But first some background, since you only seem to focus on Joe's role in all of this. Judy and Kathy moved to St. Joe to co-manage the Thrifty Nickel. Judy and Kevin were separated, and Kathy was divorced but having a hard time leaving her life with Jack. She had been a top salesperson in Hobbs, New Mexico, and wanted to continue on that path. Judy was typesetting at Thrifty Nickel in Odessa, Texas, so it seemed like a great combination. However, Kathy was no saint, and she could not bear to live without a man. After sleeping with her boss and various other employees, the work environment was tense. Judy and Kathy made a plan to quit, but when that moment came Kathy bailed on her promises and left Judy to pick up the pieces. Not the first time, and certainly not the last. Kathy had to be in control, and if that didn't work out, she would throw her famous temper tantrums. Surely you have experienced some of those. I moved up to that Zone of Ignorance to escape Chris' stalking and had no guarantee of a job. Once a position opened up at the Thrifty Nickel I applied, and interviewed with Steve M., since he had the final word. I had impressive skills in the darkroom and was great at typesetting - Judy trained both me and Kathy on the typesetting process. Compared to the other papers we had worked at, TN was a joke, and we all made fun of it together. Mom moved out there to be close to Brad and Shannon - not to ruin their marriage - as Joe and Kathy had repeated often. They were split up when Kathy came out to my farm and said she had an idea for a business, and I agreed to get in on it. We started it, both of us, together. At the beginning Kathy promised she would sell, that she missed it. I never said I would, and she knew that. I did everything else but sell. I went to the post office and recreated lots of mailing lists, I established and delivered to stand routes, I helped negotiate with PC's Plus for the computer lease. When Kathy decided she didn't want to sell advertising, it was a letdown, but we agreed to hire a commissions-only salesperson to get that going. Then Joe wanted in, and Kathy caved, leaving me under the bus. Joe dared to tell me to sell the farm, why didn't he just get another job? All that man could do was sell (only in his small area), while I had a number of talents that would have been put to use if I hadn't wasted so much time waiting for Kathy to get a backbone. The two of them fought constantly, it was annoying to hear Joe go on and on about how great he was and depressing to see Kathy so unable to stand her ground and move on. We had plenty of good times, but this has caused both Judy and I to have to defend our relationship - that's a shame. However, it's only to Joe and my kids that we have to explain anything, EVERYONE else knows. Honestly, I think Joe understood far more than my kids do, he was witness to the way Carley and Brad treated all of us through the years and surely had a sense of Shannon's behavior as far as her disloyalty to me and my family. If you consider a christian to be a person that has no hate in their heart and only love for all souls, then Kathy was not a christian. She despised Carley and was so disappointed in Brad for the damage they caused to our family. And she hated the drinking, drugs, and tumulus lifestyle that always consumed Joe. I remember the girl who got on the stage at Kathy's funeral, she cried about the way they had treated Kathy, how she cleaned up and hovered over all the drunks. Too late for that, couldn't they see the destruction when it was going on? Such simple, selfish, stupid people.
Joe said that for the past two years Kathy had changed her mind about things, and that he thought my letter to her was devastating. I'm sure it was, but we watched Kathy unravel as early as the spring of 2018, and it was necessary for truth to shock her back to reality. Her posts on Facebook became radicalized, mean, judgmental - not her character at all. Kathy comes from a family of strong, independent women, and her former wide view of the world got smaller and smaller. Surrounded by a petty coven of small-minded women, she had gradually sunk to their level. That's what it looks like from the outside of that area looking in - white people spewing racism, misogynist (female versions), homophobic, holier-than-thou gossips - worshiping political figures as if they were christ incarnate. Which went against everything Kathy stood for, it fragmented her personality, trying to integrate all that hate with the values she had espoused as an ambassador promoting Grandma Layton's legacy. Do you think I was the only person who blocked her from Facebook? I didn't until she got vicious, spouting views on abortion and trashing me and others that I love in public, and defending Carley, white-washing and lying along the way. Don't forget, I was in California when Kathy was pregnant - and that's all I'm going to say about that topic. Those actions don't hold in the world outside of that coven, and the farther out there she got, the harder her spirit fought to find an anchor. Kathy prayed desperately for relief of her RA pain, homeless cats and dogs, trump, random sick people on social media, and for her wayward husband to quit cheating, drinking, and smoking pot. Can you picture that, a woman earnestly praying, pleading, begging, for years and years? It just breaks my heart that you wouldn't see any of that. Years of unanswered prayers and then BAM! Joe's back. And then her other god loses the white house, Jimmie Johnson quit racing, then Linda gets covid and dies. And the battle with Linda's kids. And Joe's heart attack, and his sudden preaching, bible-thumping - and finally, her crippled body, the one that Joe refused to take care of for DECADES, became the caretaker. It wears me out just typing about it. Kathy's painful battle with RA was completely ignored with all of Joe's drama. After voicing our own concerns and urging from friends (several of them psychologist friends we met through Grandma's following) we went to St. Joe under the guise of her birthday - an intervention if necessary. Lots of red flags ominously predicted what was to come: none of them wore masks when we went out to eat, (Kathy bought the hype and thought she was protected), talk about Joe's plans for a traveling ministry show (Jesus Christ!), RV's, the home she loved and all the things she would have to leave behind... it was a real shitshow. Kathy was subdued - broken.
The hateful texts to Judy came shortly after that visit. To say we were caught out of the blue is an extreme understatement. Kathy was lying about the lake house and Globe Publishing; we could only assume it was to dig up money for Joe's next big dream. She had lost her damn mind, rapidly texting hateful, hurtful things to Judy and Dane, and trying to pit me against them. What did you expect us to do, roll over and say, "Oh, okay, here's the money, and sorry for helping you out when you wanted us to"? Kathy went in on the Lakehouse deal as a way to get away from Joe, an escape house if needed. Even Joe knew that. I have all the emails from the inception of Globe Publishing also, the bills, the money put in and taken out, the money owed - and Kathy repeating over and over, "Don't tell Joe." I have always paid Kathy first and the most, in spite of her continually saying, "No, pay yourself, you give me too much of the money." Did either of you read all of those crazy texts, or only my response? You were obviously told only one side of that estrangement - there were five people involved, and three of us were attacked unmercifully. It was NONE of your business.