Many of you are aware that there was a vigilante killing in Omaha, Nebraska this past weekend, and the murderer turned himself into the police last night.
The Omaha media, particularly the World-Herald, has all but canonized the murderer, making him a sympathetic character, while the registrant he killed was not a sympathetic character. This has led to an outpouring of support for the murderer.
But, no matter the backstory between the two individuals, the fact remains that this was an act of pre-meditated murder by someone who used registry information as a weapon to murder a registered citizen. This was not self-defense, but a cold, calculated killing.
The murderer is behind bars right now, but for how long, I don’t know.
There is a Facebook group, the same group that was stalking the registrant for years, has repackaged itself today as “Free James Fairbanks” in honor of the man they had a role in murdering (the killer has been connected with this Facebook page). Facebook has a long history of discrimination against registrants. Last year, Facebook was caught allowing threats against those accused or convicted of sex offenses.
There have also been GoFundMe pages popping up to raise money for this killer.
After spending all day with this news, I’ve settled on some ideas on how you, particularly those of you in larger, more influential groups than OnceFallen, may address this issue:
- Contact the Douglas County County Attorney’s office and request they deny bail to Fairbanks. Ask he be prosecuted for a hate crime. The vigilante group is raising funds now for this killer’s legal defense so if he gets bail, he could be free. Here’s a contact form:
https://countyattorney.douglascounty-ne.gov/contact-ciminal-division
- Report the vigilante group “Free James Fairbanks” to Facebook as a hate group. They whitewashed some threatening statements but this is the group connected to the killer:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1710566045863512/
- Report this Change.org Petition. There is a “Report a policy violation” option but it is part of the way down the page, below petition updates.
https://www.change.org/p/donald-j-trump-pardon-james-fairbanks
- Contact GoFundMe and demand they reject ALL vigilante petitions for funds that reward criminal behavior. At last count, there were 5 separate fundraisers for James Fairbanks:
https://support.gofundme.com/hc/en-us
- I’d contact the Nebraskans Unafraid Group to see if you can help them in any way. This is a good time to attack the Nebraska registry:
https://nebraskansunafraid.org/
I have found the local Omaha World-Herald to be a less than neutral source. They are, in my opinion, very slanted in painting James Fairbanks as a sympathetic figure and seemingly promoting the vigilante group and the fundraisers.
This is a very good time to make the Nebraska legislature aware of the dangers the public registry creates. This is not the first time there was a murder in Nebraska and it won’t be the last.
Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com
Registered Citizen/ Civil Rights Advocate #abolishtheregistry
Thanks for your report – you did the right thing by letting us know about this. The group you reported was reviewed, and though it doesn’t go against one of our specific Community Standards, we understand that the group or something shared in it may still be offensive to you. We want to help you avoid things you don’t want to see on Facebook.
If you think we should review something specific in this or another group, you can report that exact content (example: photo) instead of the entire group.
From the list above, you can also hide, unfollow or leave Free James Fairbanks directly. We recommend visiting the Help Center to learn more about how to control what you see in your News Feed. If you find that a person, group or Page consistently posts things you don’t want to see, you may want to limit how often you see their posts or remove them from your Facebook experience.
We know these options may not apply to every situation, so please let us know if you see something else you think we should take a look at.
After reporting the Facebook page to “free” a murderer, Fairbanks, I received a reply from Facebook telling me the page was examined and found to meet all of Facebook’s standards. I was then given some suggestions as to how I can avoid comments that are offensive to me.
I have been having trouble lately posting comments through Facebook, and I received this notification: my comments go against the community standards on spam. These were my comments to the Atlanta Constitution newspaper that prompted this notification:
I applaud Terry as a candidate working for criminal justice reform in areas where it is needed and for protecting citizens’ voting rights. There are people on the sex offender registry in all states who will always be a threat to society and need to be monitored closely. But there are thousands in Georgia, as well as Florida, who are working hard to be law-abiding citizens. These individuals get overlooked as the media and politicians only like to portray the “bad” repeat offenders. All current research is showing a re-offense rate in the single digits when all registrants are taken collectively. This does not come even close to most other crimes where the re-offense is anywhere from 60% to 80%. Society is better off with these one-time-only offenders reintegrating back into society successfully. They deserve a second chance, and that is why we are working hard at floridaactioncommittee.org to reform the registry and the draconian statues and ordinances that go with it.
