A copper tone Fiat Stratus with jigsaw cracks in the body paint pulled into the crowded restaurant lot. A lanky, somewhat underweight, six-foot driver stepped out, stretched, and popped his vertebrae, fingers, toes and ankles.

←1976 Fiat Strada, Late 70's tight fitting Jordach jeans, Mock Military shirt
Short Index

Who is Sgt. T. Douglas?
Chronologist

     Chronologist is an official term within certain Religious Orders, such as Carmelites, Franciscans and Dominicans. The province or individual houses may select an individual friar or monk to record significant happenings for their archives. These chronologies have proven valuable to historians, especially if the accountings can be annotated, that is compared to other documents and records of the area or related to a given concern or situation.
     Sgt. T. Douglas is not my fictional character’s full true name, but that is all I give for his name in the novels. I give him a brief one-day meeting of two major protagonists in 1972. that meeting took place in Turkey. The trio learns that they all have some significant connection to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan including that of the Village of Birch Clump. The three meet again in 1978. Cuautlotazin and Joseph Mandaamin are members of the local Friary and Douglas has scheduled a retreat there.
     His interest in the Native American monastery induces him to begin interviewing locals. The project snowballs and he spend the rest of his life researching and recording the order’s history, founded around 1945.

Douglas’ Bio:

     There is not significant database on Douglas, so far anyway. He was born in 1951, but I haven’t determined just where, but it have been anywhere in Michigan or maybe Northern Wisconsin. He admits to having relatives scattered through the Northern Great Lakes region. He had knowledge of Rev. Matthews and wife Clara prior to meeting anyone from Birch Clump. I have yet to divulge background on how or why he knew the Matthews.
     We know he spent at least the better portion of his growing up years in a middle class working neighborhood of Detroit’s northern suburbs. He joined the Air Force around 1969 or 70 on a six-year enlistment and that one of his assignments included Incerlik Airbase in southeastern Turkey, a place that might be about an hours drive from Tarsus.
     He stands six feet, one inch. He weighed a mere 145 pounds at the time of his introduction and did not tip the scales over 150 pounds until the mid 1980s. He leans a bit towards a dark complexion and had blond hair. I used a photo of myself, seeing as he and I had a similar build back then, to draw the picture you see of him on this page. After all, he is fictional and thus no real pictures are available for him.

     The passage below is a snippet from Hawk Dancer when he began collecting the information I purportedly used to write the books.

A copper tone Fiat Stratus with jigsaw cracks in the body paint pulled into the crowded restaurant lot. A lanky, somewhat underweight, six-foot driver stepped out, stretched, and popped his vertebrae, fingers, toes and ankles. He arraigned his Polo shirt to lie neatly over the belt of his tight Jordache jeans, and then doubled checked the straps securing his head rack before going inside. He took note in the mirror of a bustling waitress eying him up and down. He turned swiftly just to see how fast she could divert her eyes. An order of six Dr. Peppers toppled as she walked into a departing customer. T. Douglas, the new arrival, ducked into the restroom before he spurted out his laughter. He did a quick job of freshening up and returned to the foyer. Douglas asked another customer for directions to Assumption Hermitage.
     “If you can get in there today, funeral and all, its a couple three miles or so straight up the road. It’s hid by trees, so look carefully. Lots of action there today, though.”
     T. Douglas appreciated the clarity of “a couple three miles or so.” He caught the reflection of the waitress a second time as he turned to leave. He gave a wink and her load of replacement drinks ended up on another customer about to take leave.
     Three days after the funeral, the hermitage was back to a quieter pace. Jacob and Joseph ventured to the cabin Douglas stayed in.
     “What have you here?” Jacob asked.
     “An old pocket recorder I got in the Air Force,” Douglas showed them, “Hope you don’t mind, but I filled up several mini tapes from people who shared their stories about Bro. Job and the history of this place.”
     He read the apprehension people might feel when their lives are being recorded. Yet the younger priest’s voice was not at all negative, “Have you any plans for this?”
     “No plans,” T. Douglas slowly returned with. “Not now. Do you mind if I write some of this up for you?”
     Their Smiles accepted the offer.

Chapter 14 – Freedom

     On Friday, August 11, 1978, the 95th Congress passed the following resolution creating public law 95-341: American Indian Religious Freedom [S.J. Res. 102]
     Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America … that hence forth it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, … including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites.