Seasons of Hope
by
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Margaret Faulkner
Federal Bureau of Investigation
300 Ala Moana Blvd., 4th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96850
Dear Margaret,
I have done what you suggested and I will be meeting with Lt. Lum at the Kalihi Police Station later this afternoon. I have questions for him regarding the Neighborhood Watch and basic self-defense.
Many years ago I called the Saginaw, Michigan F.B.I. because my missing father resurfaced and said he wanted me to take accounting classes and be a member of the F.B.I. At that time accountants were hired because of their close attention to detail. An Agent John Olson offered me $400.00 a week in 1973 to infiltrate an organized crime family in Detroit. He withdrew the offer when he discovered I "had problems." That was very devastating me.
I admit I experimented with marijuana many, many years ago (during Viet Nam) and I ended up cooperating with a police detective in an undercover drug purchase. Mr. Olson supplied me with the name of the detective. A Federal lawyer from Legal Services of Eastern Michigan became concerned because he felt my rights had been violated. You see, after I spoke with Mr. Olson and a Saginaw Police Lieutenant about a drug dealer in Detroit, I was severely beaten at a Saginaw County hospital.
I know I needed help and I am thankful that Agent Bernal Reneer and Detective DeRego were able to solve the bank fraud committed against me a few years ago. I was slipped a devastating drug in a hate crime in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan in 1971. I became totally disoriented then and did not know whom to trust nor whom not to trust.
Please, Margaret, support the Constitutional rights of all Americans and human rights as well. I have made two excellent speeches against illegal drugs voluntarily, and I will continue to do so. I will also be speaking for the rights of the disabled in the work place. I am always glad to see you and if there is anything I can ever do for the Department of Justice, let me know. For many years I had hoped to be an Intelligence Officer but my disability always stood in the way. Now laws have changed for the better. I had said that if I could get just five years on the job, I might be able to survive the added stress of intelligence work. Now I believe I must concentrate on the job I have and build a better future for myself.
Preview 2
Committee on Disability Concerns
2850 Kalamazoo Ave., SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49560-0800
To the Editor:
I was happy to read the front-page story in Breaking Barriers which told of a schizophrenic and his family. It is a cruel and terrible disease, I know, and the stigma that goes with a disability is even more pronounced when the disability is mental illness.
When I first became ill from an illegal drugging I was sure there were people who wanted to harm me, silence me, and discredit me for political reasons. Now I pray daily that God will grant me the peace of mind to take my medicine as prescribed and that I will stay in remission. A few people have spoken of a cure, and that seems to be just out of reach for me.
Despite my diagnosis, I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Central Michigan University and I have completed five years of continuous government service.
Much thanks is due to the clergy and congregation at Pacific Community Church and to my close and trusted friend, Pastor Keith Tanis. I first joined the Christian Reformed Church in 1977, the year I graduated from college, and I have been a member here in Honolulu since 1987.
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About the Book
This book offers a look at Richard Charles Jackson, a man with schizophrenia in remission, written from his point of view. Mr. Jackson seeks no revenge and wishes no harm to anyone. His hope is to help educate people about a terrible emotional and mental illness, which plagues tens of thousands of people across America. In this particular case, it is believed the illness was brought on by an illegal drugging. Please take the time to see into the inner world of a man who has made strides despite the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia beginning in 1971. His story entails illegal drugs, missing family members, robberies, and police work. In the earlier stages of the illness there were many delusions of grandeur and abnormal thoughts about the weather being controlled with what was thought to be pinpoint accuracy. At the very least, Seasons of Hope will be used as a research tool for medical students. At best it will be widely read so people can understand that most people in therapy are indeed victims and deserve love and understanding, and not the apathy and fear that many people in society feel toward the mentally ill.
About the Author
Richard Jackson was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1951, the son of a factory worker and a schoolteacher. He graduated from Delta College and Central Michigan University and worked as a cub reporter for a daily newspaper during his school years. Mr. Jackson moved to Honolulu in 1987 and joined the Federal Civil Service. He is a supply technician and diversity liaison for the National Weather Service, Pacific Region Headquarters. Civic groups he belongs to include the Tradewinds Noncommissioned Officers' Club, Church of the Crossroads (United Church of Christ), the National Alliance Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Amnesty International, the National Association of Police Officers, the National Weather Service Employees Organization, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Mr. Jackson has worked in jewelry retailing and has published two country western songs. He has also worked in retail jewelry sales.