Please be advised, I have no desire or intention of EVER stepping foot in Monroe County. I understand some feel as though the crimes of 1978 occurred yesterday. Still fresh in your minds. Seeing me would make you uncomfortable.
It is not my desire to cause anyone any stress. As for those who accuse me of wishing bad things, I assure all, I have zero interest in anyone in that county. Some are paranoid or have a guilty conscience for things they have done while I was away. They would be best served to relax and enjoy themselves. I will not feed into the paranoia they exhibit or dabble with anyone’s mental frailty.
I am not interested in material things, those who fought so hard to deceive/acquire those things under the veil of secrecy, all I have to say is, enjoy. You wasted your energy, I wish you the best. Honesty would have been an easier method. However, greed usually wins out.
Life is too short to dwell on the past. I fault no one for their words/actions over the past 45 years, people do/say what they must, for whatever self-perseverance they find in a mirror.
While Monroe County is a wonderful place and most citizens are remarkable people, there are always exceptions in any part of the world. I am not interested in throwing shade or dealing with he said/she said situations.
There are many stories floating around regarding the tragedy of 1978. In Ohio, the parole board requires a person to admit guilt, before they will entertain thoughts of release from prison.
Many from my era have passed, and with them went secrets that were never shared, unfortunately. Death bed confessions apparently only happen on TV. When there is no one left to substantiate anything, it leaves only one person to deal with the aftermath.
As people mature, one hopes they set the record straight. For example. In 1978 two young girls asked me to drive them to the trade school out on 78, I told them they needed to get permission from their mother first, and they ran inside and returned minutes later telling me their mom said it was OK.(I should have asked the mother myself). Later I was stoned and slumped over the steering wheel, at the school parking lot, one of the girl’s brothers opened the door of my van and attacked me, the cops were there and decided to arrest him, later they said they could charge me with contributing to delinquency, the girls and their mother were at the jail, the girl never spoke up, to tell the truth, that I had told her to get permission.
Years later the girl’s brother apparently became a correction officer, he came to my cell in Mansfield, strip-searched me, and asked if I remembered him. It seems his sister never admitted that she had lied to me, saying she had gotten permission from her mother. You would think with age, people even in simple scenarios like the above would eventually confess to the true event. I guess it is easier for some to live a lie.
I gave up long ago speaking of the tragedy that turned an entire community upside down. There is no point in rehashing, opening old wounds. I have empathy, and neither my art nor my pay-it-forward initiative is meant to stir emotions. Over 11,314 of my landscapes have touched the lives of people around the world, even though at least one person from Monroe calls my art atrocious! Bless her heart. My efforts with Domino Deeds help far too many people and causes around the world.
I will never step foot inside the county line, in any direction. If ever freed from prison, I will be far away.
I hope that those who were negatively impacted by me, in any fashion, that you will find the inner strength to seek other avenues to vent their hatred.
Life is far too short to allow revenge/hatred/fear/guilt or any other negative to consume your lives. We cannot rewrite history, any of us.
My birth father, Marshal Frank Skoda of Clarington had many friends in Monroe and neighbouring counties. So does my birth mother Ruby Skoda. It is unfortunate records were sealed, eight birth siblings were impacted by this tragedy as well, not just my former adoptive family.
If anyone wants to set up instant text messaging with me, please go to the app store, and search for TELMATE, soon GTL will be the provider handling text messaging as well as phone services. To set up a user account type in James Fussell, Jr. A154-973. The present provider (jpay.com) will soon be void. Telmate will become active very shortly. Once it does, I will reach out to those who sign up. There are some genuine people from my past who matter, and some I have been friends with for over 50 years.
Additionally, you can reach me on Twitter, go to.JimFussellDD or DominoDeeds.org or Facebook, Domino Deeds.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. You all are wished the best. It takes less energy to love than it does to hate.
Sincerely,
Jim Fussell
