Creep of the Week - August 17, 1996

Frederick Davidson

One of the first things we learned in school is that some kids are smarter than others. You probably remember when the class was divided into three groups, which were given Politically Correct names like the Bluebirds (aka the smart kids), the Robins (not so smart kids) and the Crows (not smart at all kids). These funny names didn't fool anyone (except for some of the Crows) and after a while, we all accepted our lot in life. For the most part, the Bluebirds were just regular kids, only smarter. But in each class, there was at least one Bluebird who seemed extremely weird. He or she didn't seem to be able to communicate with anyone (even other Bluebirds), had some disgusting habits (nose picking, ear wax eating, etc.), and in general, gave intelligence a bad name. We always assumed these people would end up as professors somewhere, and hopefully remain unsociable enough to prevent them from reproducing more like themselves, thus preserving the gene pool for people of average intellect and social graces.

That's exactly what happened to most of them, but for a few, those years of all work and no play, socializing or sex causes them to go off the deep end. They suddenly erupt into lethal violence, or liven up their isolation by sending bombs through the mail. This week, the latest victim of the Mensa madness, San Diego State University graduate student Frederick Davidson, killed three faculty members who had been reviewing his thesis, which was on something called shape memory alloys. Frederick did not just shoot these guys, he blew them away with 23 rounds from a semi-automatic 9mm pistol, pausing to reload once from the stash of spare 15-round magazines he had hidden in the room earlier. He dropped one guy where he sat and chased the other two down when they started to run. Frederick thus brings whole new meaning to the phrase "defending my thesis."

Frederick was described by his landlord as a loner and a "neatnik", traits landlords evidently admire, but which most everyone else would translate as "anal-retentive sick puppy." But a real smart one! All that brainpower was so focused on such a narrow, unrewarding subject, that it burned a hole straight through any existing normal grey matter. Shape memory alloys! Makes me proud to be a Crow.

Let me know what you think at montgome@servtech.com

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