History

M and I have recently gotten in to learning more about our families and their history.  As a student of history, what others before us have experienced has always been fascinating to me; sometimes when I think about what my grandparents or great-grandparents saw in their life, I'm blown away by how privileged we are to live the life that we live.

In this case, I'm particularly thankful I wasn't around in the time of M's great uncle.

Robert Laird, Jr. was 24 when he was (according to the Pensacola Journal) murdered by a mad Italian barber (who may or may not have been in the mafia.)  According to reports, Robert had accused said Italian barber of shaving him out of a dirty cup.  Holding a grudge, a week later, the barber murdered him.

Oh, but it gets more bizarre.

Arrested a few weeks after the murder, the Italian barber set himself on fire, placing a burning blanket over his head and burning himself from the waist up.  He did not actually succeed in ending his life, however, and suffered on another three months before succumbing to complications from his wounds.

Ah, family history.