Writing a book...
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In 2001 I met a remarkable man. When he stood, he stood larger than life, and when he sat down, he usually sat on a purple Harley. We became friends almost immediately. His bald head and leather boots contrasted sharply with his coffee, always way too sweet - what we called "girly" drinks... you know, the double-whipped-mocha-cappa-stirred-way-too-complicated kind of coffee order. That said, very few people in Joshua Cup enjoyed their coffee as much as he did. I usually just had water, and we sat on the plush couches and chairs inside or on the hard metal patio furniture and talked for hours about anything and everything.
John was already having a rough life. John Kennedy Peterson grew up in an orphanage. He watched a kid he called brother kill another kid, another tragic handgun accident. John was in more than a dozen foster homes (most of them as unkind as all the stories depict) and eventually decided to just grow up in the home. He got married too young, another statistically relevant and short-lived marriage. While married to his first wife, John lost two children, twins, not long after they were born. He spent significant time in three combat zones. He was honorably discharged as a disabled veteran. It all seemed a lot more exciting than my life of growing up in Middle Georgia kinda not liking my parents and having been betrayed by a couple of friends once.
This may be starting to sound depressing, but I just wish you could have seen the fun we had. You see, John didn't walk around staring at his shoes and blaming the world for his trials and tribulations. He smiled. He laughed. He drank silly coffees, and gave solid advice to young people, and road his beautiful motorcycle all year long. We walked the streets of Macon together, greeting everyone we met, giving a dollar to just about every homeless person we saw, having a beer Cherry Street and a slice of pizza on Cotton Avenue, and we enjoyed every day of our lives.
People said we were a little scary, and they had a point... I stand 6'2" with long, dirty blond hair, and John is a solid 6' with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. It surprised many of our friends when they realized that the only bar fight we were ever in resulted in the police being called. Well, that wasn't the surprising bit. The surprise is that, after hearing all of the bystander accounts, the police asked us if we wanted to press charges. You see, three drunk morons saw two big guys and decided to pick a fight. I hesitated, thinking a night in jail might cool them down. John didn't hesitate; he immediately told the officer that a bar fight is a bar fight, and they probably had families to go home to. No charges were filed.
Why am I telling you any of this? Because knowing John Peterson, even a little, even vicariously, is a pleasure and a privilege. Because John served his country and his friends and his family, and he spent most of that time with a smile on his face and an almost excessive love of life. I'm telling you this because John doesn't smile much anymore.
My dear friend's ex kidnapped his children, and was hiding/detaining them in a foreign country. He rescued them. 6 courts later, with a Supreme Court win, I'm ready to tell the whole story.
I am writing a book. Whatever is collected here will pay for typing, editing, proofreading, and publishing the book. The eBook will be produced first, and the physical book will come along later, if it makes sense to do so. I am producing the eBook first because it costs less in physical materials and it can be marketed more broadly.
The book will show how John got himself into this mess. It will tell the story of who he is and how he became that man. It will explain why he would put so much effort into being a good man and a good father. It will demonstrate the challenges he has been through to fight the good fight, and how maddening it was for him to sit and wait for the courts to send their replies. This book will also openly expose the practices of a little-known cult, and their powerful friends.
Specifically, I am going to detail his journey from a retired paratrooper with a motorcycle to fighting for his (and all parents') rights at the Supreme Court of the United States. Coming off of our win at the Supreme Court (see the timeline and win at https://certpool.com/dockets/11-8384), I realized how wild his story is. Not just the kidnapping stuff, which is a roller coaster on its own, but the struggle with the Juvenile Court, Superior Court, and Federal District Court. Then, to top it all off, he represented himself at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
By now you may be wondering what happened? Here's a preview...
John's wife and her cult, The Family International (formerly Children of God), kidnapped him and their four children in a foreign country. They stole passports and threatened John with never seeing his kids again, and occasionally threatened his life. John mounted a rescue, got his kids to safety, and enrolled them in school. He also contacted the authorities, and was confronted with some of the kindest courts and officials imaginable. Then, he got more than a glimpse of the other side of the system, and was shown some of the most scandalous corruption anyone could imagine.
