Podcast Conclusion

Chapter 5
My first recording with Brian Reed happened on November 3, 2015 after the second trespassing hearing and of course, I was upset and babbling. I cry when I am angry, upset, disappointed and tired. Got it, I was all the above!
Almost 5 months had passed since John Brooks’ death, so I had a lot of time to think about what might have brought this suicide on, or maybe I should say what may have caused it to occur at this time in his life. And it was in this interview I expressed to Brian some of my thoughts on what led up to the tragic night of June 22, 2015, which I shared in a previous post. Then I mentioned to Brian about trying to track down the gold. I thought if there was some way to track the gold, I could prove if any gold still or ever existed. If it had been registered, then there would be a record of it being cashed in. Of course, the bigger problem was finding out where John Brooks purchased the gold. This would help solve the mystery if the gold was possibly buried somewhere, then we could move forward. You can tell, at this point I was trying anything (and I know some ideas I had were way out there) but, this madness had to stop. Once I discovered John Brooks was broke and had liquidated the last of his funds on June 14, 2014, I never believed there was any gold buried. I couldn’t imagine he would have let the bank account balance get so low knowing there were outstanding checks and why did he incur so many over draft fees? Do I believe there was gold in the freezer along with cash like he told Faye? Of course! Do I believe someone took it? Of course, it just wouldn’t disappear.
I am also glad in this interview Brian made it clear that it was not decades since we visited with John Brooks and Mary Grace.
You can tell from my interview with Brian on January 18, 2016 that I am still searching for answers. I knew there had to be some connection with Tyler and the Police Department and I felt that connection was Officer Lightsey since he and Chief Price were the main two authorities I had been dealing with. Later in the podcast it mentions Officer Lightsey was looking forward to retirement because it was hard to choose between his friends and his job. DUH!!!! I would say so, especially when your job is to protect the citizens of your county. This chapter was so hard to listen to when you have someone who built a new home from stolen property then brags and laughs about it to the public and the law. Wonder what John Brooks would have thought of that? And I wonder if it was true about the police giving permission to Tyler to go on the property to get the trailer and buses. If so, maybe they have learned to include the City Attorney before making these decisions about probate matters.
The chapter then moves back to talking about the first meeting with Tyler at Mary Grace’s house. I have already covered this once but, let me reassure you, there was not an “all out fight”—no screaming and when Brian records me saying “absolutely” I have no idea where that came from but, you can bet I was not agreeing with what Tyler said.
I did get the chance to tell Brian that I feel this situation had brought out the worst in me. A person that has never had to fight (the law) for what was right –I was raised to believe that if you did what was right and fair, things would work out for the best. I thought everyone could be trusted and their word or hand shake was their honor. That is why I thought when the police ran Tyler off the property on June 24, 2015 the legal problems were over, that we would be able to sit down and work things out. Then I found out the vehicles have already been stolen, the cash and gold in the freezer had already been stolen as well. It makes you aware that sometimes you must take other measures to do the right thing. The right thing for me was to protect Mary Grace.

I don’t live in a bubble so to speak but, I guess my head was in the sand—I remember as a child or even an adult, when I did something wrong, I only had to be told once and I would not to do it again. You can bet I never smoked again after that one time my mother caught me smoking in my bedroom and I put the cigarette in the drawer and smoke started coming out!

The only other comment I have to say about this chapter: It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact people have taken a few words out of context, about cutting off nipples when in fact Tyler tricked a guy, (who he believed had stole his grandfather’s guns) to return to his house so he could cut off his fingers, one at a time until he returned the guns. Guess it was a good thing Tyler changed his mind and just ended up whipping the man across the face with the gun and beating him silly. There just seems like something is wrong with this picture. Just saying!!!

I would have to agree with John Brooks when he asked if he was expecting too much of Tyler. Maybe I feel that way too about others. I am so blessed to have been raised in a loving and caring home, even after I lost my Mom at age 11 there was plenty of others that stepped in and gave me guidance. That is not to say my life has always been easy, there were difficult times that affected me personally. But I will have to say, I believe that no matter what has come your way, at some point you must quit blaming others and take responsibility for your own decisions.
I am closing this chapter 5 with this bit of information.
In case there maybe some readers out there that would want to know the meaning of a criminal, well I Goggled it: A person who has committed a crime. Synonyms: lawbreaker, offender, villain, felon, wrongdoer, culprit and more.

Chapter 6-
This chapter introduced us to the John Brooks so many didn’t recognize, it was very revealing into John’s personal life. This just proves that we really do not know what is going on in a person’s private life. One day I was at the cemetery checking on my family’s graves and I saw a man walk up to John Brooks’ gravesite. I walked over and said ” Hi, you must have listened to the podcast”, then he replied, “yes I did”. I introduced myself and he said, ” I am Olin”. We stood in the heat and exchanged stories for what seemed like forever. He was a super nice guy and very interesting to talk to. So glad I got to meet him.

Chapter 7-
This chapter was an emotional roller coaster for me because so much was revealed about John Brooks. We are shown his accomplishments as a brilliant horologist only to find out later, the method John Brooks used could have been a contributing factor which lead to his death. Next we saw John Brooks in a state of peaceful happiness as he volunteered his time helping Woodstock City Hall. At one point you could feel the pride he had for his home place, the flowers, the creek and of course the maze. Next we saw the troubled John Brooks, the person that became addicted to pain, tattoos and whiskey, this was the John Brooks that so few people knew.
A couple of John’s friends had mentioned to me the change they noticed in him for the past 2 to 3 years prior to his death. They even mentioned the possibility of him suffering from Mad Hatters disease (mercury poisoning). They believe that is why John Brooks had gotten possessed with ordering toys like he had when he was a child. (marvels, bldg. blocks, puzzles, etc.)

This was a really “deep” summary of John Brooks life. I am leaving you with this quote from John Brooks:
“If someone says the name John Brooks McLemore 25 years in the future, you will know exactly who that is ”
We certainly will !!!!!

This is all I have concerning the podcast. Only two more post to go.

OK–Let’s keep talking

Reta