In addition, Facebook told me that there has been abnormal activity in my account and made me change my password. They also did not like the fact that I set up an account through Facebook to open an account with the LA Times to post comments.
I have never cared for Facebook or trusted it.
SarahF thank you for your persistence with FB. As you say, it cannot be trusted. Yet it’s where a lot of people get their informatiin, for better or for worse. Something you post is going to get through and influence someone. Regarding the spam notification, might it have been different had you referenced Florida Action Committee rather than the link or URL, floridaactioncommittee.org ? Just a thought as I realize we are learning this as we go along.
I will give your suggestion a try. Thanks.
Yep. Facecrook is the platform of choice for the tens of millions of really, really dumb people who live in America. I’m not sure intelligent facts are ever going to affect them much but might as well state them.
Sarah, Facebook is agenda driven and not fact driven. I have nothing to do with it.
Ahh, Facecrook. What a cancer. Many people can use it for some really good things. But I feel that is maybe only 10% of its content. Other than that, Facecrook is really great at facilitating hate and a general overall decline in intelligence. It is the premier platform for scumbags.
It is ridiculous that it is legal for any government to use Facecrook. That certainly should be illegal.
I really respect your efforts and attitude, but I’d like to offer some feedback if I may.
Regarding your comments to the Atlanta Journal Constitution – you are certainly right that there are some people “who will always be a threat to society and need to be monitored closely” but I feel like you framed it in a way that implies Registries could help with that, instead of saying that Registries have no business existing for any reason.
Similarly, you said, “we are working hard at floridaactioncommittee.org to reform the registry and …”. Really? Reform? There is no reform. Obviously F.A.C. can have whatever agenda they like, and you as well, but I want no part of reform. I intend to destroy. If not the Registries, then anything associated with it in any way. Scorched earth has been working well for me personally. I’ll continue as long as the Registries exist.
A lawsuit should be mounted against the state that created the Registry since it was what made it possible for Fairbanks to target his victim for murder.
I grew up as a kid in the Pentecostal Church. I came to know God at a young age. As I grew older I came to thinking I knew it all and no longer needed God or Christianity. Throughout my experiences in the Navy…and I had some…I did not realize that God was there for me trying to get me back on a good path in life. I was blessed and gave myself all the credit. I had a wonderful wife, great kids, and a beautiful home. Then, I suppose, God had had enough of my arrogance and showed me just how out of control I was and could be. He took my wife ‘home’ and devastated me. For four years I ‘cried in my beer’, tried to show I could survive on my own, and then let satan and passion get the best of me. I almost destroyed my family and my future. However, God had other plans. It was while I was incarcerated that I saw a whole other side of life. I was there with men who had failed in one way or another with their lives, but who I learned were good men nonetheless. My Bible came out again after many years and we taught each other about the forgiveness and plans God had for each of us. I came to know the peace that I had once known as a kid. On my knees I asked for forgiveness and got up and started life all over again. Our prayer circle became so large that we were asked to divide it in two. I am proud of my past positive achievements but I know I have future achievements yet to be attained. I wake up every morning looking forward to the day…and I’m not disappointed. I am surrounded by Christian friends and I can see how my past challenges have prepared me for the future. My family, my home, and my future has been restored. I can truly feel compassion for those who at one time I could have cared less about. What a fellowship of dedicated individuals FAC is! I was educated, now I get the opportunity to help educate others. Like they say…”If God is your co-pilot, then you are in the wrong seat”.
Reading reminded me of Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
I have said many times that God forgives us in an instant when we come to Him in sincerity and pure of heart. Man not so much. Some it takes a while and some never forgive us and take that un-forgiveness to their graves
Have you all tried not fucking children? Maybe that’s a good way to not be targeted? You fuck a kid, you get your ticket punched. End of story. Fucking fucks.
You do realize that the registry is filled with people who didn’t molest anybody, right? Children themselves are on the registry (see: https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/05/01/raised-registry/irreparable-harm-placing-children-sex-offender-registries-us)
how are slot the chomos quotes allowed on the site i thought they had to be approved by FAC before being posted. The man is calling for RSO’s to be killed how does that pass your test?
