Blogging Responsibly - It's Personal

Sometimes I forget that when I blog it's visible to more than just my fellow bloggers. And then something happens, like a friend or family member bringing up something I blogged about. For me, the wake up call to really pay attention to what I was posting if it had to do with a real life topic, such as a historical incident, were blog comments from people that weren't bloggers, but someone who had a personal connection to something I'd posted about.

Natalie Wood
By unknown photographer (ebay)
[Public domain],
 via Wikimedia Commons

You see, my topics for the 2012 A-to-Z Challenge and the 2013 A-to-Z were The Wild West and History's Mysteries, respectively. Several of my posts during those challenges caught the eyes of people who knew more about the topics than I did. One was a post about the mystery behind Natalie Wood's death. I heard from someone who had written a book about her death, and had worked with the captain of the ship they'd been on when she died. The post that drew the most attention, though, had to do with the outlaw Clay Allison. Oddly, he's someone I find few people have heard of, yet the tales of his outlaw days cause Billy the Kid to pale in comparison. I find him fascinating, and I had a lot of fun writing the post about him. 

Bearing in mind, of course, that this was during the A-to-Z, so research time wasn't what it might have been for a regular once per week post, I spent a few hours reading up on Clay Allison. There were some fantastic tales about his escapades, but what got skirted over in the information I found was the reasons behind what he'd done and how he'd become an outlaw. And a good percentage of the information out there was likely false, stuff made up in the publications of the day. 

Photo of Clay Allison courtesy of Find a Grave member John "J-Cat" Griffith

I was in it for fun, though, and posted the various tales and information. I hope that there were folks who did research on their own after reading about him, those whose interest was piqued by hearing his tales. But at the same time, I perpetuated the myths that were out there, too. And a few of his descendants contacted me in the blog comments. They were nice guys, no flaming or accusations, and they thanked me for bringing him back into people's awareness. But their comments reminded me that I was posting about real people, people who had family or acquaintances who were still around. Yes, I'm sure they're accustomed to reading the stuff that's out there, and I even got a book recommendation out of it so I can get more information on a subject that interests me. And I'm not going to lie. I'm enough of a wild west buff that I geeked out internally about being contacted by his descendants. But a subject I enjoyed reading and writing about was personal history to them, not just a story.

So my reminder to you is the same as the reminder to me: When you're posting away, thinking this is just a blog, not a newspaper or novel, remember that there's always someone out there for whom the subject could be personal.

Have you been contacted by someone with personal ties to a subject you've blogged about? How did it go? Are you aware of Clay Allison? Who do you think was responsible for Natalie Wood's death? 

May you find your Muse.

N is for Natalie Wood's Mysterious Death

is for Natalie Wood. Another maritime mystery, but this time of a different flavor.

On the evening of November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood, Oscar nominated actress, met her death in the Pacific Ocean, off Catalina Island.

Natalie Wood
By unknown photographer (ebay) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Natalie was out on the boat with her husband, Robert Wagner (their second marriage to each other, her third overall), Christopher Walken, and the ship's captain. Reports said the trio of actors had gotten quite drunk at a restaurant onshore, and had caused some problems. Waitresses reported that Natalie and Christopher Walken were flirting (or that at least Wood was flirting with Walken).

Originally, the captain just reported them having continued their partying when they returned to the ship. However, in 2011, on the thirtieth anniversary of her death, the captain admitted lying about what happened that night. (It should be noted that this coincided with the release of his tell-all book on Natalie Wood's death*). He now claimed that there was a fight once they arrived back on the ship. He heard Wagner yelling at Walken, claiming he wanted to sleep with Natalie. The couple retired to their room, the fight continuing.

The boat was discovered missing sometime after midnight. Wagner went out searching for her, but came back empty-handed. Harbor Patrol was notified at 1 AM. At 7:30 AM, her body was discovered by a helicopter involved in the search effort. She was bruised, a scrape on her cheek, and the cause was determined to be accidental drowning (some reports include hypothermia as an additional cause). Her blood alcohol level was .14%, and she was found to also have a sea sickness medication and a painkiller in her system.

Natalie Wood and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause
By Studio (Dr. Macro) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In 2011, in light of the new information reported by the captain, along with claims that others had come forward with information, the coroner changed cause of death from accidental drowning to an undetermined cause of drowning. It has been stated that the bruises on Natalie Wood's person were likely to have been caused before she went into the water, at least some of them. In addition, Robert Wagner admitted to being in a fight with Wood when she died, though I didn't see anything that said he admitted to striking her.

When the dinghy was found, the key was in it, and it was off. It didn't appear to have been used.

A 2001 recording of an interview with Natalie's sister, Lana, included a statement by Lana that the captain had called her while drunk and admitted to having witnessed Robert Wagner kill Natalie Wood. He said they were fighting, and that Wagner shoved Wood. She went over the side, splashing around, but unable to get purchase. Wagner told the captain to let her learn a lesson. Eventually, the noise ceased, and the two men covered it up. Walken was apparently in his room and had no knowledge of what had happened. At least one person on a neighboring boat reported hearing a scream. The police were called.

In all the years I've known of this mystery, I've never seen or heard an opinion from Christopher Walken on what happened that night, nor have I seen any statements about it.

Suggested reasons for her drowning include the following:

• The dinghy might have been knocking against the ship, so Natalie went out to secure it better and slipped in, seeing as how she was under the influence.
• She tried to go for a late night trip in the little boat to see the stars. In her nightgown, down coat, and knee-high socks...
• She committed suicide by throwing herself into the water (though why she untied the ship first is unknown). In 1966, she was rushed to the hospital due to a drug overdose. She admitted to not wanting to live, and it was considered a suicide attempt, so suicide was not an unprecedented move for her.
• Wagner and Walken were having an affair (one of the reasons Natalie was said to have divorced him the first time was due to an affair Wagner had with a man). She walked in on them, so they killed her (yes, I saw this suggested all over, despite the fact that it's probably the least likely).
• She attempted to escape Wagner's rage, but fell off the boat or fell trying to get into the boat. Her heavy jacket dragged her down as it filled with water, and she was unable to save herself.
• Robert Wagner killed her in a jealous rage, whether accidentally or on purpose, then untied the boat to make it look like she'd gone out on it.

An interesting side note: Natalie Wood was deathly afraid of the water.

What do you think happened? Were you aware of the mystery surrounding her death?

May you find your Muse.

*Author Marti Rulli stopped by after this post went up and commented on this. Her full comment can be read below, but the summary is that this book came out first (confirmed publication in 2010), with them working for two more years to get the police to listen to statements the captain had been making since Natalie Wood's death. The case was officially announced as reopened in 2012, two years after the release of the book. I'll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions. 

*Letter N courtesy of kittenskill, clker.com