Green Bay Unit to Parker County and Points Between..

I’ve had several clients contact me regarding Gov Abbott reopening the state and visitation. Often obtaining an Absentee Affidavit in smaller “country towns” can be a bit of a hurdle. This morning while in Parker County because my client was turned away yesterday and “just couldn’t bring herself to going back to the Parker County Annex again, I decided to go for her while I was in Weatherford.

Parker County is always a challenge. In the summer of 2015 I organized a picket in order to get my clients, “the first LBGT couple to marry in Parker County” a marriage license. I’m all too aware of how opinionated clerks in Parker County are.

Walking into the annex, the clerks office door is STILL locked. There was a gatekeeper who immediately stopped me and asked “what are you here for?” I answer “an Absentee Affidavit.” The gatekeeper “I don’t know what that is.” My patience for businesses that elect the dumbest person in the room to answer the phone or greet visitors is zero. I wish businesses would learn how they lose business by making dumb decisions but since the clerks office is a government business, I doubt they care.

I’m often “pitched” on an answering service or virtual assistant. The reason I don’t let anyone take calls or messages for me is because my clients want answers. Why waste their time and mine by hiring someone who doesn’t have any real answers to take my calls? I return calls, emails and DM’s between clients. I have all of the answers. If a client is flying in from another state, I also assist with travel arrangements and hotel suggestions to ensure they are in a safe area. No one could answer the questions I do on a daily basis FOR ME.

The gatekeeper stands there after making her statement about not knowing what an Absentee Affidavit is staring at me. I sigh. “Can you go find someone who is familiar with the forms pertaining to marriage that include an Absentee Affidavit?” My patience dealing with a gatekeeper is waning. I’m not going to stand there and educate her about what a clerks office does. She walks into the office and locks the door behind her. I wait.

Another clerk walks out and interviews me regarding why I need an Absentee Affidavit. This is why I do what I can to prevent my clients from encountering crispy clerks. I’m mailing Parker County Affidavits this afternoon.

I look forward to meeting all of you at your County Jail Wedding soon and CAN’T WAIT to get back on the road to TDCJ Units after an entire year…

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time” – Leo Tolstoy

Since mid March my TDCJ Clients have been waiting for visitation to reopen. During this window of uncertainty and the chaos of a pandemic, I have heard over and over “Covid-19 isn’t real” from people who aren’t medically trained. People have plenty of opinions in the midst of a crisis but as is usually the case little or no solutions.

I’ve never been shy about voicing my beliefs and a few days ago while commenting on one of my friends and a former clients post was attacked by someone who thought he knew me based on my skin color.

Traditionally, I would allow such a shallow minded comment to go unobserved. However since we are now not only in the midst of a pandemic but also a worldwide upset and this idiot “assumed I didn’t care about black lives,” I chose to respond.

After all, who was this guy? What led him to believe that he could or should judge me when my friend and I were discussing the possibility of visitation being reinstated?

An angry person misdirecting his anger at me who ironically had no idea that I’m an advocate for not only prison reform but also bail reform AND I believe in the power of peaceful protest.

For the record, I marched in Fort Worth twice and would have attended other marches but couldn’t due to my schedule.

Unlike many marchers who are more interested in filming their presence at these peaceful protest marches, I chose not to check in or film.

Going live on FB effectively “misses” the entire point of the peaceful protest by focusing on their phone rather than the moment, I chose not to post to social media.

Posting or live feeding at an historic event is in my opinion rude. Not everyone wants their photo or video posted to social media.

People videotaping aren’t asking for permission to publish video or photos. Why? They don’t care. Children have been present at “Fort Worth Friendly Black Lives Matter Protests.” Do parents want their children’s photos all over the internet? Likely the answer is no.

Although Fort Worth is the one major city that has remained peaceful in support of Black Lives Matter, why everyone feels the need to video every aspect of the march rather than focusing on why the match exists and what it’s actually about continues to be evident everywhere we turn from social media to news outlets with teens and young adults videoing everything whether it’s peaceful or far from peaceful.

