As a career school-teacher over the past 25+ years, it’s fair to say I’ve known my share of school Principals.
For interests’ sake I’ll mention at least two of those principals could reasonably be classed as ‘high-functioning psychopaths’. But even these triple-A type-oddbods have nothing on the school Principal you’re about to meet.
In 1979, the body of High School English teacher Susan Reinert was found in the boot of her car, parked outside a hotel in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
The Principal at Susan’s school, a man by the name of Jay Smith, was convicted of her murder. Smith spent six years on death row awaiting execution. His conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1992.
The real killer turned out to be another teacher at the school where both Susan and Jay Smith worked. This case had more twists than a circa 1980’s Rubik’s cube, with no less than three books published on the murder.
Time to delve deeper…
In 1979, Dr Jay Smith (the ‘Dr’ title being due to his PhD in Education) had been Principal of Upper Merion High School – located 20 minutes drive west of Philadelphia – for 12 years. He was also a colonel in the Army Reserves. To say that he had a shady past, however, would be a large-sized understatement.
Dr Jay was convicted in the late sixties of robbing a Sears department store by posing as a Brinks security guard. The attempted heist included using a bogus Brinks ID card and dressing in a guard’s uniform. How someone with a history that also included convictions for drug possesion was able to enter the education system and rise to the position of school principal is a mystery belonging to that time.
Jay Smith also had a daughter who was a heroin addict. Both she and her husband went missing in 1978. Smith was accused of murdering both.
Dr Jay’s shady side also extended to him subscribing to what used to be colloquially known back in the 70’s as ‘swingers’ magazines and was rumored to be the head of a love cult at the school that included after-hours orgies and satan worship.
Spice? This case had more of it than a jumbo-portioned vindaloo Indian curry.
At the time of Jay Smith’s conviction for the murder of Susan Reinert, at least four other teachers at Upper Merion High School were under investigation for criminal offences.
The clip below will give you a little more vibe for Principal Jay Smith…
2025 has been one thwackingly spectacular year – easily the best since party spoiler Covid (boo) exited stage left – the building.
SCENIC WRITER’S SHACK has been along for the ride, with you every step, breath, snicker and guffaw along the way. Cue the look-back…
Back in July, a female BBC newsreader was ‘disciplined’ by the station after she added a single additional word to a news story and accompanied that (spontaneous) modification with a nano-second- length eye expression judged to be a personal condemnation of the politically-correct-nonsense- speak she was forced to read.
‘The Donald’ had a lot of newsworthy moments in 2025. SWS judged this to be the highlight –
I do some of my best movie watching on planes. I watched THE SUBSTANCE (2024) at one o’clock in the morning on a flight back to Brisbane from Seoul, Korea. By the time we landed I was still recovering from the experience. Every person I’ve spoken to since who’s seen THE SUBSTANCE agrees – it truly is one of the most original, mind-freaking films to come along in a great many years.
Saw this one on DVD. Completely loved its quirkiness, something I wouldn’t normally associate Sean Connery with.
Why exactly did this one get the gong? Besides being generally funny, we reckon this bit of hilarity slash absurdity perfectly summarizes the SCENIC WRITER’S SHACK, er… ‘way’.
Argentinian born Lalo Schifrin composed music scores for close to 100 movies, including two of my all-time favorites DIRT HARRY (1971) and MAGNUM FORCE (1973). He is also responsible for the instantly recognizable MISSION IMPOSSIBLE theme.
Those 1990’s tv ads, complete with his distinctive horse-race-commentator’s voice, were cheese-flavoured, ear & eye-worm classics from a bygone era that somehow managed to drill their way deep down into every tv viewer’s of-the-era screen hippocampus (science talk for memory folks – but I knew that you knew that.
I could watch this scene from SUPERMAN 2 (1980) featuring Terrence Stamp a hundred thousand times and never tire of it. It’s so perfect.
What’s more left to say but…
2026 kicks off with a bang and a clang not to mention a thundering thwack on SCENIC WRITER’S SHACK with the January launch of the annual SWS Short Story Writing Competition.
It’s back bigger and badder (ie. gooder) than before with boosted cash prizes. Stay tuned,won’t you!
Show me a person that DOESN’T – at least partially – judge a book by its cover and I’ll show you a person who doesn’t read books.
Yes shacksters – (if I may be so bold as to use this wacked-out and possibly stylish honourific in your… er, honour) it’s time again to celebrate the best the year had to offer in book cover eye candy. And there’s a lot to celebrate.
(A) Royally weird and wonderful, your Majesty.
(B) Waaah
(A) So many interesting trains of thought with this one.
(B) Pink Splendor! You can just about hear the squeak.
(A) Nice balance (sorry!) between image and text.
(B) Now that’s a button!
(A) Clever and more than a little bit frightening.
(B) Is that tomato aimed at the reader or the guy in the brown suit? The red splatters already there might help you decide.
(A) My nomination for Book Cover of the Year. Nicknamed ‘Death by Lolly’.
(B) Love, love the LOST IN SPACE (1960’s) vibe to this cover.
(A) So vampy! If ever a cover deserved the red-carpet treatment, this is it. The spelling of ritual is pretty special too.
(B) It’s the phallic-shaped blood drip from the nose that really seals it for me.
(A) Another BOOK COVER OF THE YEAR nomination. Those car headlights are indeed next-level illuminating!
(B) One supremely kissable cover.
(A) You want clever text placement? We give you clever text placement.
(B) I’m so mutts about this cover! (again, sorry). What a Fire-God brilliant interpretation of the book’s title.
Two hot-in-different ways beguiling book covers.
(A) “A two-year-old could do better than this cover” I hear you say. Actually, it looks like a two-year-old DID this cover.
(B) Oh my! Green is most certainly the new black.
(A) Inhale on this smokin’ hot bit of eye trickery, if you will.
(B) Love how the text gradually morphs from FEAR to LESS.
This post has been brought to you by the new (old) movie KILL BILL : THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR
The guy above looks nothing like me. And importantly, I’ve never owned a red and gold pinstripe suite.
But this man-kid in a candy shop COULD be me, for I have unearthed an uproarious new book that combines my twin loves of history and chest-caving humor.
That book is LOVE – LIFE – AND LAXITIVES and I am presently like a kid in a 19th century candy shop being entertained by its old skool – and by old skool I mean ‘Victorian era England’ old skool – mirth, merriment and sweet absurdity.
The book offers up a super-witty collection of sage advice, home remedies, lonely hearts counselling and general words of wisdom all aimed at living your best (19th Century England) life.
The invaluable counsel dispensed by the shudderingly all-knowing and worldly-wise, rotund housekeeper Mrs Finnegan – who, looks-wise, is equal parts Robin Williams’ MRS DOUBTFIRE and MISERY’s Kathy Bates
– is something along the lines of… all dry meats being tied up in strong paper and being kept in a cold, dry place – but never in the kitchen.
Sageadvice like that is worth paying for, don’t ya think?
And the reply? Sheep fat and grating is involved. For any more detail you’ll need to buy the book yourself.
History was never, ever so show-stoppingly entertaining!