If there’s no credible threat to an identifiable individual, sometimes it’s good to let these through. It’s an opportunity to educate someone who is ignorant of the issues and encourages dialogue on a topic that not everybody agrees with.
Believe me, if there was a direct threat against anybody or the comments got out of hand we wouldn’t let them through and the person’s IP address (which we log) would be forwarded to law enforcement and his ISP immediately.
There are A BUNCH of really disturbing comments from vigilantes that get filtered out, but in this case, it was on-topic with what we’re discussing in the post.
It helps us to understand just what level of ignorance we are dealing with.
I have to agree with FAC there is no threat directly against any person even haters have a voice in the public square. I don’t always agree with FAC but sometimes it is good to open dialog and educate people.
“we make peace with our enemies,not our friends” Tyrion Lannister Game Of Thrones
When you talk about the “opportunity to educate” ’someone like this, I am reminded of the old joke about the singing pig.
It’s not an opportunity to educate the vigilante, necessarily, but an opportunity to educate others who may have stumbled upon this forum and are still forming their views (such as whether they sympathize more with vigilantes or registrant families).
No hope
It is ONE sided
We cannot go on facebook, nextdoor or any social media where we are attacked, threatened and conspired against. But the vigilantes can come on here and harass us even though the F.A.C rules state
Comment Policy
PLEASE READ: Comments not adhering to this policy will be removed.
Be patient. All comments are moderated before they are published. This takes time.
Stay on topic. We welcome all opinions and encourage free discussion.
Be respectful. Do not attack, abuse, or threaten.
HOW IS THAT comment being respectful? Have we not been abused enough by the general public without our “Safe Haven” being breached as well? I am no whimp but other than my church, this is my only other safe place. So now they can bad mouth us sites we cannot access AND ones that are for those trying to work together towards a goal, no be attacked, even if just verbally.
Cherokeejack, I look at their post from a different perspective. It lets us see just how ignorant the ‘enemy’ is. A whole section in the Orlando Sentinel ‘Letters to the Editor’ today was dedicated to a letter, and responses, I wrote on wearing a mask. The editor let me have the last word. I loved it. It gives us a good example of the agenda that the ‘mask terrorist’ are trying to confine the public with…don’t wear a mask, don’t come in the store. My position is if one is afraid to come in the store where people with no masks are, then stay home. Their fear should not control my freedom. We can see an equivalence with the registry.
Most people on the registry have never done this horrid thing that is in your mind.
Slot you prove our case beautifully on why the Registry should not be public to morons like you.
Go on make those statements…be the straw that breaks the Registry’s back.
Hey Hey, easy there, Chomo!
The way you are sounding, you are either going to be the next one to go to prison, or you are gonna end up in a mental hospital.
Listen to some facts, and calm down for a sec, ok?
According to a report by Human Rights Watch (The link is in Sandy’s posted reply) :
“The overlapping systems of sex offender registration, community notification, and residency restrictions were initially designed to help police monitor the “usual suspects”; in other words, to capture the names and addresses of previously convicted adult sex offenders on a list, which could be referred to whenever a new offense was committed. In theory, this was a well-intentioned method to protect children and communities from further instances of sexual assault.
In reality, however, this policy was based on a misconception: that those found guilty of a sex offense are likely to commit new sex offenses. Available research indicates that sex offenders, and particularly people who commit sex offenses as children, are among the least likely to reoffend.”
Dude, I went through 15 years (continuously) of therapy. It sounds like you could use some, ok?
Too bad Fairbanks didn’t get any help. He ended up murdering someone in cold blood. I bet he’s sitting there right now with some MAJOR regrets.
Think about it, ok?
Like cockroaches all the Haters coming out of the dark looking for crumbs leftover 🙂
Slot, I can tell by the language that you use that you have all the intelligence of a wet mop…not to insult wet mops. Your knowledge of the subject would not equal the knowledge of a piss ant!!