It’s alarming to me that people and opinions seem to always clash while one side judges the other. I didn’t see any clashing or anger in Fort Worth.

Instead I saw mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, sons and daughters at Fort Worth marches.

I saw Unity within the Community. I saw people from all walks of life.

So for anyone like the person judging me in FB comments that doesn’t know me and assumed that he did by running over to my public FB Page without bothering to get to know me, my beliefs, my background or my passion for all people, I educated him. I enlightened him.

I let him know that the next time he stereotypes someone that he should ask himself why it’s so easy for him to judge others and reevaluate the need or desire to do so. He finally stopped commenting.

I was willing to go on and on. Why? Because I’m educated enough to debate with people who think they know everything who don’t that’s why.

I’m frequently contacted through DM by people trolling to find a target. These keyboard warriors sitting in their parents basements are bullies.

They love to find someone to attack and of upset. I love to respond to them publicly on my FB Page Prison Weddings With Wendy Wortham.

Nearly all of my keyboard warrior DM trolls message me through my prison page after midnight.

I’m rarely DM’d by trollers on my other main FB Page, Texas Twins Events/The Pawning Planners but occasionally it happens.

Why? Because the person contacting me “doesn’t believe inmates should have the right to marry.”

Or “I don’t believe in LBGT Marriage. I’m strongly opposed.” WHO CARES?! I don’t care. My clients don’t care. Grow up and get a life buddy.

Stop looking for something to be upset about. Stop seeking someone to unload on. I’m busy. Keep your opinions. They are YOUR luggage and YOUR trip.

Still other people want to advise me of “their stand regarding bail or prison reform” through DM’s. Hmm. You can’t silence me buddy. No one can.

There are people sitting in jail who haven’t been convicted of a crime.

These people are incarcerated SOLELY because they are too poor to post a bond. Is that justice? Is that fair? Should poverty define freedom?

If you believe being poor should factor into being just or fair then you have more issues than common sense can remedy.

Time is one thing we can’t ever regain. Time is a priceless commodity. Life is precious.

As we continue to wait for visitation to be reinstated within all of my service area states, I want to once again state for the record I believe in the power of peaceful protests. I believe in speaking for those whose voices cannot be heard.

Social injustice affects everyone. I should also add that I believe there are good police. I’m also aware that there are bad police. I don’t judge any group of people on the actions of one. I never have.

I judge people based on how they treat me. How their actions affect others.

I was sent a photo posted of an officiant who was racist a few days ago. An officiant who backtracked by posting an apology. Yes, I’ve been it. Everyone can stop sending it to me as I was well aware prior to her post of her dim views and position.

I’m also well aware of other officiants who continue to point out that I’m “LBGT Friendly.”

Guess what? If you are on ANY Wendy Wortham website and don’t recognize or realize that I’m VERY public regarding my beliefs and position, you are either blind or illiterate. I can’t solve stupidity. No one can.

What I can do is be who I am. Take it or leave it.

Don’t pretend to be who you aren’t. Your racist rant was well publicized. You know what bothers me the most is when people like you get caught with your pants down and then backtrack with some half ass apology for your own behavior. You posted something that offended everyone. In the midst of a pandemic. In the midst of social injustice. In the midst of people being unemployed for two months with job loss or wage cuts. Keep your insignificant and phony apology.

As for anyone else running around screaming “Wendy Wortham performs gay marriages” you should know ALL of my websites publicly reflect my affiliation with the LBGT community. The word gay is a slur. Stop using it. Grow up and stop gossiping.

Maybe if you’d spend more time on cultivating your business and catering to your clients rather than running around condemning others you might actually have clients. Boom.

I’m well aware that there are racist bigots running around and I’m well aware that there are trolls trying to stir the chili.

