THE ASSAULTED--A Novel

Send us Fan MailNovember 7, 2018...This is not a day of triumph, a day of success, a day of elation. there is only a feeling of what if...What if something had been done about the increase of mass shootings? On a local, State, or Federal level?  need What if there had been no AR-15s to purchase, no AK-47s to buy? What if there had been no need for a semi-automatic pistol? What if there had been no need for a website where mass shooting victims would go to grieve, to wonder out loud why nothing is being done. If that had been true, there would have been no need for the events of November 7th......"Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailPart II. The training. The preparation, the meetings, the workouts, the coordination, The Plan reviewed from all angles. The Teams, The camaraderie. The friendship. The love. Culminating on November 6th; the best day at the farmhouse."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailThe preparations begin. The Plan over the next couple of months slowly turns from talk and notes into cold steel reality. A bus; 8 vehicles; expanded farmhouse, plus a NEW farmhouse on the property. Furniture, exercise equipment, $1,800 worth of tools for David Hetrick to keep the bus and autos purring. And...THE ARMORY. AK-47s, AR-15s, Barrettas. All with silencers and thousands of rounds of ammunitions. The last arrivals: The 30 Assaulted. Part 2 will cover the training........."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailThe best chapter. The toughest chapter. The most gut wrenching chapter. Told through the eyes of a children's entertainer, a slight man from the UK who loves everyone, children especially. He knew them; he's entertained them; he loved them. And they loved him too. A NOTE: I cry while reading this chapter; I have not removed it. Nor will I. Ever."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailJoe and Deanna. Joe Fratelli and Deanna Satriale. This is a love story; a love story that began with "the thunderbolt," Il Fulmine, when they were 13. It's also a story about a mutual friend they made when they decided on a second career, a woman described as a "sister from another mother." And...a story of tragedy, and how it affected all 3."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailCyndy White and Larry Olson loved small town life. They'd gone to college and married in Eugene, Oregon; but it had been too "big city" for them. So, they'd moved back to Roseburg, a town of about 20,000. So what in the world would make them want to tear up roots, travel to the East Coast, live in the decidedly un-small townish environment of Washington, DC, and work for the NRA?  What indeed......."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailDetective John Dulles Foster was a respected detective within the Rancho Tehama Sheriff's Dept, treating both good AND bad guys with respect. There was just one guy in his years on the force that bothered him, unsettled him, put him on edge. Unfortunately, it ended up being one guy too many........."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan Mail"Chuy" Hernandez was surrounded by the restaurant business. Both his maternal and paternal grandfather owned and operated one of the most popular Mexican places in the city; his parents worked for them as accountants. Then little Chuy was taught how to cook in the kitchen. Years later he owned a fleet of Mexican food trucks, helping his Dad by "volunteering" to provide food at various Democratic political events...Like a "Congress on Your Corner" event for newly re-elected Congresswoman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords......."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailLia Copeland was named after comedy royalty; she ended up pursuing the same dream as her namesake. Very successful, with sold out venues and an HBO special under her belt, she travelled all over the country. The last place she was ever to perform was a club in Aurora, Colorado, where she was playing second fiddle to a Batman premiere. After her second show, she persuaded a couple to take her to the midnight showing......."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailSome people are lucky; they get a do-over. They are able to make themselves into a better version of what they had been. So was the case with Henry Oliver Johnson. After a traumatic 40th birthday alone, Henry turned his life around, becoming a better employee, a better friend, a better man. And, because of this re-birth, setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to tragedy for his fellow co-workers."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailBob Williams was a landscaper; residential, commercial, large or small didn't matter. Bob loved the work, especially the creating to fulfill the wishes of his clients, with his favorite clients being The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. From the president to the priest, Bob loved working there, and enjoying what he had created when his work was complete. Peaceful. Serene. Until one Sunday, it wasn't."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailThey had been friends for 38 years; both nurses, both celebrating their 40th birthdays in the ONLY place to celebrate, Las Vegas. After a big steak dinner, they headed to a country festival, 2 comped tickets in hand...and walked into a massacre."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailA relatively wealthy man, by himself walks into a Las Vegas resort with TWENTY ONE pieces of luggage. That luggage contained TWENTY Four weapons, including FIFTEEN AR-15s, with bump stocks, and proceeds to turn a music festival into a war zone in TEN minutes. There are two stories; the first is about a musically talented couple and their professional wrestling twin sons. "Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailJames John Smith, Jr. was a dull guy, with dull parents, a dull life, and a stress free job dealing with noone but his computers. Change was something he neither liked nor cared for. But...Change was coming, and with that an event that would change his life forever......"Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailDarlene Richardson WAS a huge success in what had traditionally been a "man's world;" beer salesman for the leading distributor in Hartford, Connecticut. She lived in her home town, Vernon, CT, right near her favorite restaurant, Rein's New York Style Deli. She was liked and respected by both management, her fellow employees, and clients. Life could not have been much better...Until management had to fire someone that Darlene had trained; someone who was carrying something other than his lunch in a red lunch pail."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailHoang Duc Lam had already lived several lifetimes: surviving a rickety boat while watching his family being swept overboard; having the good fortune of being taken in by a young Vietnamese couple who survived that same boat; discovering his love of cooking; opening a successful Manhattan Vietnamese fusion restaurant. But nothing prepared him for the ESL class he'd be attending with a Vietnamese girl who he'd helped into the food industry..."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailCarlos "Papi" Perez loved everyone, and everyone loved him. A 31 year veteran jockey,.  he'd spent 21 years of his career riding for a Racing Hall of Fame trainer. He'd made over $4 million in his career; he loved his apartment, and his neighbors. Then he met someone who didn't like him...And everything changed."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailA little insight on the book, it's creation, and some of the references sprinkled through the first 10 chapters. At the end of this review are thoughts on why this book was written, and what the central character is proposing (SPOILER ALERT-It's NOT the banning or removal of ALL guns!)The book will continue with Chapter 11--Fort Lauderdale Airport soon. "Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailDr. Elizabeth Blumfield had known happiness-academically, professionally, financially. She had also known tragedy-losing her parents during 9/11. But nothing would prepare her for what she was about to undergo, less than 5 minutes after deplaning from a successful business trip. Nothing."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailThe warning signs were there; the kid had complaints against him in 2016 and 2017. Yet he was deemed ready and able to buy an AR-15 and kill students at a high school with it. This is the story of a talented young woman drawn unwittingly into the killer's Circle of Hell because of her amazing ability, and her determination not to let that stop her. Next: The Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting"Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailAt the time the largest mass shooting in U.S. history; and who should be there but two very successful young men, celebrating their birthdays on the same day, with dreams of travelling the world. Those dreams are shattered; in its place a new family, a new purpose, and a chance to, if not right this hideous wrong, at least to doing something about it."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailSamuel Ronald Terrance. No school after 7. Numbers runner from 7-15. Impregnates 2 13 year old girls and kills his first 2 men at age 15. Contract killer, making millions by age 36. Convicted, sent to Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta for 20 years...Yet it's when he gets OUT that the story gets interesting! He'll meet someone who'll make him walk into "Mother Emmanuel," and send him on the path to being one of The Assaulted.NEXT WEEK: Pulse Nightclub, Orlando "Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailRemmy Ramirez was a very shy man, until he got behind the lens of a camera; then he was friendly, confident, brilliant. That all changed one morning at a training for City of San Bernardino employees, when a "Mutt and Jeff" husband/wife team came in with AR-15 automatic weapons....."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailGerry Peters was the son of THE broadcasting Power Couple in Washington, DC. He had brains, looks, and was progressing toward a summa cum laude degree in Journalism. At Virginia Tech. In 2007. Where Gerry found himself in the wrong classroom at the wrong moment."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailStacey McClure loved the U.S. Army; it was her dream to be an American soldier. The path she took was very different from most volunteers, including being one of the best markspersons in the country, as well as the best weapons instructor in the Army. Her life as a Staff Sergeant McClure was overturned on November 5, 2009, living with guilt (and pain) until Antioch10 and NavyYard14 entered her life. "Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailChapter 3 is about a man, born in Georgia, with a very special gift. He travels all over the South, finally ending up in a small Texas town, passing a beautiful little church. This chapter covers the man, the church, and the horrifying results of someone entering that church, just before services, with a semi-automatic rifle. It's also about how The Plan achieves it's first participant.Please listen to Chapters 1 and 2 before starting this chapter.  "Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailIn Chapter Two we meet Maxine Timmons, a brilliant CPA who rose from one of the worst neighborhoods in the country. She is wounded during the Naval Yard Shooting in 2013, discovers The Assaulted.com, and changes her life dramatically. She also meets up with Ray Wilson at a very unlikely location, with shocking and long term results.Because these two chapters are the foundation of the story, I've linked them together. Chapter Three will be by itself."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailRaymond J Wilson was happy. Wealthy, with a wonderful wife and beautiful home, he was living the American Dream. And then an AR-15 toting lunatic turned his happy life into a nightmare. Based on an actual mass shooting."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting

Send us Fan MailIn the beginning, there was Columbine; out of that immense tragedy came a website. Small at first, in honor of a murdered teacher, it grew until there were over 30,000 members; victims' families, wounded, friends, co-workers, anyone touched by the searing madness that is a mass shooting. How and why it grew is the story of this prologue."Somehow this has become routine! The reporting is routine, my response, here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charlestown. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."  President Obama, 10/01/2015, after Umpqua Community College shooting