Slot maybe you should do your research and you’d realize most people on the registry didn’t rape or molest kids you can be put on the registry for urinating in public it’s always easy to judge isn’t it? But we all make mistakes as simple as clocking on the wrong thing online that someone else sent us or as simple as teens sending dirty images and videos to one another sexting it is but it also lands you on the registry and I don’t believe that someone who made a mistake and serves his time in prison should be publicly shamed for his whole life and risk being killed because of a mistake he made many years ago and has changed his life for the better we all deserve a chance and we all can change in life no one should be judged forever or lose their life because someone just wants to have an excuse to kill, they are more of a danger to society it was premeditated.
Gina, good response. I could not have been so kind.
Hey, I have an idea. And I am 100% serious here. Okay, here it is: Hopefully this murdering turd Fairbanks will get life in prison rather than the death penalty. (If he does get the death penalty, maybe his useless appeals will drag on and on for decades while he is locked down 24-7 except for 1 hour a week in the chain-link recreation cage. SMILE)
So anyway, we should all take turns writing to him over the years. We could send him particularly appetizing photographs of big juicy steak dinners with ice cold frothing mugs of beer – mmmmm mmmm gooood!
And we could also send him pictures of grassy verdant meadows with wildflowers in the springtime and white sugar sand beaches with – dare I say it? Pretty girls in bikinis that he’ll never have again – (I hope he likes hotdogs. I seems to recall that they were always giving us hotdogs in prison.)
And we can tell the turd boy how much we all miss him and wish he could be here 🙂
You know, nice letters that he’ll appreciate!
I know I will.
Since ‘He’ is detained and probably not going anywhere….
…..’In those Bastions of Incarceration, There are Brooms that sweep the floors…A Broom has two Ends…One End Sweeps the Floor and the Other End, Well, ‘That Handle of the Stick’ is reserved for Special People Like this Character and Epstein!’
Update 5/21/20, James Fairbanks was charged with 1st Degree Murder and use of deadly firearm to commit a felony.
He is held on NO BAIL.
In Nebraska, 1st Degree Murder comes with either a life sentence or a death sentence. Interestingly, the Nebraska legislature had voted to end the death penalty but the lynch mob types passed a ballot initiative to reinstate it. Now they may have unknowingly put this same guy they are now canonizing on death row.
Guess that will come out wring.
Fairbanks was denied bail. He’s not getting out.
Glad to hear that GoFundMe for Fairbanks has been taken down and no bail. It appears the only thing we can do about the Facebook page is simply report it as hate speech, but on my last check, the Facebook page has not been taken down. It makes Fairbanks look like a “victim”.
It also appears that there is no longer a way to email Facebook. They are too big to want to be bothered with individuals. So I will have a letter in the mail tomorrow to them at:
Facebook
1 Hacker Way
Menlo Park, CA 94205
FAC has a membership of approximately 2000 people who will be the ones victimized if Facebook does not take down this page. Facebook is encouraging people to become vigilantes if they do not take this page down.
A member of the Media Committee (not me) has sent an Op-Ed to the Washington Post and Orlando Sentinel concerning this matter. It would also help if some other people would contact Facebook, explaining why this page needs to be taken down. Just clicking on “report a policy violation” is probably not going to get Facebook to do anything. They need to hear from us why it is a dangerous page and likely to cause harm to other people.
Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram have taken down posts and groups of conservative opinions. If these leftist social media can suppress conservative freedom of speech (i.e. telling a liberal to “f*ck off”) as a “hate speech” then they damn sure better take down this group of hate mongers regardless of what their individual political beliefs are. Facebook needs a HUGE lawsuit. Period.
Just to make a note: The victim’s DAUGHTER is supportive of the victim’s MURDERER and doesn’t want him punished. That opens the door to justification of murdering EVERYONE on the registry.
Pedophile apologists get the rope, too.
No they don’t. Get a time machine if you want to see lynchings in America. And stay there.
Some body have his IP address traced then notify the sheriff office about cyber threats.
I read it as sarcastic and facetious, expressing a (dumb) popular view rather than his own view.
“Pedophile apologist”— is that even a thing?
The latest —
So far, GoFundMe has removed every fundraiser for James Fairbanks up to this point. I’m sure more will pop up though, so please keep reporting, and if you can get into GoFundMe support (not easy to do) then be sure to pressure them to remove future vigilante fundraisers.
