MY FIGHT AGAINST THE CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES began on March 31, 1994. At 9:00 AM Pat Swanson from the LaSalle County Department of Children and Family Services and Sgt. Mike Crane of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department came knocking on our door. Knowing that they were responding to an allegation and that I had nothing to hide, I let them in, figuring that if I told them my side of the story, they would believe me and let me go. 

First, they take in my wife, my six year old daughter, and my three year old son to be interviewed for three hours at the local police department by Ms. Swanson and Sgt. Crane. After that, they returned and took me in for questioning. All the while, I began to think "should I request a lawyer, or should I wait for them to read me my Miranda Rights?"

Within about three to five minutes we arrived at the police interrogation room. Sgt. Crane was the first to speak, saying "do you know why you are here?" I said, "yes, I believe it is because of something related to my conduct with my daughter," to which he replied, "that's correct. While you are not under arrest, we need you to answer some questions regarding allegations made by your daughter about your conduct toward her." Having nothing to hide, I was always taught to tell the truth - even if you were indeed guilty, because the truth of a matter always had a way of finding you out.

But, before I could say anything, Sgt. Crane and Pat Swanson then proceeded to tell me how my daughter said that I put her hands down her underwear on her crotch and put my hands on her hands and started rubbing her hands up and down. They claim that she said that I told her that Mommy doesn't like it when I do this to her. They claim that when I do this to my daughter, she says "no," but I say "yes." She is claimed to have asked me why I do this to her, and I was to have told her that it was all a dream. I was to have later told her that it was all a dream and not to rub herself in public. I was supposed to have done this to her three times while she was in bed asleep.

I told them that my wife had informed me of our daughter's statement to the doctor, and that I was shocked that she could say such a thing as that. I told them that the only times I would go into her bedroom were either to listen to her bedtime prayers or to go in whenever she called for me if she had a bad dream.

They then asked me how my sexual life is with my wife and me. I should have told them that my sex life with my wife is none of your business, but as it would have added more fuel to the fire, I told them that it was not as I felt that it should be, only having it on the average of three times a month. They had asked me about my financial status, and I said that it also was not good, but that we were doing the best that we could with what we had.

Ms. Swanson also mentioned that for awhile my wife has wanted a third child, but that I said "no" (at this point, the kids were getting to be a handful, and that a third child could land me in a mental ward; besides, we could not financially afford a third child). It was at that point that I said that I felt the need for a psychiatrist. I told them that we all were close to qualifying for the Medical Card, and that I was intending to seek out the services of a psychiatrist that took the Medical Card.

Sgt. Crane then said, "But she said, 'Daddy did it.' Do you know who else she could have called 'Daddy'?" I then said, "I Am A Christian, and as God is my witness and my eternal Judge, I did not do this thing to her!" I reminded them about how my daughter lied about picking the flowers to them, my wife, and me; but it made no difference to them, saying, "Children never lie about sexual encounters they know nothing about" (I found out several months later that this is a dictum that they espouse). Ms. Swanson said, "Maybe we should take your daughter away and run some tests on her to find out why she would lie about this." I told her that our daughter is our concern. I reaffirmed my innocence to them.

Sgt. Crane then asked, "Can you sit here and look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn't do this and expect us to believe it?" I said yes. After 15 seconds of silence, Sgt. Crane said, "Well I don't buy it!" He then said, "Let me tell you what you did to your daughter!" He then said, "Because of your financial strain, marital strain, and infrequency of sex, you gave in to a moment of weakness, went into your daughter's bedroom while she was asleep, and sexually molested her!" Again, I called upon God as my witness to maintain my innocence, to which Sgt. Crane said, "We've got a jail full of Christians who've been convicted of sexual molestation who say they didn't do it!"

I then asked how I could get things back to normal. Ms. Swanson then said, "Admit to sexually molesting your daughter, go in for sex abuse counseling, and we'll return you home." I continued to tell them that no abuse occurred. Sgt. Crane then said, "I believe that you are a good father and want to be a good father. The way that you can help yourself is to take responsibility for your actions and tell us and your daughter, 'Yes, I did it, and I'm sorry for what I did.'" I told them that I had nothing to gain and everything to lose by lying to them (my position in reality was that I was telling them the truth, and that if I lied to them and said I did it, I would be lying to God). They said, "You're right, so tell us the truth and take responsibility for your actions." I asked, "How can I, when nothing happened?"

