office requested that he be buried, and Mike was finally laid to rest later that May. His true identity will likely forever remain a mystery.

The intentions of doing something to find out who "Old Mike" really was were good, but leaving him on display for so long seems like a bit of a stretch to me. Besides, it did not have the desired effect so it actually was a bad ending, if you ask me! It's sad that Mike's family, if he had one, never knew what happened to him. I am happy that the townsfolk adopted him and showed him a little respect in the end!

The kitchen is our place for coffee this morning. Wanna share my oatmeal?