I Fled

By Donna Barnett

Tormented by the Constant teasing and giggling of his classmates, Willie Madson flees his hometown to search for therapy for his acute stuttering problem.

Follow Willie's path to recovery.
Will he beat the odds?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491818671

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© 2014 by Don Barnett. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/06/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1868-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1867-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013917283

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Author Notes

Introduction

Part One

How Not To Help A Boy With A Stuttering Problem

Chapter One Meet Willie Madsen

Chapter Two The Good Scout

Chapter Three I Gotta Get Outta This Place

Chapter Four Settling Down In Disguise

Chapter Five A Job

Chapter Six Therapy? What Is It?

Chapter Seven A Roof Over My Head

Part Two

How To Help A Boy Who Stutters

Chapter Eight Time To Call Kelly

Chapter Nine This Stuff Called Therapy

Chapter Ten Time To Talk Out Loud, With An Audience

Chapter Eleven The Debate And Forensic Team

Chapter Twelve Life With Stuttering: Summer School And Baseball

Chapter Thirteen Just How Low Can A Fella Fall?

Chapter Fourteen The Fire, Aka The Start Of Adulthood

Chapter Fifteen Helping Others

Chapter Sixteen Dear Mom And Dad

The Moral Of The Story

Who Should Read This Book?

Afterword

The Great What If

About the Author

Attention Reader

A Warning:

This story about a boy with a severe stuttering problem is an example of the stress, discomfort and frustration that a circumstance of this nature presents to a young person. In this case, the 8th grader makes his decision to flee from his home town to seek help, counseling, and therapy in a large city. Please bear in mind; this story is set in a time when there were fewer laws and regulations to protect children. Well-meaning adults might be willing to look the other way if a boy seemed to be managing on his own. It also was a more innocent time when there were fewer dangers lurking in our streets and neighborhoods.

I urge any young person who is facing a similar situation to never run away from home to the dangers within a large city. With pedophiles and sexual predators, so prevalent in our society, the young person should remain close to home and family, seek therapy and help through the assistance of his or her family, friends, teachers, school administrators, and others who will secure sound counseling and therapy for the student.

This is a fictionalized story about one methodology of therapy that proved to be helpful to one young man with a stuttering problem, similar to my own stuttering issues, in the l950s. I stayed home. Teachers, school administrators, and therapists/counselors helped me with this complex process of therapy. I did not run away, and I urge you, the reader, to heed this advice and find help close to your home.

Thank you.

Don Barnett

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

The Wisdom of Sir Francis Bacon:

Reading Maketh A Full Man.

Conference (discussion) A Ready Man.

Writing An Exact Man.

DEDICATION

I am pleased to dedicate this short story about stuttering to a pair of exceptional and highly motivated teachers who made a positive effort to assist me with professional guidance, and much affection, during my teen years in Rapid City, South Dakota.

By age 12, stuttering was having a profound and negative impact upon my life. Mrs. Hazel Prunty, my favorite teacher in the eighth grade, demonstrated much patience and caring for me when I met privately with this wonderful educator and defined my extreme unhappiness and personal stress about my stuttering. She spoke immediately with the school principal, and arranged for a skilled therapist to meet with me twice weekly during my last two years in Junior High School. She also immediately explained my circumstance to several other teachers. These dedicated educators became instant allies in Mrs. Prunty’s project. My scholarship radically improved, and I began to think about the possibility of extending my education in college.

Before my sophomore year, Mrs. Prunty met privately with Miss Hazel Heiman, my senior high school speech teacher and debate coach who was in charge of the high school forensics program, including our debaters, oratory specialists, and those of us who participated in declamation. I gravitated to oratory and dramatic presentations in statewide competitive events with some success. Miss Heiman made a lasting and extremely positive impact upon my life. This fine teacher was not a pushover and required her students to work diligently on our scholarship to improve our skills on a weekly basis. Her stern direction enabled many of my fellow debate team members to excel in intercollegiate competitive events and achieve much success.

