Looks like I struck historical research gold today. The Oklahoma Historical Society had and article about Sam Sixkiller that included information about his personal life. Maybe now I’ll find out his thoughts regarding the problem of alcohol on the reservation where he lived. I imagine his views on the subject played an important role in how he approached his job as a law enforcement officer. Sam has quickly become a hero of mine. He was another one of those police officers of old who stood up for what was right in spite of the cost; and he backed up his convictions with a gun. I hope I’m able to find some of his great, great grandchildren to talk to. That could add another rich layer to his story. I booked more signings through the Midwest today. May and June is going to be very busy – a different book store everyday from Labor Day weekend through the second week of June. Hope Thunder Over the Prairie will be well received. I spent a portion of my evening working on a Paper Mache piece for the kids in by Bible study class and it got me thinking?. How come when you mix water and flour together you get glue?and then you add eggs and sugar and you get cake? Where does the glue go? As always I end my day thinking and praying for my brother. What happened to him isn’t unique. Thousands of families, primarily in the foster care field, are subject to the same bullying tactics. I know how Sam Sixkiller would have handled the problem. Oh how I long for the days of the early west. And now, more of the last statement my brother will ever make. “On April 9, 2002, I was at a training class for my job. I was finishing up there for the day when I received a call from home. It was my ex-wife and the local officer got on the phone and told me that my step-daughter made accusations against me. She told the authorities I had been sexually abusing her. She told them the last time I had molested her was 30 days prior to this event. I told the investigators that that was a lie. I informed them that 30 days prior to this event her mother was home. My ex-wife had time off of work and we were inseparable. But I wasn’t feeling well during this time. I was having a lot of back pain then and went to the doctor on Monday, March 11. The doctor took an x-ray of my chest and found out I had a collapsed lung. He had a tube inserted into my chest and it remained there for 10 days. That information was verified by DFS. The DFS worker told my ex-wife and I that my step-daughter had major problems with my daughter from my first marriage. She told us that she thought my step-daughter was lying about everything. She told us that my step-daughter was jealous of her step-sister and believed her capable of doing anything to drive a wedge between my daughter and I. She didn’t want my daughter from my first marriage to be happy.”

One of the three writing projects I’m working on right now is about the life of Sam Sixkiller. The extensive research into the slain lawman’s past began today. I’ll have to make a trip to Oklahoma to find out what I need to know about his personal life. All I’ve got so far is the name of his wife. I’d like to know more about the man and not just what he did for a living. I’ve reached out to the University of Oklahoma for assistance. I think this is going to be an interesting quest. I like the research part of writing. I like investigating so much I’m in the process of getting my private investigator’s license. There are a lot of secrets to be uncovered not only about the historic figures I get to write about, but about some of the people who visited my site just today. People from public libraries in the Kansas City area, locations near Wells, Maine, and St. Louis are interested in my brother’s statement. That statement continues today?. “My ex-wife’s mother had a brain aneurism in 1996 and was in a coma for several months. My ex-wife spent most of her time with her mother at the hospital in Kansas City. I moved our family out of our small 2 ½ room home and into her mother’s home. The plan was to care for her mother once she returned home. I was with the kids most of the time and alone with them throughout the evening. All of the kids were in a single bedroom with two bunk-beds. I also drove back and forth not only to work but to the city to see my ex-wife and her mother. From my ex-wife’s mother’s home we moved to a house close to my grandparents. All of the kids were upstairs with the two oldest girls sharing a room. My two other children each had a room of their own. We got a computer shortly after we moved into the house and got internet service. We allowed the kids to use it and they each had their own email addresses. My step-daughter got into trouble numerous times for being on questionable sites. She had hundreds of contacts on her instant message account and people from all over the country, especially boys, were sending her pictures. My oldest daughter and step-daughter had trouble with each other because my daughter was popular, well-liked, and had more friends than my step-daughter. My ex-wife’s was jealous of my daughter. My daughter was kind to everyone and generous. My ex-wife’s daughter was mean to many people and made fun of classmates.” More tomorrow.

