It was the "damned gate" that caught my attention. (Surprising words from a Mississippi debutante trainer)

It took a year to create and write The Plan--and get it into publication. I came up with the idea many years ago, when living in Mississippi, but didn't have the needed time to really think about and develop the plot or complete the project until I retired and moved to Cuenca, Ecuador. 

This morning I was thinking about how this book came about. 
It’s a good story, in itself!

*****

The "damned" gate

I was a passenger in her car and we were on the way to Parchman Penitentiary. This infamous Mississippi Delta prison was where my psychologist husband worked, and we lived on the grounds. I’d met “Ella” in the small town of Drew. And she seemed like a nice lady. 

Actually, I’d found myself feeling sorry for her, since she confided she was on a third marriage. She was not particularly attractive, and as I would learn she probably went through a lot of his money. Not on frivolous things, but doctor visits—lots of those, for various ailments—but also on her hobby. She liked to help prepare young girls for their debuts.

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The Plan is available at Smashwords in various formats including Kindle and ibooks

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THE YEAR WAS 2004. There weren’t many formal coming out parties taking place anymore, she confessed, but it was still important for her house to be pretty, "just in case." Drapes are expensive no matter where you live, and she’d recently had to replace not only the living room window furnishings but her carpets. The girls would be coming to her house, if she was able to pick up a parent or two as clients this spring. Plus, she was in charge of her town's Culture Club. Another reason to spend money on her home and yard. The flowers had to look good, of course, because the club held monthly meetings in her home.

We’d just left the small town of Drew, and I noticed something to the left, just off the highway. A white metal fence, halfway open, with kudzu vines growing on it. A couple of tall pilings were behind the gate.

“What’s that?” I asked Ella. I was always curious about anything new or different that I’d spot in this unfamiliar region. Living in Mississippi was a new experience. We’d moved there from Nevada with no preconceptions and it turned out a fascinating place to be. A part of the country we’d never visited. In fact, when I first heard about our possible move, I thought the “Delta” would be down on the coast, but found it to be a stretch of land along the Mississippi River, from Memphis to Vicksburg.

“The damned gate? It was going to be a home,” Ella began.

Her cursing hit me by surprised. But I didn't react. I wanted to hear what else she had to say. I settled back in my car seat, ready for her story. But it was far shorter than I’d expected.

Brief, in fact.

“He was a bad man. A lawyer. He was murdered.

Damn, if I didn’t want to hear more. I always like a good story. But Ella said she didn’t want to talk anymore about it. I had to learn why. 

Ella dropped me off at our home, an old red brick house that wasn’t very far away from the gas chamber. Thank God it was not being used in those days. She didn’t want to stop for coffee. Had to get back because her cleaning lady was due to arriv, she explained.

I started that afternoon trying to learn who’d been murdered and why. It only took one call, to a Drew minister I’d recently met, to get the basics.

“That would be Cleve McDowell, the first black law student to enter Ole Miss. He got kicked out!”

The Reverend was a friend. He told me some of the Cleve McDowell story that day, but it took a few months to drag it all out. I had a feeling that I was the first person to learn the whole story, that is, as much of the story that is known. Of course I had to dig through old records, lie a little bit to some courthouse clerks, and track down other several older people to learn as much as I could

Cleve McDowell would be the main character Clinton Moore in The Plan. I changed dates and location but not much else, at least in the beginning of the book. I wanted to be as close as possible to the history. (Next, I’ll write about his friend who was also murdered (“Joe Means”) who is also based on a real person.)

Here’s a link if you want to read the nonfiction book, WhereRebels Roost; Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited. You can read it free online! It’s huge, and tells quite a bit about the civil rights history of the Mississippi Delta. Cleve McDowell's story is included.

AT LEFT, Cleve McDowell and Rev. Jesse Jackson (covered with cotton dust while campaigning in the Delta)

***

Have you ever lived in a place that was entirely different from where you were raised? The climate? The people? The food? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them in a comment. Thanks. Susan

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The Plan is now available at Smashwords in various formats including Kindle and ibooks

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When You Retire, You Have Time To --

Retirement = Doing What You Want To Do

The tight bond between Clinton and Joe, two gay, black lawyers (one of them, married) is broken when Joe is reportedly found hanged. A suicide seems impossible to Clint, and Joe’s widow is acting cagey. Clinton Moore believes Joe Means was tortured and murdered, and that his and Joe’s shared obsession—investigating and fact gathering about cold case murders and assassinations—is the reason.

(short description of The Plan)

* * * * *

I've been doing what I love to do, all year long. Writing my book!