Miss Heiman’s devotion to her students continued for many years after her assistance to me. In l961 she was selected as the International Debate and Speech Coach of the Year from the National Forensic League after guiding her Rapid City High School Debate Team to the National Championship in Pittsburgh. She had earned her BA Degree from Southern State Teachers College and earned her Master’s Degree in Speech and Communication from the University of South Dakota in l959. In the l960s, she earned her Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Speech Communications from the University of Minnesota. For 15 years, Miss Heiman was Chairman of the University of North Dakota’s Department of Speech and Communications in Grand Forks and was inducted in the UND’s Hall of Fame for Communications, Speech, and Theater in l994. After her retirement Miss Heiman taught part time at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota.

By graduation day in May of l960, my eyes were open to the wide horizons of higher education and personal ambition.

May God Bless Mrs. Prunty and Miss Heiman.

AUTHOR NOTES

M y story is set in the fictional town of Cawmphatic, in central North Dakota. The sequence of events reflects many of my experiences with severe stuttering during my teen years.

Miss Ann Sweet Ann Lorbonnett, the insensitive teacher, is a fictional character. The Park Lane Hotel was a regionally famous, historic, elegant, and landmark hotel in metropolitan Denver from the 1920’s to the 1960’s. In the l960s, the hotel, on the west end of Washington Park, was demolished. The site was used for high-rise apartment buildings with mountain views in the 1970s and later converted into condominiums. Fairmont Garcia Junior High School, in the Baker neighborhood near downtown Denver, is a fictional setting for Willie’s therapy.

I would never have completed this short story without much encouragement by dear friends. Ned Leonard of Arlington, Virginia, the best technical writer I have ever met, is a sound personal advisor and wonderful friend. He helped refine this story and remains a dear pal. MacKenzie Walsh Romcevich is a trusted advisor and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Walsh, dear friends in South Dakota. J. Paddock, a close friend in Alabama, provided keen insight and encouragement. Her assistance and support is much appreciated.

My sister, Beverly Erck, in Redlands, California, is the Rock of Gibraltar in my life. Bev earned her Master’s Degree in Guidance and Psychology at the University of Colorado and is much more than a beloved sister to me. Her insight about stuttering was extremely helpful in the l950s. Bev’s career as a guidance counselor and educator is a wonderful example for young professionals in her chosen career field to emulate.

The professionals and executives at the National Stuttering Foundation (www.StutteringHelp.org and 1-800-992-9392) helped me with academic articles and background information about Voluntary Stuttering and Stuttering on Purpose. This foundation is a great source of information on the general subject of stuttering and is serving the therapy and speech fluency profession with outstanding materials and support. Anyone seeking general information, or assistance, about stuttering should begin their personal research at this site.

Linda Bassin is a loving reservoir of kindness, understanding, and affection for me. She is a skilled educator. Her insight about my personal struggle with stuttering and her assistance with phrasing, dialogue, and creative writing were extremely helpful in the preparation of this short story.

The Lester Caltvedt family in metro Chicago and western North Carolina were extremely helpful to me. Les, a pal from the l960s, advised me with his friendship and encouragement as his family helped me finish this project. Sarah, and their daughter Emily, completed many corrections and made suggestions that reflect the current state of scientific and academic methodologies of speech therapy. She helped me relate my issues in the l950s to current thinking about approved and well-tested procedures to help folks today. I, of course, accept full responsibility for the content of this short story. I thank these friends for their patience and affection during this process.

Don Barnett

Littleton, CO

January 4, 2014

INTRODUCTION

I was dead tired but enjoyed a sense of fulfillment and continuing excitement as I hurried down the passenger ramp to board the red-eye United flight at 4:18 that morning for the flight from Logan Airport in Boston to Denver. The last 72 hours encompassed the crowning achievement for my wife, Joanie, and me in our twelve-year career developing our family business to deliver cable TV service to 18,418 homes in seven states.

Joanie had flown home the previous afternoon to prepare for the gala gathering of our family and closest friends this evening to celebrate our grandson’s graduation from the University of Colorado, where he was ranked at the very top of his graduating class. Jerry was an accomplished bass clarinet player, had double majored in Business Math and Music, and had earned two full scholarships for graduate study in music at the Manhattan School of Music and at the Business School at Columbia University in New York City, where he planned to simultaneously earn his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). He hoped to complete both degrees within three academic years and two summer sessions of study.