Sgt. Crane then said, "I have to go to the judge with this case. I can either go to him and say, 'Here is a father of a six year old daughter who made a mistake and sexually molested her and is willing to go in for treatment;' or I can say, 'Here is a father who is a sexual pervert who went into his six year old daughter's bedroom and sexually molested his daughter while she was asleep!' Now, which file do I take to the judge?" I continued to maintain my innocence.

At that point, Sgt. Crane stepped out of the Interrogation Room, and I just sat, looked directly at Ms. Swanson, and said nothing. She then said, "Don't play your staring games with me--you don't scare me!!!" I then looked away from her and stared at the wall behind her, saying nothing. She said, "You must think I'm a bitch!" I continued to say nothing.

Upon returning, Sgt. Crane asked what Ms. Swanson wanted to do with this case, and she said that she wanted to take this to the State's Attorney's office in Ottawa, Illinois and then to criminal court. She then said that I was a high risk case and that the kids could either be taken from me or that I could leave and go for sex abuse counseling. I told her that I would leave, but I would not go for sex abuse counseling, since nothing happened. She asked me where I would go, and I said that I had parents in Tennessee I could live with. That option was no good to her, since she was afraid that I would do the same down there; so I said I would stay with my younger sister.

Upon this, we exited the Police Department, and I used what change I had to call my sister. I called her number and spoke with Jan who said she wasn't at home. I then told Ms. Swanson and Sgt. Crane that I was out of money and needed to go home to contact some people I knew. They allowed me to go home long enough to make the phone calls and get picked up. At no time during questioning was I ever read my Miranda Rights or allowed an attorney.

From that point, I left my wife and children without ever getting the chance to say good-bye to my children. From there I went from place to place. Three weeks into my separation I contemplated suicide, but thanks to my friends in Northern Illinois, they listened to me and got back with me in a couple of days to make sure I was still alive.

Four weeks into my separation, I went to live with my nephew, his wife, and their three year old son. Guess who came knocking at the door four days later? DCFS of DeKalb County, Illinois! DCFS investigator John McCue was a whole lot easier to talk to. I explained to him of how I was alleged of molesting my six year old daughter. I told him that I did no such thing and do not know why she would say what she did. I told him that I was raised by good Christian parents, and that as a Christian, I would never do anything to hurt any child. I told him that I am not a danger to my nephew's son, as he is never alone with me. I asked him if he knew who it was that informed him of my being here, and he said yes, but that he was not at liberty to give out that information. He did say, however, that "it was the same person who's been informing us of your every move." He said that if I continue to maintain my innocence, that I should file for an appeal and seek counseling. I told him that I wanted no part of DCFS counselors, since they would be biased in their assessment of me. He then said that I could go to a counselor of my own choosing--in state or out of state. I then asked him, "Out of state? You mean I can leave the state?" He then answered, "If you haven't been arrested or ordered by the court to remain in Illinois, you can leave the state." I then told him that Pat Swanson of DCFS LaSalle County said that I couldn't leave the state of Illinois, but he reiterated what Steve Krentz had been telling me all along.

By then, my nephew had come home, and I ended up explaining to him why Mr. McCue had come, since his wife had not yet called him. He then interviews my nephew, who stated that his goes to a babysitter 3 days a week and to work with his wife the other two days. He said that since I was never alone with his son, my nephew feels that he is safe. He also told Mr. McCue that my daughter has been in trouble for lying before. Around 4:30 PM, my nephew's wife and son arrive home; and she told Mr. McCue that I would never hurt my daughter or their son, and that I haven't been alone with their son for the five days that I have been there. She believes that I am innocent of any wrong doing.

While my nephew's son is being interviewed by Mr. McCue, I go upstairs to their master bedroom to use their phone to call my supervisor and tell him that I can no longer stay in Illinois and will move to Tennessee. I therefore submitted my resignation over the phone--effective immediately. Since I had previously told him of my situation, he understood and wished me well.

With Mr. McCue being finished interviewing my nephew's son, I returned to the dining room. He said to us all that I should be out of the house that night or else the DCFS would start a separate investigation on my nephew and his family. We then agreed that I should move to Tennessee. My nephew's wife then made a phone call to the Greyhound Bus Depot in Chicago and made a reservation for me to go to Memphis, Tennessee.