And now --

The Plan is out! I worked over a year on writing this book (as a retiree) and I am excited to share it with you. Real quick—here is how to get your free copy (this week only):

Go to this page

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/370902

Choose the download option.You will have a number of options, from a PDF file to something you can use on your Kindle, Apple or on your computer screen.

When you get to the checkout “basket,” use this code 

BR42M 

for your FREE copy.

I will appreciate your review! (Once you’ve read it.)

Thanks for your interest. It has been a wonderful journey writing this book and I hope that you enjoy the results. I am happy to share this event with you!!

Susan Klopfer 

What are you doing for retirement? Are you having fun? Please share your experiences here. Thanks, Susan

Nothing Has Changed: 'Scientists' Refuse to Listen to Valid JFK Story; COPA Loses Face in Battle

Judyth Vary Baker, conspiracy author, and a scientist

By Susan Klopfer

(Note: Since I first posted this story, COPA has not budged. This usually scientific organization holds by its guns, and won't let Judyth Vary Baker speak. She has one of the best stories to tell, but the tape stays on her mouth. Baker is hosting her own program during the celebration week that includes a tribute to her former boyfirned, Lee  Harvey Oswald. Baker has taken some offense at the following article, but I have decided not to make changes. I believe that my description of her and my assessment are valid. She is the auhtor of a tremendous book, Me and Lee, that I highly recommend. Susan)

I want to address a recently reported decision made by the Coalition on Political Assassinations, or COPA. Listed among speakers for the upcoming November 22-25 Dallas conference, is Judyth Vary Baker. This author of Lee and Me, a well-documented account of her romance with Lee Harvey Oswald, has much to offer on the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But Baker was told last week there is “no room” for her at the meeting.

COPA is known for its scientific approach in helping us learn more about the JFK assassination. Among the group are many bright academics who also are typically cautious of taking political risks—tenure must be at the back of one’s mind whenever presenting academic papers on controversial issues, such as this. For example, I would hate to be a history professor at Purdue University this year! If you don’t know the story, this prestigious university’s new president once tried banning the works of a famous and liberal historian in high school text books. But he didn’t stop there.

Dozens of Purdue University professors recently questioned his commitment to academic Freedom, and in an open letter to President Mitch Daniels, they’ve said they are more troubled by his continued criticism of Howard Zinn's writings since becoming Purdue's president than they were by the emails he sent as governor more than three years ago. 

Judyth has something more than “just data” to offer at this important fiftieth anniversary event. She has a first-hand story that is significant. She slept with the man who has been blamed for killing the president. She does not believe Oswald is the villain he’s been made out to be by the Warren Commission and all of the investigators from the FBI, intelligence agencies, and even the compromised U.S. press. You know, journalists like Chuck Todd who don’t believe it is their duty to ask questions when politicians lie to the public. She believes Oswald even tried to save JFK’s life.

Judyth is not a quiet, cautious person. She can appear flaky. She types in all caps—shouts online—when she gets attacked. She acts frantic when she’s called names. Sometimes she says things that make her Facebook followers upset. Some ask if she’s in her right mind. I think of several other assassination conspiracy writers who have been targeted for shunning because they sometimes appear to lose control. Does this behavior make them wrong? Or are they reacting to continued attempts to harass and censor?

Whenever a “Judyth” is banned from speaking in important arenas, one has to ask if the organization’s membership truly reflects its stated goals. Stated less politely, has COPA’s leadership been compromised by some who do not want truth to be known? Could there possibly be some influence by CIA or FBI or military assets doing their job by making sure people like Judyth are silenced? If you answer no, I have a bridge to sell you. This happens frequently and all of us can think of people and situations that must be questioned.

Judyth is an easy target; she’s easy to rattle. Years of hiding out in foreign countries, fearing she is a potential target and the loss of her family have taken their toll. Maybe she suffers from PTSD. Would you suffer, under these bizarre circumstances?

COPA needs to invite this significant author to speak; otherwise this organization could go the way of Purdue University when it comes to teaching and reporting history. Thank God there are professors at that Indiana institution willing to speak out on free speech. Willing to defend a brilliant mind from the likes of a TeaJadist ruler.

COPA has nothing to lose by letting Judyth Vary Baker speak on this fiftieth anniversary; the organization has everything to lose if Judyth is banned.

So, I double-dog-dare COPA to invite Judyth as a major speaker this November. Otherwise I am right about all of the above (and more).

*****

Susan Klopfer, MBA, is a graduate of Hanover College and Indiana Wesleyan University. The former journalist and Prentice Hall acquisitions and development editor, is the author of three nonfiction books on Mississippi civil rights: The Emmett Till Book; Where Rebels Roost, Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited; and, Who Killed Emmett Till. Her new book, The Plan, is set to be published at the end of September. Learn more about this novel at http://ebooksfromsusan.com