The vigilante group has set up two new fundraisers (I changed the http to hXXP in the links so they won’t automatically turn on so it won’t be linked to this page)
Venmo hXXps://venmo.com/code?user_id=3013598599184384314
Paypal hXXps://www.paypal.me/SupportFairbanks
I have reported the PayPal account as a scam but I can find no info on how to report a Venmo account.
Those of you that have stepped up and have spoken out against this heinous murder, I commend you. Please keep the pressure on!
This is great news, Derek.
Please keep sharing updates so we can see the progress of everyone’s efforts.
Please send us a message through our contact form, email us at [email protected], or chat with us in our mobile app
When o when is there a lawsuit petitioning RSO’s lives are in danger and that we are public target? Now other ex con has to face this. How many is enough to prove that? This is ridiculous.
I hope that his family file suit against Facebook!
FB is a BIG LIE as Mark Z. stole the algorithmic language that is FB…he did this one night while ‘his partners’ were out on the town having fun in Cambridge, Mass…and then, he got the heavy-duty legal ammunition, and the rest is history…
I have met the scoundrel twice and HE is a self serving idiot!….just goes to show!…..
Stay Safe and Healthy!
The Media Committee is starting to work on this. I hope some other FAC members will also be writing letters or making some of the above contacts. It can really make a difference when it is not just one or two people voicing opposition.
“quia oculo ad oculum” … be prepared or be a victim. We have talked about threats to us and our families before and this case is but another senseless and preventable loss of life. These people always seem to select the elderly as their victims because the murders are cowards and choose those who are least able to defend themselves.
To remind myself to maintain a mindset that will keep me and my family safe, I have the words “No Quarter No Mercy” on the wall of my garage. Hopefully, all of you will adopt the same mindset as this will be what protects you and your family, not law enforcement. Do whatever it takes to win the encounter should one of these cowards target you, the legal consequences you can address later as you will survive and hopefully the vigilante will not. Stay alert, stay safe and be prepared.
Legal consequences? Pretty sure there are lawful ways to defend ourselves against homicidal assailants and that every murder victim we’ve read about here did what they could to avoid dying.
Sentinel,
Please replace “vigilante” with “criminal” in your prior post, and it would be factually spot on. Anyone who targets a law-abiding individual or family doesn’t deserve to be honored a moniker such as a vigilante.
How about we replace it with “terrorist?” After all, the general definition of terrorist is someone who uses violence to promote some political objective, right?
First, Trump will never pardon him that is a joke but again i say to all of my fellow RSO’s watch your back at every turn. If your allowed to carry a weapon of some sort legally, then do so. I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
If the Supreme Court cannot see how dangerous a registry is then why should anyone else. Stay vigilant my friends.
Just a side note that’s why they take away our guns and so on at sentencing so that we are allowed to be picked off one by one. Who if not RSO’s need to protect themselves more than anyone. Luckily not all of us lose our right to bear arms.
Apparently, Trump has no authority to pardon a State crime – only a federal crime. Maybe the Nebraska Governor has that power? I would think so. I hope he doesn’t.
Fairbanks is a turd, and I hope he gets life in prison so that he’ll have to suffer for his premeditated murder. (Smile)
Yeah, I know that revenge and mercilessness are just plain wrong, but just this once I’ll let myself SMILE!!! (I’m picturing a certain turd in prison til he dies. I hope he lives for long long time! Maybe I’ll send him a nice letter – Haha!!)
Ok. I contacted Douglas County prosecutor, and Facebook’s legal department. I also contacted the nebraska Legislation’s Ombudsman. I contacted Change.org. I couldn’t reach Gofundme.
Facebook, gofundme and change make it very hard to cantact anyone (especially if you are not a member – facebook).
I also contacted nebraskansunafraid and expressed my solidarity.
Please take the time and follow the instructions in Derek Logue’s post as well as you can.
It is critical that we speak up at this time!
I read the article. The article goes a long way in setting up Mr. Fairbanks insanity defense with comments from the ex-wife psychiatrist and recent trips to see one.
From Wikipedia, “The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic or persistent psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act.” In other words, he just could not help himself.