After John McCue left, my nephew, his wife, and I all decided that I was my then estranged wife who made the phone call to the DCFS--especially when she wanted me to prove my innocence over the phone to her. We decided that she should not be told of my move to Tennessee. We also said that no one at church should know where I was going--since they would probably tell my wife where I was at. I then packed my things to go to Chicago and my nephew then took me to the Greyhound Bus Terminal and gave me enough money to get the ticket and food for on the way.

For about two years I spent my life going back and forth to Illinois trying to prove my innocence to specialists and my lawyer. On November 1995 - two weeks before the divorce proceedings commenced - my daughter and I talked about her school work and a few other things. She then said, "Daddy, I want to move down to Tennessee to live with you!" I asked what brought this on, and she said, "I just miss you and want to live with you." I spoke with my son, and he also expressed the same desire, with one exception--he wants his mother to come down so that we can be a family again, but he understands that it can't happen. I asked him if she told him about the divorce, and he said yes, but he couldn't remember all the details. I asked my daughter if her mother said anything to her about the divorce, and she remembered that they were in the car discussing the divorce, but that's all she remembers. I told them that their mother and I would have to sit down with them and tell them about the divorce. I tried to stress that they were not to blame for us splitting up and said that it was between their mother and me. At that time, my mother-in-law broke in and said, "Don't you think you're getting too deep for these kids?" to which I said, "I don't know what to say to these kids anymore." I then said to the kids, "when you go to bed tonight and say your prayers, remember to pray, if it is God's will, to let you kids be returned to me." Before saying good-bye to them, I told them that there was nothing that I wouldn't do for both of them, and that I loved them and missed them. They expressed the same to me and said their good-byes.

A few days later, who calls? My wife! She called me to say that everyone was going to be out of town on 11-18-95 and that I was not to call the kids. I asked if this involved taking the kids with, and she said that it did. I asked if her sister was going with them, and she said yes. I told her to give the kids my love and said good-bye.

After all of that, it was a back and forth problem until everything got sorted out. By March 1996, my wife and I were divorced. By the following year I was able to see the kids on a monthly basis until she figured out that I filed for protection under the Bankruptcy Act (before the Republican Congress passed the recent changes to the Bankruptcy laws). At first, she was going to revoke my visitation rights, but then she changed her mind and limited my visitations to their birthdays and Christmas (if that's not a case for Parental Alienation Syndrome, then I don't know what is).

On August 30, 1996 I was scheduled to have my Fair Administrative Hearing (I don't know what's fair about it) in Ottawa, Illinois - the county seat of LaSalle. To make it short, my lawyer made life a living hell for Pat Swanson and got her upset because he wanted exact answers for his questions and all he got was "DCFS Policy Answers." He did ask Sgt. (now Lieutenant) Mike Crane if there were any charges filed against me or any charges that are pending, to which Lt. Crane answered both questions in the negative. It was mentioned that I took a Minnesota Mulitphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test and the results were submitted to my lawyer and me. The DCFS representative wanted them, but he refused to give them over to her. According to their own DCFS policy, the Administrative Law Judge is supposed to issue a decision based upon the hearing - which I need to receive via Certified Letter no later than 30 days after the hearing! So, I waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...and I am still waiting - they never sent me that decision! It should have come on September 29, 1995 - 30 days after the hearing, but it never happened!

In October 1998 I met another woman, and within one month married her. We went to my parents' place for Thanksgiving where I spoke to my daughter and asked her "what would you think if I told you that I got married?" Dead silence came over the phone, as if she couldn't believe that I got remarried. A few weeks later, she and I returned to my parents' place where I called the kids. I asked them if they wanted to talk to their stepmother, and they said that they did. After talking with her, I asked them "So, what do you think of her?" They said together, "WE LIKE HER!!!" I am sure that my ex-wife didn't like it, but that's too bad! On the following month, my sends me a letter saying that she remarried, and they call her husband "dad." I went up to Baldwin, Illinois to visit my kids and saw their stepfather. To say the least, I wasn't too crazy about him, but more about him and my ex later.

