SUN SPOTS:...It Was A Warped & Wormy Night...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

EDINBURG, Texas | ...There on the witness stand, Salvador Mata was talking a bit too much. In circles, said the defense attorney who tried to halt Salvador's testimony.

Answering a question about his recollection of the poor McAllen housewife's bloody murder, Mata inhaled deeply and said, "It was the day Peter Piper picked that peck of pickled peppers, counselor." A member of the jury could not stop exploding laughter and the judge again slammed his gavel.

The brief outburst quickly faded into the expensive walnut walls, bits of it shiny and other bits dusty as all get-out. Solicitor Jose Maria Puente pressed onward.

"Mr. Mata, would you tell the court and jury exactly what day you are referring to, sir?" the thin, high-neck defense lawyer asked next. Smarty pants Salvador did not hesitate in answering:

"It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day. I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay."

He'd said it with a straight face not seen since the day Queen Isabella was shocked to learn that Christopher Columbus was telling the press that she, and not the planet, was flat.

"Let the record show that the witness has invoked a country song by Dolly Parton," the defense lawyer threw out next.

"Objection!" roared the prosecutor. "It most certainly was not Dolly Parton!!!"...

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