I’ve spent the better part of the day working on the promotions for the release of Thunder Over the Prairie. More press packets have to go out, interviews have to be scheduled, and advertising has to be booked. I’m excited about the launch of the material and want to do everything I can to make the book a success. It’s a gloomy, rainy day though. I feel old and unappealing. Word has gotten back to me that my life might be in danger because I’ve been speaking out for my brother, but I’m not persuaded to stop. Guilt is powerful and my brother’s suffering goes on and on. I won’t quit even if it costs me my life. I remember how it began?he cried. His sobs were deep and labored. My brother’s despondent sobbing was infectious. I cried with him. He tried to speak, but all I could make out that he was saying was “please help me.” His step-daughter had accused him of molesting her. It was a despicable, life-altering claim she swore only happened whenever their were people around. Rick swore it never happened and the lie detector test bore that out. “I don’t belong here,” he wept. He was terrified and in shock. My brother was a police officer and worked on a special task force for the county Prosecuting Attorney’s office helping to track down child pornography users. The Prosecuting Attorney confirmed Rick’s position with the task force. Some of the images found on the work computer and family’s home computer were “indicative of child pornography.” Special investigators hired to review the material showed that the bulk of the images found were from a site called pedoland.com. Pedoland is a game site for children. Children take care of a computer pet. They feed and play with the puppy, kitten, or whatever baby animal they choose. My nieces used my brother’s computer often to play with their computer pets. The attorney I hired to represent Rick told me if the case went to trial that the jury would be shown a series of pornographic images and that the attorney representing Rick’s step-daughter would point to my brother and say he viewed these images and that he molested his step-child. I was told that was all that needed to be done to assure a conviction. No testimony. No opportunity for my brother to tell his side. I was told that a jury would convict based solely on those two things. The conviction rate was 97% no matter what Rick said in his defense. I was told the government wanted to make an example of Rick and give him life in prison. I was told to take a deal for 20 years. My brother was too distraught to make any decision. He could barely speak. I told him what he should do. I denied him his chance to tell his side of the story. I hope to rectify what I’ve done in the book The Deadliest Lie. I hope to give him a voice. While he could still speak clearly and write, this is in part, what he stated. “First of all I have never touched any of my children in a sexual manner. I have as a parent changed diapers, taken care of diaper rashes and such, just as any parent would. Sometime in 1994, when my step-daughter made her first accusation, we were living in a 2 ½ bedroom home. The girls shared the big room and my son was in a closet, converted to a room for him. My brother was living with us for awhile and we had his two daughters with us. Five girls slept on a set of bunk beds with two girls on top and three on the bottom. When my step-daughter made the accusation, not only did my wife and I discuss the matter, but we determined after talking that my step-daughter was really mad at her mother for working in the evenings. We also had taken my step-daughter to Children’s Mercy Hospital for a SAFE Exam. They told us she showed no signs of sexual assault.” I will continue with Rick’s statement over the next few weeks. I’ll die before I’m quiet about this injustice.

Actor Peter Sherayako (he played Texas Jack in Tombstone) graciously agreed to write the foreword for the Buffalo Bill book. Peter has portrayed Cody in a number of stage plays and he’s very good. He knows everything about Cody and has caught a few mistakes I’ve made in the manuscript. Which is good! There’s nothing worse than having a book out there riddled with inaccuracies. Readers aren’t shy about letting you know what mistakes you’ve made. They often post the misspellings, mistakes in dates, and/or photo captions on Amazon.com.. The whole world knows you screwed up. Well, maybe not the whole world, but definitely the three people who actually read the reviews on Amazon. I received an email about my high school reunion in September in Arizona. I’m a little nervous about it. I feel like I only have seven months to make something of myself. I’ll have to get new glasses before the event. The ones I have now make me look like Bea Arthur as a welder. Next week I’ll be posting sections of the book The Deadliest Accusation on the site. I can’t say I’m going to be as excited about the release of that book as I am about Thunder Over the Prairie. I want my brother’s life to have counted for something and maybe that title will help in the long run.

At long last the Buffalo Bill book is complete and is off to the editor. The working title is The Many Loves of Buffalo Bill Cody. After spending so much time researching the showman I can see why so many women were drawn to him. I suspect he was actually more dazzling than history gives him credit for being. I’m anxious to tackle my next subjects. I’ll not only be writing about Elizabeth Custer, but about the most notorious bad men and women in the Midwest in the 1800s. I’ll be writing about Kate Bender – the first serial killer in the U.S.. She lived in Kansas and is credited with cutting the throats of 20 people – one of whom was an eight year old girl. I’ll start the initial research about Kate and others like her in June. I received a very nice email from one of the librarians at UCLA. She has read a few of the titles and noted how well she liked them. Her note was very encouraging. I added some more signings to the roster for May. I’ll be at the Reader’s Corner Book Store in Rolla, Missouri on the 28th of the month. I’m looking forward to that visit. I have yet to book a rental car, airline ticket, or hotel room for the Midwest trip. I’m afraid if I don’t do that soon I’ll have to sleep outdoors and I hate the outdoors. To me the outdoors is where the car is. I’d like to lose weight before the trip too. I don’t think I’ll be successful at that. I belong to a gym, but apparently you have to actually show up in order to get into shape. That’s just as well. Gyms are filled with skinny people anyway. I’m not crazy about skinny women, because no matter how thin, they’re still always on a diet. I have a friend that’s 5’9 and 102 pounds and she’s been on Phen Fen, Metabolife, and lives on Slim Fast. Used to be she’d ask, “Do I look fat in this?” Now she says, “Can you still see me? Am I still visible to the naked eye?”

I get lots of visits everyday to the website. Most of the vistis are from schools and colleges. That’s encouraging because I want to be able to share the work with educational departments. Over the last few months the most frequent visitor to the site seens to be from the area of Reston, Virginia. I received no personal email from this person so I have no way of letting them know that I know they did a google search on my brother. I just want to let them know that you spelled his name wrong. It’s Rick E-n-s-s and not Enns.