On February 1, 2000 my mother called me to say that I needed to call a Diana Yancey to find out some information on the kids. I called Diana and found out that the kids were in the Foster Care system and had been there since November, 1999! I had asked her what happened to make them remove the kids from their mother's care. She said that the caseworker Tena Phillips had that information and that I would have to call her. She also gave me the phone number the Juvenile Court Judge named Cynthia Sanderson. She then asked me if I wanted full custody of the kids, and I said YES! The next day, I attempted to call Tena Phillips, but they had a collect call restriction on their number, so I called Diana Yancey again on this. This time she asked whether I had any charges brought against me. I asked her if she was asking about formal charges, and she said yes.  I then told her that I never had any formal charges brought against me. She asked me if there were any allegations against me, and I had said yes, but that I had appealed them on August 30, 1996 and should have had their decision by no later than September 29, 1999, but that the decision never came.

She then told me that my ex had told the caseworker that I had been formally charged with molesting my daughter and that I was convicted and put into prison. I told them that if they wanted to do so, they could get the tape and transcript which said that there were never any formal charges brought against me, nor were there any charges pending at this time.

She then told me that I could call her at lunch tomorrow and give her the number that I was calling from and she would give that number to Tena Phillips and the conversation would go from there. I was told to ask about visitation, since I had the right to visit them.

I called Tena Phillips concerning my kids on the next day. She informed me that the kids were removed from my ex's care for reasons of sexual abuse. IMAGINE THAT - THE KIDS WERE REMOVED FOR THE VERY SAME REASON THAT I WAS KICKED OUT OF MY OWN HOUSE! WHO'S THE GUILTY PARTY NOW? I told Tena about the allegations and that she could get the reports from the DCFS Office of Legal Services in Chicago, IL. I told her to insist that she receive a copy of the transcript of the Administrative Hearing. If they should fail to produce that, the next step would be to have them call Lt. Mike Crane of the LaSalle County Sheriff's department, for he will tell them that no charges had ever been filed, nor are there any charges pending. She asked about my older sister, and I told her she was willing to take custody of the kids if they could not give them to me. She told me that they would have to do a background check on them before they could do this, and I told them that I understood, but that if they couldn't give them to me because of the allegations, that it would be better to give them to my sister, for she said it was okay to do this. She asked me how long it had been since I had visited the kids, and I told her that I last saw them on the third Saturday of January last year. I told her that my ex's new husband wrote to my sister and said that none of us were welcome to come up to visit the kids. She told me that she would do some investigation and get back to my wife with this information.

On April 10, 2000, my older sister, Mom, Dad, my wife, and I went up to Paducah, KY to the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children's Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) to see the kids. We haven't seen the kids since January 1999. As soon as my son saw me, he ran up to me and just hugged me to death! We caught up on a lot of things and had a great time seeing them. The kids really looked great; even better than when they were with my ex and her husband.

Later, we had a conference with Tena Phillips. I had asked her if she had received anything from the IL DCFS, and she said that she had not. I said that since she needed the reports to see if I could be cleared, I would give them to her (little did I know that by giving her the reports, that put the nail in the coffin for me to ever get the kids back). These were the copies of the original reports where the names of mandated reporters had been blocked out. I reemphasized that if they had problems giving the kids to me, that they would be welcome to live with Chris and Bill until they turned 18.

On December 5, 2000, my wife and I came home from shopping and discovered that we had a message on the phone from my nephew. He said for us to get to St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, as Mom had a massive stroke due to her diabetes. We hung up the phone and went to St. Francis where we found Mom lying in a coma with her mouth open. Dad, my older sister, and her husband were there. We told them that we had just found out about Mom. Two nights later, Chris asked us to get together for a family meeting. We had seen Mom before this night, and the doctor said that there was nothing more they could do, and asked us if it was permissible to take her off life-support, as she would die anyway, so we all agreed it would be better for Mom to die with dignity.

On December 12, 2000, I get a call at work from Dad at St. Francis. Mom died at around 5:00 AM that morning. I quickly sent an email to friends and coworkers informing them of Mom's death. (I think I still have that email as a remembrance and tribute to Mom.) That night, I called the foster parents and told them that their grandmother had died. They shed many tears, and then I spoke with the foster mother, who said she would talk with Tena Phillips, who would give them permission to bring them down.

