Ron Franscell's Blog

Essayist Robert Fulghum once surmised that everything he ever needed to know he learned in kindergarten, but I was a slow learner. Today, the 2026 Little League World Series gets […]

The post Everything I need to know, I learned in Little League appeared first on Ron Franscell.

August 13, 1969. Sharon Tate was laid to rest. She was 26 years old and 8 months pregnant. Maybe this is the anniversary we should remember.

The post Sharon Tate: The Cruelty of Being Remembered for Dying appeared first on Ron Franscell.

In the nervous days afterd 9/11, I spotted a Bedouin tent in the Saharan distance and against my better instincts, I walked toward it.

The post Tea with a Stranger at the Edge of War appeared first on Ron Franscell.

Yesterday, we struck out to find whatever ghosts remained on this “lost” road, still known as the “Santa Fe Loop.”

The post Tracing an Abandoned Stretch of Route 66 in New Mexico appeared first on Ron Franscell.

Almost fifty years ago, three people disappeared into one of Wyoming’s darkest stories. A young mother. Two little boys. For nearly half a century, the absence of Virginia, Reagan, and […]

The post Fremont Lake’s Secrets: We Don’t Abandon Our Dead appeared first on Ron Franscell.

True crime has a hidden ecosystem of ghosts. They aren’t victims, they aren’t killers, they’re not even genuine witnesses. They are proximity seekers—people who look at someone else’s worst nightmare, […]

The post ‘Almost’ Survivors: The Bizarre Psychology of Crime’s Trauma Hijackers appeared first on Ron Franscell.

There are funerals you attend because someone died, and funerals you attend because someone survived. I didn’t understand the distinction until last weekend, when I found myself driving toward the […]

The post The geography of grief, the scale of what matters appeared first on Ron Franscell.

Somewhere between the last page and the next book you pick up, there’s a consequential question most readers never think much about: whether to leave a review. I understand the […]

The post After the Last Page: Why your review matters appeared first on Ron Franscell.

Today has sneaked up, or dawdled, depending on the moment you ask me. I circled May 5 on the calendar months ago, as if choosing it gave me some control. […]

The post Drop Day: Standing at the deep end appeared first on Ron Franscell.

I’ve heard the word closure in courtrooms, on front porches, in hospital hallways where you can’t quite forget what’s happened. It’s usually spoken with relief. Sometimes with gratitude. Almost always […]

The post A Place to Stand: The myth of ‘closure’ appeared first on Ron Franscell.