From an opinion from the Nebraska Supreme Court “Cite as 303 Neb. 729” we get the following, “The insanity defense requires proof that (1) the defendant had a mental disease or defect at the time of the crime and (2) the defendant did not know or understand the nature and consequences of his or her actions or that he or she did not know the difference between right and wrong.” Mr. Fairbanks knew exactly what he was doing and He knew it was wrong.
Due to (2), insanity defense won’t be possible here.
Correct. The “uncontrollable urge” defense was pretty much eliminated from the law across the United States after the attempted assassination of President Reagan by John Hinckley.
Sent this to the DCAO:
I understand there is a lot of public discourse about this case, and even some misguided public sympathy for the defendant. In the interest of public safety, however, and as a member of the community, I urge the Douglas County Attorney’s Office to withhold bail from this individual.
Mr. Fairbanks on his own accord has confessed to this killing, which makes those of us in the community feel unsafe should he be free on bail. With nothing to lose, being free could likely result in him committing more despicable crimes such as the one to which he has confessed. Please don’t afford him that opportunity.
James
ALSO, let us hope that the victim’s death was not in vain. Not making light of what happened to him but some good could come out of it maybe, shedding some credibility to the harm the registry brings to not just us but our families as well.
This was NOT the first person ever killed or even beaten for being on the registry. I had a guy who lived next door to me who was applying for a federal law enforcement job. After he got it, he went and got copies of my ENTIRE criminal record, NOT redacted and hung it on every neighbors door.
When I complained, law enforcement and the judge DID NOTHING about it. It even exposed the alleged victim’s name and address as well.
When I got released finally from probation, I bought a shredder and got rid of all my case files other than the ruling granting me relief from probation. That was one of the best days in my life along with the day I got released from the D.O.C. The first thing I did that day was stop and get a steak on the way home. Parents paid for it LOL
I just read the article posted above,and they seem to paint the shooter as crazy, violent, and irresponsible. They even go so far as to mention the injunctions his now ex wife has against him, trips to a psychiatrist, and the fact he filed bankruptcy. But in spite of all that, the most damning thing is the quote from the victims own daughter, she basically says she’s sorry about her dad, but the shooter did everyone a favor(I don’t remember her exact words, but it basically comes to that),and that’s what everyone reading that article is going to cling to. In all honestly, I’m surprised the paper even bothered listing the victims past offenses, considering they were 26 and 13 years ago respectively. But then again, maybe I’m not that surprised….
#1 Most of us are not allowed on facebook so that is a non starter
#2, so the guy wanted to be a hero. Not sure if he has a family but if justice is served and he gets sentenced for murder, he won’t be doing his own family any favors by leaving them to fend for themselves.
3 Although just an opinion from being in law enforcement, but a HUGE amount of law enforcement is going to feel sympathy for this killer, even if they do not claim so in public.
I use to watch in horror as fellow officers would stand around and laugh as a drug dealer lay dying. One of many reasons I left the department. Humans were only humans if they were perfect like them? Wonder what skeletons they had in their closets.
Kind of off subject but reminds me of an officer a few years ago that was hurt so badly during a traffic stop he was unable to work again. After some time not being able to come back to work, they tried to fire him with no further benefits. So they throw their own officers under the bus, another reason I left. You are one of them, until you are not. They act no better than a bunch of jealous high school cheerleaders.
Skeletons in their closet i couldn’t have said it better. How many times have we seen an article of an officer who is high an mighty when it comes to keeping RSO’s down get arrested for doing something that gets him on the registry. Some go as far as committing suicide because they know what they put us through and are not strong enough to face it themselves
You should write a book and expose all of this stuff. Just a thought.
Maestro
Not sure if your comment about writing a book was about me or not. If it was, I already have enough heat on me as it is. While I was in prison I wrote an entire movie. I sent it in and never heard anything. When I got released on probation, the entire movie ALONG with the SAME title and everything was shown in the theaters and credited to a famous actor. NO mention of me anywhere even though I still have my copyright paperwork.
I tried to hire a lawyer and showed her proof. She said I had a great case but, She would need $50,000.00 to start and $10,000.00 a month for the next 5 years to fight against the untold millions the famous actor could spend counter suing me.