Right now, the only thing available online about the case makes him look horrible, like a bad guy, and I intend to set the record straight, including detailing the redemptive nature of his Supreme Court win. Hopefully, that's where you come in...
John was already having a rough life. John Kennedy Peterson grew up in an orphanage. He watched a kid he called brother kill another kid, another tragic handgun accident. John was in more than a dozen foster homes (most of them as unkind as all the stories depict) and eventually decided to just grow up in the home. He got married too young, another statistically relevant and short-lived marriage. While married to his first wife, John lost two children, twins, not long after they were born. He spent significant time in three combat zones. He was honorably discharged as a disabled veteran. It all seemed a lot more exciting than my life of growing up in Middle Georgia kinda not liking my parents and having been betrayed by a couple of friends once.
This may be starting to sound depressing, but I just wish you could have seen the fun we had. You see, John didn't walk around staring at his shoes and blaming the world for his trials and tribulations. He smiled. He laughed. He drank silly coffees, and gave solid advice to young people, and road his beautiful motorcycle all year long. We walked the streets of Macon together, greeting everyone we met, giving a dollar to just about every homeless person we saw, having a beer Cherry Street and a slice of pizza on Cotton Avenue, and we enjoyed every day of our lives.
People said we were a little scary, and they had a point... I stand 6'2" with long, dirty blond hair, and John is a solid 6' with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. It surprised many of our friends when they realized that the only bar fight we were ever in resulted in the police being called. Well, that wasn't the surprising bit. The surprise is that, after hearing all of the bystander accounts, the police asked us if we wanted to press charges. You see, three drunk morons saw two big guys and decided to pick a fight. I hesitated, thinking a night in jail might cool them down. John didn't hesitate; he immediately told the officer that a bar fight is a bar fight, and they probably had families to go home to. No charges were filed.
Why am I telling you any of this? Because knowing John Peterson, even a little, even vicariously, is a pleasure and a privilege. Because John served his country and his friends and his family, and he spent most of that time with a smile on his face and an almost excessive love of life. I'm telling you this because John doesn't smile much anymore.
My dear friend's ex kidnapped his children, and was hiding/detaining them in a foreign country. He rescued them. 6 courts later, with a Supreme Court win, I'm ready to tell the whole story.
I am writing a book. Whatever is collected here will pay for typing, editing, proofreading, and publishing the book. The eBook will be produced first, and the physical book will come along later, if it makes sense to do so. I am producing the eBook first because it costs less in physical materials and it can be marketed more broadly.
The book will show how John got himself into this mess. It will tell the story of who he is and how he became that man. It will explain why he would put so much effort into being a good man and a good father. It will demonstrate the challenges he has been through to fight the good fight, and how maddening it was for him to sit and wait for the courts to send their replies. This book will also openly expose the practices of a little-known cult, and their powerful friends.
Specifically, I am going to detail his journey from a retired paratrooper with a motorcycle to fighting for his (and all parents') rights at the Supreme Court of the United States. Coming off of our win at the Supreme Court (see the timeline and win at https://certpool.com/dockets/11-8384), I realized how wild his story is. Not just the kidnapping stuff, which is a roller coaster on its own, but the struggle with the Juvenile Court, Superior Court, and Federal District Court. Then, to top it all off, he represented himself at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
By now you may be wondering what happened? Here's a preview...
John's wife and her cult, The Family International (formerly Children of God), kidnapped him and their four children in a foreign country. They stole passports and threatened John with never seeing his kids again, and occasionally threatened his life. John mounted a rescue, got his kids to safety, and enrolled them in school. He also contacted the authorities, and was confronted with some of the kindest courts and officials imaginable. Then, he got more than a glimpse of the other side of the system, and was shown some of the most scandalous corruption anyone could imagine.
Right now, the only thing available online about the case makes him look horrible, like a bad guy, and I intend to set the record straight, including detailing the redemptive nature of his Supreme Court win. Hopefully, that's where you come in...
Organizer
Benjamin A. Moore
Organizer
Alpharetta, GA
