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Afterword to Whispers Evolution

Whispers is an important book for our time. Indigenous Peoples are finally beginning to be recognized as the First Peoples in their various lands, and as people who are entitled to all of their rights as such in our societies. Whispers explores the potential they represented before the arrival of European conquerors, and what they might have achieved.

All of the conditions historically existed for the events of the book to have actually taken place in 1031 AD. All it would have required was one Song trader, on one ship, to keep going north past Japan and the Korean peninsula, where they already traded, and follow the currents east to a new continent.

At the beginning of the novel, the characters and their society are portrayed as they existed at the time. I have taken the liberty of modernizing the dialogue, to a point, simply for the modern reader. Perhaps one day Whispers will be translated into Halq’uemehlem. Until then, English will have to do.

Along the path from villages to nation, the Alliance confronts moral and ethical choices that are still being grappled with today. Some of their choices may startle you, others may reflect issues that we are still deciding today. Would you have chosen differently? If so, how would that decision change the story? Honestly, I would like to know. Feel free to post on the whispersbookseries Facebook page.

My fervent hope for Whispers is that it will help a reader who is First Nations imagine a different past, if only for a while; and for a reader who is not Indigenous to understand who these people really are, how much they lost when Europeans arrived, and what native peoples are capable of, if old prejudices are put aside.

It is Done!

Whispers is an alternate history novel. It takes place starting in 1031 AD in British Columbia, Canada, specifically the Fraser Valley and Kamloops, although Nisgaa territories and the Musqueam territories are also significant players, as is the Song Empire of China, and individual Arab scholars. Point of departure from the original timeline is with the arrival of a Song trading vessel in Nisgaa territory, which proceeds down the coast to Musqueam land and Sto:Lo peoples. The Song wish to trade technologies for furs and copper. At this time, the Song have metallurgy and primitive gunpowder, along with many other technologies far in advance of what is known in Europe.
The Sto:lo are about to be invaded by Syilx raiders looking to expand territory and capture slaves.


The hijinks ensue......

Working on a book: Whispers

THE BOYS ARE BACK!

This was the year that I have hoped for for decades and will never forget. I am so proud of my sons. Just wishing the third had been with us.

No slip betwixt cup and lip!

     I tried to post the entered judgement with The Judge's reasons, but it didn't work. "Relief" doesn't begin to cover how I feel. When injustice is a part of your life for so long, it takes a while to adjust. Of course, I still can't go to California without the risk of being thrown into prison, but hey, I don't have to worry about FMEP cancelling my driver's license (which they did in the past), attaching my wages (ditto), ruining my credit (several dittos, ongoing until now, except for the couple of years that they accepted that I had paid in full before reneging and starting all over again), scooping all my GST rebates ( I was poor, remember???), sending frequent dunning letters ("you are a BAAAD person, and we will do nasty things to you until you send us every cent you have!"), and generally making me relive the horrible experience that I had with the divorce and the California legal system.
     Again, I have to thank my lawyer Jack Hittrich, for taking a big risk with my case, going to California with me to fight there (they refused to let him speak to the case and actually removed him from the court because he was a foreigner, and so had no standing in an "American" courtroom. The Judge wasn't even a real judge! She was a "master", which is a lawyer able to deal with the meaningless trivia that annoys "real" judges in their system: like ordinary peoples' lives. It so smacks of the arrogance of impunity.
     There was a lot that I was uncomfortable with, when I lived in the States. Moving to Canada in 1991 felt like coming home, even though I hadn't lived here very long, and that was as a baby. There is a different feel to Canada. Not to say that Americans are bad people, they're just people. But the culture there is so much more one of constant fear. Americans accept that, Canadians don't, yet.
     I grew up admiring the "Spirit of America." I don't see that spirit anymore. I see a beaten down, and growing, underclass; a shrinking and complacent middle class, pacified with bread and circuses (yes, that IS a Roman Empire reference); and a ravening bunch of wolves that are truly accountable to no one except each other. There are good people in all these groups, but they are powerless against the unaccountable ones.

I have been fighting the Province of BC, FMEP (family maintenance enforcement program), and others for some ten years. I went to court today and got a judgement (second one, actually, but nobody would recognize the first one from 1997???).

I won. 100%.

It was all wrong from day one, and the judge said so in no uncertain terms. He actually commended me for my tenacity, honesty, and efforts to do the right thing through the 23 years that I have struggled with this. He slammed the State of California, Alameda County District Attorney's office, for their arrogance and inflexibility, and FMEP for helping them be that way. He concluded that "reciprocal agreements" ARE in fact reciprocal, or they aren't valid in law. Thank goodness we have strong ties to British Common Law and the concept of "equity". The Americans have abandoned it, in their legal system, along with their original concepts of freedom and justice for all.

My thanks to the Judge, for actually reading and understanding what was before him in evidence. BIG thanks to Jack Hittrich, for sticking with it, and me, for all these 10 years and not just giving up the fight. He told me today that he had consulted several other lawyers that told him we'd never win. Well, we did. PPFFFFT!

PS: California, one size does NOT fit all, in laws that apply to people. You have to be able to vary according to circumstances. That is a key to the concept of Equity. 

Back in court Wednesday, September 25th

Once more into the breach! Hoping for some certainty after all these years. Regardless of the outcome, I will be asking for an order that FMEP not be allowed to renege, again.

Did California lose the data?

Received this notice from FMEP: "California Department of Child Support Services announced that several specialized computer storage devices containing personal information of clients could not be located. These devices were not encrypted, were in transit from one facility to another, and upon arrival, several storage devices were missing."
WTF?

On Friday, October 21, a  BC judge allowed us to proceed pending personal service on my ex. FMEP has muddied the waters with this issue, but so be it. Mr. Justice Walker also ordered a stay to all enforcement by FMEP until the case is heard (and presumably resolved). FMEP has yet to contact my employer to stop the garnishment of my wages. My lawyer has provided them today with a registered copy of the order. Hopefully that will be sufficient to remove the garnishment from this pay cheque. It is very difficult to support both of us on half of my pay. Also, FMEP stated, in writing, that they would hold the garnished monies until this issue was resolved. Then, in court, their lawyer Alan Leslie admitted that the funds had been forwarded to California, which makes them basically unrecoverable. This unrecoverable amount now totals $9365.