Walker& Rob

The Healing of

Windwalker

This is how I pictured Windwalker as a young boy.

One of the most wonderful experiences of my life was to be able to visit a number of Native American homes. The first thing I saw were the children peeking around corners or from behind trees. Even though they were shy their smiles melted my heart.

As I got to know these children, I could see that they were the warmest and most loving of all of God's creations. I remember one child in particular, little Ben, who had no front teeth and long braids down to the middle of his back. He fell in love with my wife, Laurie, and my daughter, Annie. When we visited his family, he would show off and hug and kiss them. He couldn't wait until our next visit, and every time we arrived at his home, we found him standing at the door waiting for us. This was not unique to little Ben because it happened in every home we visited.

At one time, I thought these children were hungry for attention but I soon found that they had all the attention they needed. This is just how loving and sweet these children are. You just have to love them.

Walker may have looked like this when he was taken from his foster home.

I spent a number of years providing insurance and retirement plans for the Adolescent Treatment Center in Shiprock, New Mexico. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to work very closely with the great counselors that worked with these fantastic young people. One of the counselors named Carol, was working very hard with a beautiful young lady and she was doing a great job with her. However, one day the girl left unexpectedly. Carol searched everywhere for her, but as far as I know, the girl was never found. Carol almost went out of her mind with worry. I figured that if she took every case this seriously she wouldn't be able to continue with her work. When I asked her about it she told me that there is pain, but also great joy, when you are able to save one of these young people. She said she felt that in the long run those at the treatment center would be saving more than they would be losing. If Carol would have known Walker, she would have known when he reached that point where he were ready to explode and she would have been able to help him. Carol would have known exactly how Annie, Walker's aunt,felt when she saw Walker coming unhinged at the seams and was unable to do anything about it.

It is really tough on the reservations for some of these young people because they are caught between two cultures which are so different from each other. They also must deal with the high unemployment rates and the fact that so many people are living off government handouts. These experiences helped me develop Windwalker's personality and hopefully make his character come to life. I will be addressing the conditions on the reservation in much more detail in my next book, "Bring It On".

One of my callings, or jobs, in the Church was Employment Specialist where I would find jobs for unemployed ward members to help them get back to work. I have come to realize that a man must work for his own self- respect and spiritual strength.

In 1941,Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, deceased Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made a statement that fits this situation. "A man out of work is of special moment to the Church because, deprived of his inheritance, he is on trial as Job was on trial--for his integrity...Continued economic dependence breaks him....He is threatened with spiritual ruin...The Church cannot hope to save a man on Sunday if during the week it is a complacent witness to the crucifixion of his soul." So yes, I do believe a good education and jobs could cure a lot of problems on the reservations. As you read about Walker's story I hope you will realize it is only a reflection of what I have seen in so many young people.

When Robbie, Walker's younger brother, was little, he could have looked like this Native American boy.

Robbie's character is based on two people I have known. One was a baby that was rescued and later adopted by an LDS family in my ward, or congregation. One Sunday, we had a family visiting our ward who had spent the previous night in Moab, Utah. They mentioned that there was a couple staying in the motel room next to them who had a little baby. They said the couple was drinking and taking drugs and they were afraid the baby, who cried all night, wouldn't make it because the parents weren't caring for it. A family in our ward went to Moab and found the baby almost dead. They called the authorities and were later given custody of the baby. They were eventually able to adopt him. You will recognize part of this story in the book where Buddy went into the motel and rescued Robbie. The baby our church member rescued was a Down Syndrome baby and that child was the most loving and happy child I have ever known. Time after time the family bore testimony as to what a great blessing this little boy was for their family. This showed me that God really knows what he is doing. For more information on Down Syndrome click on the picture below.

In the book, Robbie had MS because Down Syndrome wouldn't have worked in the story. That brings us to the other person who formed Robbie' character, Elder Smoot (I hope this is the correct spelling of his name. Its been a long time.) Elder Smoot was one of the missionaries who taught my family the requisite discussions before we joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had MS so badly that he had to use hand-held crutches for both legs so he could walk. I would watch him come down the driveway and sometimes wonder if he was going to make it to the house. This young man always had the warmest smile and never complained about his health. In fact, every time he prayed he thanked Heavenly Father for helping him serve his mission. Sometimes when he prayed, I actually opened my eyes expecting to see the Savior standing by his side. I never saw the Savior but I knew he was there. This helped me to realistically build Rob's character as a missionary.

In the book Rob was able to serve his mission. After his mission he married a young lady he had baptized. They were married in the temple for all time and eternity and their children were also sealed to them, a family forever. With great difficulty he finished college and shortly after that, he passed away and all the angels greeted him as a hero.