The book I’m in the process of writing entitled The Deadliest Lie is set for release in late 2011. One of the chapters includes the confession of a young woman who lied about being molested. She no doubt required 30 pieces of silver prior to making the tragic accusation that ultimately took a life. This happens all the time. “Today, January 21, I told mom and dad the statements against dad were false. I had told them Vikki had wanted out of the house and thought mom and dad would turn her down. So we came up with this crazy scheme. I did not know the chances and what would happen or how big it would get. I just thought Vikki would go back east and it would be ok. She had promised to return for visits and keep in contact with me. She has lied again. Like I said, I did not know the consequences of this situation. That day I drew the picture and Mrs. Williams came and got me I told her no, dad did nothing. But Carman D. said he did. So I got scared and knew they would question Vikki and she would go with it. So I told them dad was out of the house for a long time. I was glad when he moved back in. I was permitted to go to counseling. This has been going on for a year. The reason I did not tell the truth was because I was scared they would take me away as I would be sent to a juvenile thing. Also I figured if I went with it Vikki would keep her promise. She has not. So today I told them. I told them everything?. Vikki has lied so many times and I believe she will accuse me of telling lies when asked about it?.”

I have such good intentions with this daily journal. I want to share the rewards and trials of writing non-fiction as well as information about the people and places I visit on various signings. I touch on a that bit at times, but I stray far from the topic as a norm. Today will be no exception. I’m putting the finishing touches on the Buffalo Bill Cody book and should be focused solely on meeting the deadline for the material, but local events remind me of my brother and I can’t concentrate. A Nevada County school is under fire because a set of parents claim a male counselor gave their 12-year-old daughter a pregnancy test. As it turns out, it’s not true. The girl did take a pregnancy test, but the school had nothing to do with it. Her parents found the used test at their home. The kid panicked and blamed the counselor. Before this man had a chance to defend himself or speak out, news crews from Sacramento had swarmed his office and house. They broadcast his name numerous times, insinuating that he was a dangerous predator. One lie ruined this man and his family’s life. I can identify with his plight. The church I attend is now taking precautions against such accusations. I was informed last night that everyone at the church who works with children or youth are now subject to a criminal background. I agree in part. I know there are bad people out there. It’s just sad that things have come this far. Should my brother live he’ll have to register as a sex offender. Should he live he’ll stay with me so I can take care of him. I will be discriminated against based on the past of the person (who was wrongfully accused) I am associated. My family and I have already been subject to that more times than I can count. It’s been a nightmare. I guess that’s what my brother’s ex-wife and step-daughter hoped would happen. I wish my brother had never met them and that it could go back to when it was just him and his daughter Nickol. I wish I could see her again. (She was the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen in my life.) I want to wish for compassion all the way around, but I wish for justice. There’s a difference between compassion and justice. Compassion sees a child in a basket floating down the river, rescues them and raises them as their own. Justice seeks out the person who put the child in the basket to find out why they did such a thing. I want to know why. Maybe if I knew why I could think of nothing but the writing project on my desk and never ask for another deadline extension again.

The speaking engagement I had this past Saturday was a real joy. The audience was very receptive. I enjoy talking about women of the Old West and how they helped tamed the wild frontier. My friend, Cynthia Martin has sat through the same lecture more than a half a dozen times. At each event she still looks interested in what I’m saying. She’s a great friend and a good sport. An old friend will help you move. A good friend, like Cynthia, will sit through the same lecture you give over and over again and never complain. I realize I’ve been out and about too much with the books because I’m eating every meal at McDonalds. I went into a McDonald’s yesterday and said, “I’d like some fries.” The girl at the counter asked, “Would you like some fries with that?” McDonalds is such a routine with me I didn’t even realize what was said until after I got the double-fries order. The invitations for the launch of Thunder Over the Prairie will soon be in the process of being printed. The book will be in stores by mid May. I’ve had some people I invited to the launch already decline. Dodge City, Kansas is a bit far for most people to go to celebrate the publication. They’ve been kind about and told me they’d happily wait for the book to be made into a TV movie. It’s interesting, if you read a lot of books, you’re considered well-read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you’re not considered well-viewed.

It’s official! The next project I’ll be working on is a biography of Elizabeth Custer. I spoke with my editor this morning and was given the green light. I’ve been fascinated with the Widow Custer for years. I visited the scene of Custer’s Last Stand in 2007 and wanted to write about how Elizabeth must have felt looking over the same plot of land so many years ago. And here I thought the last book I’d be contracted to write for a major publishing house was the Cody book – I’m grateful. Next month is National Women’s Heritage Month. I have a lot of signings scheduled around the state in March. I’m going to try and visit my brother and my nephew soon. Corey will know me, but Rick?. He suffered quite extensive trauma in the beating and rape at Beaumont. It’s heartbreaking. I hurt for my parents. My mom will probably never fully recover from all that happened either. She seldom if ever leaves her house. The actions of two disturbed creatures haunt our lives. The real guilty parties are still out there waiting to destroy again. I sincerely hope it’s true that what goes around comes around. The lies will be found out and sooner than they know. Elizabeth Custer believed the same thing. And she was ultimately proved right. God is good no matter what!