I've found my sources for The Contortionists come in three varieties:
+ Those who talk to me but are somewhat wary (as they should be).
+ Those who realize the story needs to be told and welcome me.
+ Those who choose not to talk. (I'll keep trying...) But there really is a fourth category--those who can't talk. None of the Ross Sisters are alive. They were trained in contortion by the Edwards family. I was amazed to discover that Larattie of the Edwards clan (that's her on the right next to her sister June) was alive and living in a nursing home at age 99. But ... COVID. Her own children couldn't visit her. Recently she died.
It's selfish to say I missed out, but I feel it. That's a part of the story I'll never capture, a puzzle piece that is lost. My job is to keep scratching through the dust for the story...