Fire in the Sky by Travis Walton

Author:Travis Walton [Walton, Travis]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-03-23T19:35:51+00:00

CHAPTER 14

The Making of Fire

Who teach the mind its proper face to scan,

And hold the faithful mirror up to man.

—Robert Lloyd, from The Actor

After a number of years, things began to quiet down a little. Letters came less frequently. People didn’t seek me out so often—especially reporters. As always, there were programs and articles produced by journalists who didn’t do any firsthand research (which of course were the least accurate) but even these were fewer and farther between.

It seemed safe to have a telephone reinstalled. At one point the disadvantages of having one had heavily outweighed the advantages, but those advantages were considerable. In today’s world it’s really hard to conduct your normal day-to-day affairs without a telephone.

If problems developed, I could always have it taken out again, or have the police order the installation of another line trap by the phone company. The police investigation of that early series of sick threats had put an abrupt halt to it. (Caller ID hadn’t been developed at that time.)

So, I took the plunge. Welcome back to the twentieth century. What a labor-saving device the telephone is. A one-minute call spared me a twenty-minute trip. Job-related questions were quickly resolved. It was much easier to stay in touch with friends and relatives. And I was glad to relieve some of the isolation Dana had been enduring. Everything seemed great.

But then, right off the bat I received a call from this guy named Tracy Torme.

He wanted to make a movie. I’d heard it all before. A writer, director, or producer would call, write, or come to Snowflake, to try to persuade me to grant rights for a movie to be made. I listened to some of those but eventually the same message filtered through. The two things that put me off were (1) failing to convince me the material would not regive a sensationalistic, exploitive treatment; and (2) no one could show me how I could avoid being perceived as “selling out” without being taken advantage of.

I couldn’t see any way the net result would not be negative. My life had settled some. I had inched forward toward being accepted for myself in a few relationships. What could a movie bring to my life? Stir up all the old controversies, animosities, and ridicule? Wouldn’t a movie, the accompanying research and promotion, result in further public dissection of me and my life? Wouldn’t it only put the bug back in the jar—this time under a spotlight?

I told Mr. Torme I wasn’t interested. Still, I sensed something different It his approach. He seemed better informed on the facts and details of the incident than any of the others. So, when he persisted, wanting me to wait to make a final decision until after he had come to Snowflake for a face-to-face meeting, I agreed. His interest in a personal meeting wasn’t especially persuasive; others had met me face-to-face.

When he arrived at my house after a hectic drive through some crazy weather, his father, Mel Torme, called.

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