"$500,000 by tonight or all you'll need that money for is his funeral." February 27, 2008

That's what the voice on the other end of the phone demanded of my brother-in-law at 6:45AM on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. Paul's been gone just minutes short of 24 hours.Now, we know he's alive. As an added incentive to move quickly, the kidnapper told Tom that Paul was "in a bad way...needs a doctor; maybe a hospital." My stomach lurches at the images of torture and terror that Paul's going through.

Horror turns to panic as the realization hits us that we have less than a day to find HALF A MILLION DOLLARS! Thankfully, a team is growing and assembling in Georgetown, Texas to save the day:

Sergeant Pete Hughey, Detective James Maugham, Texas Ranger Matt Lindemann and First Assistant District Attorney, Jana McKown.

Will they get there in time? Where, on earth, will we ever be able to find that kind of money? Why did this happen?

"Walking Between The Raindrops" by Mary and Paul Roland - An American couple's true story of kidnap-for-ransom in the United States by the most Vicious drug cartel in Mexico - on sale now at Amazon.com.

"No one could have ever invented a story like this. I was especially gratified for their honesty ...", February 22, 2015
By Bridget (Tarentum, PA USA)

"A book of true courage," February 5, 2015
By sharon

"This is a very good book. Follows the victims and suspects from the beginning to the end - seeing the suspect in jail and the victims recovering." February 26, 2015, By Barbara

The worst day of my life - February 26, 2008

7am - Paul kisses me goodbye and leaves. As he shuts the door that connects our apartment to our garage, I step into the shower. It's just another day, same as the last.

10am - My cell phone rings. I think it's Paul but it's someone from his office. He never made it into the office. He didn't call. Somehow, Paul was lost between our apartment and his office just five minutes away.

Noon - Williamson County Sheriff's Office calls me. Opening a missing person report so that Onstar will locate Paul's truck.

2PM - His truck is found but he's not there. His truck is found 20 miles south of where he should have been.

The truck is empty - no wallet, no briefcases, no Paul. All that's left in the truck is his hearing aids; found in the backseat. Hearing aids that tell us, "I was here but someone took me away. Find me."

"Walking Between The Raindrops" by Mary and Paul Roland - An American couple's true story of kidnap-for-ransom in the United States as directed by the most vicious drug cartel in Mexico. On sale at Amazon.com.

Who ya gonna call?

Its no news that I've never been a fan of President Obama, but I respect him and the enormous difficulties he's faced and in a recent interview he was asked why is the US always going into these places to fix things? He said, "When these countries get into trouble, they don't call Russia for help. They don't call Beijing. They call us." I don't think I've heard it put better.

People come to this country for many reasons. Even as frightening as having persons with Ebola enter our country, you know they come here because they want the best chance of survival. They aren't going to Canada or Mexico or Europe. When refugees stream across our borders, many times at great personal risks, they are coming for justice and a better life. They don't sneak into Brazil or Venezuela.

And, while there is no perfect place, no perfect people, American people depend on and respect their law enforcement officers more than any other country I know of. Bad situations are still so rare that they make headlines. We are so used them doing the right things that the media ignores the story of the police officer in Michigan who, pulling a woman over for not having her child in a car seat, decided to buy the woman a car seat and install it rather than give her a ticket. The everyday good things are taken for granted.

When Paul was taken from our driveway in Austin, Texas, we didn't turn to a celebrity or a politician. We turned to the Williamson County Sheriff's Department and they brought together a "dream team" of local, state and federal officers within minutes and hours, working non-stop to bring Paul home alive and safe.

This picture, taken later in the day of Paul's rescue, sums up our family's reaction to the events preceding. Our youngest grandson (at the time) literally flew into Paul's arms, hugging him for all he's worth. It was beautiful and it was heart breaking because we all knew how close we'd come to never being able to do that again. I think of this and am so thankful and grateful to God for how this turned out and then I pray for the loved ones and families of all the others being held captive by evil people.

The headlines from around the world would make us believe that evil is, indeed, in charge. Hate, brutality and viciousness dominate the world and local news, even our "entertainment." But I don't buy it. I choose to remember all the good that is done from individual to individual, groups to communities, nations to nations. Let's celebrate the good not the bad. And, should my family need emergency help again, I'm not going to call Russia or Beijing or even President Obama. I'm gonna call the three men above - Detective James Maugham, Captain Pete Hughey and Texas Ranger Captain Matt Lindemann.