A Mighty High Wagon Indeed

Russell J. Simon Jr. was convicted and sentenced to prison in 1987 for burglary and assault. According to the books he would write later, No Way but God’s Way and Inside the Walls, his incarceration was the result of a dysfunctional upbringing and chronic alcohol/drug abuse.

He experienced a spiritual awakening after his release and developed a personal recovery program that was so successful that he began promoting it as a motivational speaker. Focusing primarily on a youthful audience, Simon’s program Ten Seconds Can Change Your Life Forever focused on a message of personal accountability and making informed decisions. His website states that he speaks to over a quarter of a million teens and parents yearly on the subjects of drug/alcohol abuse, addiction, and violence. This is probably a well inflated number since I found very little info online of recent speaking engagements, but at least in the past he had earned a reputation as an effective and passionate speaker.

If I had heard of Mr. Russell before this month, he would have probably been highlighted in a post with a TDA salute. The chances of that are nil now that he has been charged with attempted murder and sexual assault during an alcohol and meth fueled relapse rampage.

It must have been a mighty high wagon indeed that Simon J Rusell Jr. fell off of because he struck the ground with a spectacular crash.

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If I had to guess Russell had probably returned to using drugs and alcohol even before he was convicted of domestic abuse in 2004. This is a sure sign of lapsed recovery program, but it seems he was able to hold things together until earlier this month when police responded to his house because of a report of shots fired.

Isanti County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of shots fired about 1:45 a.m. at 4227 313th Ave. N.W. A man who identified himself as a friend of Simon's was found walking near the home. He said he and Simon had been at nearby bars before returning to the home, where Simon lived with a woman and her 9-year-old son.

Simon allegedly stripped naked and hit the man in the face with a statue before grabbing a gun. He then fired the gun as many as seven times at his friend and the woman, the friend told authorities. ~ twincities.com

Being that the one of the weapons he used was a statue of John Wayne, one of my all-time favorite actors, I hope he is also charged with heresy, but wait, it gets worse.

The man fled the house, but the woman stayed behind to check on her son, the criminal complaint said. She found him crying in a room upstairs, next to a room Simon was in with a gun. At that point, Simon threatened to kill her and her son if she didn't perform oral sex on him, according to the complaint. ~ twincities.com

Now you probably understand why the title a mighty high wagon; because he when he fell off, he must have reached terminal velocity before he crashed into rock bottom. I am tempted to express sympathy for Mr. Russell’s plight considering the upbeat message he once preached, but the heinous nature of this man’s crimes just make me glad he’s locked up.

At least no one was killed and if nothing else, his spectacular fall from grace should serve as a very real reminder to all of us in recovery that even the most successful programs are subject to fail without careful maintenance.