On December 14, 2000 Mom's funeral was held in Ripley, TN. The foster parents brought the children, and both kids just hugged the fire out of me. As we went to view the body and then sit down, the foster parents allowed the kids to sit on either side of me. My son asked my wife if she wanted to sit with them, and she said no, that they needed to sit with me and comfort me. He then said to her, "Mom, we want to come live with you and Dad in Memphis;" I'm sure it was in earshot of the foster parents, as you will soon see.

On April 10, 2001, my wife and I visited my children on a supervised visit. We were late because we got lost along the way to the Center. When we got there, we hugged and talked a lot for awhile. About 5:15 PM, social worker Tena Phillips had my sister and her husband go out because the kids had something to say to me. When Tena returned, she motioned to my son, who said in tears that they wanted to be adopted, but that he would understand if I was going to fight this. My daughter said that I couldn't be trusted. I told her, "how can you trust me when they took that trust away from you these past seven years?" Soon afterward, she changed her tone and said, "Let's play Yatzee!" Tena then said to them that the visit was over. Before my wife and I left, I went to my daughter and told her, "Promise me before God that you will come look for me when you turn 18." She said, "I will, Daddy." When I went out with my wife to talk to my sister and her husband, I told them what happened, and I said, "convince me that what I just heard wasn't rehearsed or forced out of the kids' mouths by Tena Phillips!"

On December 10, 2001, my wife, my sister and husband, and I went to Kentucky for the Termination of Parental Rights Bench Trial at the County Family Court building. The Cabinet presented their case to Judge Cynthia Sanderson against my ex and me. They told how their stepfather sexually treated them and that their mother had showed my daughter how to use a vibrator. My ex admitted to being naked with my daughter, but she said that she only touched herself with the vibrator and never touched her daughter. As for the stepfather, he sexually molested both of my children and made them have sex with each other! My ex's counselor said that "she didn't appreciate her problem" to his satisfaction; I could have told my ex that it would have been a losing battle, but I believe that this is God's vengeance on her for doing what she did to me. When they presented their case against me, they tried to submit the DCFS reports into evidence, but my lawyer objected and said it was hearsay. The judge agreed and disallowed the DCFS reports (win one for the good guys!). When asked by the judge if the kids were adoptable, she said that they were (Lie #1). After the kids' psychiatrist testified, the foster mother testified of incidents that happened. My lawyer asked her if she had intended on adopting my children, and she said that they considered themselves therapeutic foster parents and did not want to take on the responsibility of raising my children (remember this, for it plays an important part later).

My children later arrived and just hugged the fire out of their mother and their grandparents. I didn't realize it, but my wife told me about their arrival before they had their chance to speak with Judge Sanderson. When they spoke with the judge, they did it alone without having to be cross-examined - to the objection of my lawyer (if I had only known about "Re Gault," this would have been different). They said they didn't remember much about me, except that I came for birthdays and Christmas. They quickly forgot that I called them on almost a weekly basis until their mother married their stepfather and cut off all connection to them. They said that they would return to their mother if she got her act together.

Court was recessed until December 12, 2001. At that time, they allowed my ex to present her side of the story. They called her dad to the stand who did nothing but bad-mouth me right and left just to make his daughter look good. He tried to read a letter in court, but my lawyer objected to it and to its submission as evidence. The judge agreed. After that, an elder of the church where my ex attended went to testify on her behalf. Then my ex took the stand and told her side of the story, bad-mouthing me all the more (what did that have to do with the defense of her actions?).

After recess, it was my turn to take the stand. I told my side of the story and told them that I was ready to do what it took to take care of my children. I also told them that I had a job which allowed me to put the children on my health insurance. I had also told them that I was suspicious of my ex's husband due to what I had read on http://www.childrens-justice.org/myths.htm concerning the fact that "Children are most likely to be physically abused by their mothers, and are more than twice as likely to be killed by their mothers than their biological fathers. They are most likely to be abused sexually by their stepfathers or mother's boyfriends - men who were invited into their home by their mothers!"

When I was cross-examined, I was asked if I was able to afford a lawyer. I said that I had contacted Legal Aid of Western Kentucky and they said for me to contact Legal Aid of West Tennessee. When asked what Legal Aid of West Tennessee said, I replied that I made too much money. They asked if I had taken a psychological exam, and I told them that I did not have the money to afford the exam. When asked if I knew that the Commonwealth of Kentucky would have paid for it, I replied that no one informed me about that.