Jerry and I had already planned three fly-fishing trips together before he left home in late July to begin his graduate studies. He has great skills as a fly-fisherman and is one of the great joys of Joanie’s and my life. I spend most of my time during those outings taking pictures of Jerry, his trout, the moose and elk near the streams, and the grandeur of the Colorado Rockies. We planned to catch and release a few lunkers.

Our entire family was bursting with pride about his accomplishments. We were most proud of his skills and public speaking awards after he had completed five years of intensive therapy to reduce the fluency issues stemming from his stuttering during his teen years. I had experienced the same therapy—and the same distress and tormet—when I was growing up in Cawmphatic, North Dakota and metro Denver in the l950s. Now, Jerry was on his way to higher levels of achievement in his educational pursuits and would not be constantly and overly concerned about his modest stuttering issues.

Our family had made a permanent friendship with Jerry’s therapist, Mr. Benjamin Rose, who had guided Jerry through his intensive therapy for severe stuttering. Mr. Rose had told Joanie and me, Jerry will receive special recognition at graduation next week for his leadership during four years on the CU forensic team. He’s won several regional tournaments—and three national awards—for superior performance in oratory, debate, and extemporaneous speaking. Jerry’s one of my prize pupils.

I had wondered if there was a genetic thread or connection between my stuttering issues in the l950s and Jerry’s stuttering experience during his teen years in metro Denver. For now, the thought passed. However, my question was answered by researchers a few years later. Stuttering can be genetically transferred from one generation to the next.

After the jet leveled off at 35,000 feet, the flight attendant brought me another piping hot cup of coffee. I began my decompression from the past 72 hours. Joanie and I had been featured speakers at a symposium at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on the Boston Common with 623 business school graduates and alumni from several Ivy League universities. Our subject matter had been the content of the business plans Joanie and I had written several years before for the Leisure Time Business. These assets included not only the development and management of cable TV systems, but the construction and operation of 33 public fee golf courses. The third leg of our Leisure Time Business Plan was the development and ownership of 38 self-storage locations with 7,380 units in the Self-Storage business. Now, the cash flow from our golf and self-storage investments were positive, and we did not have plans to sell these legs of our Leisure Time Business Plan.

I had concluded my presentation at the Ritz Carlton about the sale of our Cable TV assets with these words, I always tell my golfing friends, my bankers, and my army and college pals that Joanie is the key ingredient to our success. She had smiled, waved, and simply glowed in the spotlight during the standing ovation.

The plane hit an air pocket over Cleveland, but we were ahead of schedule. I had placed my ragged purple gym bag under the seat in front of me. As I unzipped the bag, the letter from the Dean at Cornell University School of Business dropped out. It was her offer for Joanie and me to present a similar seminar up in Ithica, New York. Wonderful, I whispered. Her request matched the honorarium or fee that we had earned for our work in Boston.

I removed a yellow pad and a red felt tipped pen and reflected on how my life had changed so radically, and in such a positive way, after I had met a speech therapist at Fairmont Garcia Junior High School in Denver so many years ago. Mr. Murray had guided me through my teen years and helped me reduce my terrible and persistent stuttering back in the l950s. The previous years in North Dakota had been the most painful, troubling, and challenging years of my entire life. Frankly, I should include the word suffering in that phrase.

The laughing, teasing, taunting, heckling, and pestering by my classmates and the school bullies had made my life exceedingly miserable. Every time I had been called on to read or recite or participate during class, the thunderous laughter and teasing would resume. The harder I tried to stop stuttering, the more I stuttered.

Reviews for I Fled

[bookswoman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Don Barnett served as Mayor of Rapid City, SD during one of its darkest hours, the 1972 Flood that killed over 200 people. I had no idea that he was a stutterer as a child and this book is a fictional account of some of what he went through as a child. Willie lives in North Dakota where he is attending Junior High School in the 1950's. He has a very bad stutter and it culminates in him throwing a book at a teacher who joins in on the tormenting behavior. Willie decides that he will never go to that school again and plans his escape, he makes his way to Denver, CO. Somehow he talks himself into a local Junior High School as well as into a job and a room where he can be safe. He meets a man who does therapy and starts the process of teaching Willie how to start overcoming his stutter. The method described is the exact method that was used on Don Barnett while in school in Rapid City.I was amazed and pleased and deeply touched by this book. If you have a child who stutters, read this. The methods might not help your child, but the hope given should work.