In the end I decided I did not want the undo exposure about my past and just let it go. If It had not been for my past, I would have fought it.
Not going to name the movie nor the actor because my name will come up in the initial complaint against the actor and am choosing to remain behind the scenes for my families sake who are also somewhat well known. I should not have even said this much.
Writing a book isn’t going to happen even though writing and literature was my strong genre in college. I once wrote a book about my life similar to A million little things but again, decided not to expose myself and my family, MONEY is not everything. So I put my life’s work through a shredder, cried a lot, then felt 1000 times better. Both from the crying but mostly from shredding my past and giving it to God.
You could always write and publish under an assumed “artistic” name like many do and have done. Stephen King did it.
CherokeeJack,
Letting go of past dreams is not a bad thing. God has much better things to offer us than what we could possible scrape together here for ourselves. See Matthew 13:45 and you’ll understand what I mean.
Since you wrote about Mathew 13:45 I am going to share something with you all. I have a young son who is in jail now awaiting trial. My children have been my life. He is my youngest and also the most gentle spirited person one could ever meet in this world. He helped everyone. Our lives have been shattered …to the point where its almost hard to breathe because its terrifying to us what we are learning about the prisons and the registry and he is so young…and his life seems as every step will be a struggle. The only hope and peace we have gotten is from God and we are so thankful for his love. It has kept us breathing… When sometimes the next breathe seems hard.
I was really not sure a few months ago if I was going to have a breakdown ( I have always been that strong person everyone knows)… But my son had a public defender who was awful and we needed desperately to hire an attorney. I had no money and there was no way to get the down payment. That’s when I actually started losing it . ….
Now here’s what happened at that exact moment…
My son , who is in jail, suddenly go overwhelmingly tired and laid down. He fell asleep and had a dream. In this dream he found himself working on building a house with another man. He said, ” Mom, this house had all this light just shining so brightly on the inside of it when we were building it. It was so strange”. Then he said that in the dream he fell asleep…and when he woke up the house was finished and it was just beautiful. He said that the light inside that house was so bright that it was shining out on all the trees outside very very brightly and that it was truly amazing. Then he woke up from the dream. He said it was all so odd because he never remembers his dreams but that this one was so real to him that he felt it.
At the same moment that he had that dream I also received the down payment for his attorney and got a job.
To me, this dream was a God dream …a gift from God for my son and myself. It showed me that the house being built was my son and the light shining in that house was the light of God within my son shining out. The beautiful house being finished with the light inside shining out on the trees was my son with God shining out of him onto the trees which to me are people. The words he remembered from the dream are these… ” It is finished”
This has given us both much hope and has reminded us to remember to not lose our faith. You reminded me of all this with Matthew and I needed to remember that again tonight. Thank You
ANN,
THE MOST important thing for your Son is NO matter what, let him know you love him and are there for him. My Parents did not give up on me and that gave me hope and a goal. Most of the people I met in prison who felt they had no reason to live were the ones who either had no family or whose families turned their backs on them.
I adopted a LOT of guys in prison both young and old. I had little brothers, papas and everywhere in between when I was there. Encouraging them took my mind off my own doubts and fears. I wrote to a few when I got released but over time they stopped writing for one reason or another but I always was there for them as a brother.
Even though I am Pentecostal, I attended every church service I could go to from Baptist to Holy roller just to share with brothers and get away from the creeps if only for an hour or two. I was a Christian before my arrest and had my parents send me my Baptism Bible. When I got released the guards asked why I was taking my Bible as most dumped them in the trash when they got released. I said faith in God is not a switch you can turn on and off when it is convenient .
During this pandemic, none of the groups, religious or not were allowed to enter the prisons and I am sure that took a toll on many of the inmates.
Prayers for your son. I do not know his name but God does so He will know who I mean when I pray for him.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Jack
Ann, Jack is right on. I agree with him totally. I still write guys I met while incarcerated…they too are no longer incarcerated. My faith got me through that trial and gets me going everyday. I am thankful that my parents gave me a Christian background and were my supporters throughout my ordeal. It’s only through such times that you find out who your true friends are. I am this day blessed with my children and my many friends…Mom and Dad have gone to their reward.