Then they asked why I didn't report my ex's husband to DCBS, and I told them that I had no proof at that time that he actually molested my children, and that I do not report on something that never happened.

Then, they asked me if I knew what was in the DCFS reports. As a point of order, I asked Judge Sanderson if this had already been objected to; so she asked the lawyers for the Commonwealth what the purpose of the line of questioning was, and they said that they want to know if I was aware of the content of the report. The judge saw no reason to object to this line of questioning, so I told them that I knew what the content of the report was about. This led to the follow-up question "can you state in your own words what the report was about?" so I related to them what the content of my report said.

After a recess, Judge Sanderson made her decision. She said that based upon the Best Interests of the Children, my parental rights and those of my ex-wife should be terminated if the children have any chance of being adopted. My ex just lost her composure and cried over the decision. My lawyer told me that I lost on two points: first, the judge believed what my daughter and son told her about me, and second was that they thought I should have attempted to rescue my children from the torment they endured because they believed that I had prior knowledge of their actions, based upon the above link. My lawyer said that the Cabinet told them that my last visit with my children was to commence immediately.

When I arrived at the place where the final visitation was to take place, they gave me their school pictures. I felt like asking them, "do you realize what you have just done?" but all that could come out of my mouth was "am I still your daddy?" They said that I was still their dad, so I accepted the pictures from them (shown below) and gave them my contact information (I believe that the foster parents immediately took the information away from them as soon as they arrived home). As I was receiving a form to fill out for their medical history, I prayed the prayer of Mizpah with them: "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another." I also asked them both to remember to look for me when they age out of foster care, and I quickly added "and I hope by then I will not be found in a mental hospital!"

On May 5, 2003 I received an email from a prospective adoptive family interested in adopting my children.  In a previous email, he told me that the Kentucky DCBS told him that the mother's rights were never terminated.  I responded to him that this was a lie because when my rights were terminated, their mother's rights were terminated as well.  In this email, he told me that when he asked about my children, the DCBS told him that after two years of saying they were not going to adopt the children, they decided that they would go ahead and adopt my children.

On Christmas 2005, my younger sister showed me a frame with two pictures in it.  I recognized my daughter's picture immediately; but after I took a look at the other picture, I asked my sister if that was my son, and she said yes.  I couldn't believe how much my son had changed - and for the better.  Both of my children look great.  However, I was to find out later that my children signed the pictures using the last name of their foster parents.

Since then, I have endured a second failed marriage and have moved to Chicago to seek help from Karissa Elizabeth Ann Lowell - a Family Rights Advocate who herself has endured many marriages, relationships, and persecutions by the Alabama CPS and Virginia CPS. We both have been sources of comfort to each other during these and other trying times in our lives.  We are both active as unpaid Family Rights Advocates for the United Family Rights Association and stand ready to comfort those who are in trouble with the CPS system.  We cannot guarantee that your children will be returned; but if they give you a Service Plan to complete, inspect the Service Plan and see if all of it is really necessary to complete; then take it to a judge to have him determine whether the questionable parts are really necessary.  The judge more than likely will throw out the unnecessary parts of it (to the CPS' dismay of course) and tell you which parts to complete.  The completion of the Service Plan will not insure that you will get your children back - and even if you do get your children back, CPS will still be in your life for at most two years, for even if you get Physical Custody of your children back, CPS will still have Legal Custody of your children for at least one year and at most two years!

From this point, I refer you to the Navigation Bar at the top of the page so you can get a fuller understanding of the system and just how corrupt it is.

UPDATE 1:

On January 7, 2008 I sent Diane a late Christmas card with a letter asking how she was doing in school and if she made any friends at the Carl D. Perkins school. I then gave her my email address and the link to my Yahoo 360 blog space in hope that both she and Charlie will read it and take it to heart. On her 20th birthday, I sent her first card from me in seven years with more contact information.

On May 17, 2008, Charlie graduated from Christian Fellowship High School; and on July 24, Karissa and I took a trip to Benton, Kentucky to speak with my son Charlie.  The reunion was very successful, but he told me that my Christmas card and letter to Diane spooked her.  I then told him that it was not my intention to scare her, but to reconnect with her.