Tunnel Vision by N. P. Simpson

Author:N. P. Simpson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1878086243
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2017-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

Francis had returned from Okinawa on a hardship transfer to take custody of his three children in Colorado Springs. Betty and Butch joined him there during the summer of 1982.

“I couldn’t let Mom drive all that way alone,” Butch explained.

Francis and Betty were married September 13, 1982—Friday the 13th.

Friction between Butch and Francis began almost immediately. Butch said he resented not being allowed to discuss his dad or call him from the Francis home.

“I’d call him from a pay phone at school,” Butch said.

Lorrie was still living with her natural father in Florida.

Michael Paul called Francis in October of 1982, before the family reported to Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Francis told Paul he was aware agents had been questioning students and staff at Butch’s former school in Springville. He said he hoped the move to Pendleton would put an end to the investigation. Francis said he especially hoped it would put an end to what Francis viewed as Mike Jones’ harassment of Butch.

Francis said he wanted to move his family into on-base housing at Camp Pendleton but expected base housing officials would deny his request at the suggestion of NIS. He told Paul he planned to get out of the Marines when his enlistment was up and try to get a job as a police officer.

In California, Butch started his junior year at Fallbrook High School where many students were dependents of Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton.

“It was a piece of cake, only two required courses,” Butch recalled.

Francis got out of the Marine Corps in August of 1983 and moved the family to Lyons, Ore., a rural community about 80 miles from Vale.

Lorrie was again living with her mother, Butch, and Francis. Her boyfriend was a dairyman’s son. She earned money helping with the morning milking.

When the dairyman was short-handed, Lorrie asked Butch if he’d like to help at the farm, and he said yes. He was hired and also helped the dairyman lay the foundation for a new barn.

“I didn’t relish getting up at 4:00 a.m. but I always had a little money to spend,” Butch recalled of his job. He was grateful for the dairy farmer’s kindness to him and Lorrie. “But I’ve hated cows ever since,” Butch wryly recalled. After a few weeks, the farmer was no longer able to pay Butch but he continued to help out at the farm anyway.

Butch did not return to school for his senior year, a decision he blamed on the unhappy situation at home. Instead, he joined the Job Corps and studied heavy equipment operation at Fort Simcoe, Ore., for 18 months. In exchange for training and a $50 a week wage, Job Corps workers made highway repairs and improvements in national parks. It was one of the happiest periods of Butch’s life. He went home every other weekend.

After finishing the Job Corps program, he worked sporadically operating a bulldozer for a construction company. Occasionally, he lived in a trailer on his employer’s property.

At the time, the Francis family was living in a somewhat isolated area, “like ‘Little House on the Prairie’,” according to Betty.

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