What you need to know and understand though is that someone somewhere is always going to be on the other side.

I have a number of clients waiting on paperwork or dates across Texas.

Due to the visitation ban, when we are able to move forward, there is a very strong possibility that I will have stacked clients at numerous Units.

A stacked day means I have 2-8 clients at the same unit on the same day. Please arrive 15 minutes early on wedding day.

Remember to bring your state issued ID and marriage license.

Handwritten vows should be handed to me prior to shakedown. I will hand them back after clearing.

I look forward to seeing all of you very soon at your prison weddings.

As for the bail bondsmen who continue to wish I wouldn’t post accurate truths about the nature of their industry though they can get over themselves…

Love, Life, Loss And The Power Of Patience. Clerks Office Closures & Chaos..

Yesterday my Ferguson Unit bride contacted me regarding buying her license. The Unit had finally sent the Absentee Affidavit and Inmate ID but she lives in another state and many Texas clerks are either closed altogether or requiring an appointment to purchase a marriage license.

Dallas county is no longer taking appointments and is closed until further notice.

Walker county is only booking appointments with residents living in the county.

Tarrant county is taking appointments but they are booked two weeks out towards the end of the month.

The Absentee Affidavit has a 30 day shelf life once notarized. Often 8-10 days have passed by the time my clients receive this vital document from the Unit.

Because many of my clients are having trouble finding anywhere to buy a marriage license, the possibility of having to send a second Absentee Affidavit exists.

Normally, law libraries at prisons (state or federal) are hesitant to notarize a second Affidavit for an inmate but these are extraordinary times. I’ve spoke to nearly 100 Units to advise law libraries that many of my clients are unable to find a clerks office to buy a marriage license in order to give them a heads up that a flood of second I60 Affidavit notary requests are not only a possibility but most likely a probability.

Don’t worry ya all the law libraries are aware of your struggle to find a county clerk open within the short shelf life of the state issued absentee affidavit.

Many people as shocked and disheartened at learning after finally obtaining the paperwork they waited months to receive that they can’t find a clerk to sell them a marriage license.

In a sense this new trend of no clerks available is deja vu for me. How so? I’ve encountered my clients having problems getting marriage licenses before. In June 2015 to be precise. Oh my the summer of 2015 was a carnival of chaos! Due entirely to opinionated clerks refusing to issue a marriage license to same sex couples? Yes.

The problems lasted for months in Texas. There wasn’t a pandemic. There was something equally extraordinary going on. The Supreme Court ruling granting same sex couples the right to marry. This decision occurred on June 26, 2015.

What happened next in Texas would surprise my excited couples running to the courthouse.

Couples who had never expected to have the right to marry.

Couples who were celebratory in their anticipation of dashing off to the clerks office to buy a marriage license.

Couples who then contacted me when no one would issue them a license at a clerks office. The first call shocked me. The second call infuriated me but the calls kept coming and I effectively saddled up to drive and meet clients here, there and everywhere to walk into the courthouse with them. They were too intimidated to walk in alone.

The news of others being turned away caused further anxiety for them. “Please Ms Wendy we need you to come with us.” In Parker County my clients called crying and said “we will never get married they nearly threw us out of the clerks office.” I orchestrated a picket in Parker County. My clients Kat and Tiffany were the first same sex couple to be issued a marriage license. But it wasn’t easy. It was a hurdle that took days to overcome.

Yes, I’ve seen problems getting a marriage license before and firsthand.

Many of my clients the summer of 2015 had me calling clerks across Texas to see who would issue a license. Others wanted me to go with them. Still others chose for me to marry them in Oklahoma or Arkansas. They gave up on getting a license in Texas.

My team and I saddled up and drove to Oklahoma so many times that the “Welcome to Texas” or “Welcome to Oklahoma” signs were like a revolving door for our suvs running here or there.

It was a trying time in Texas. The controversy went on for months.

I was all over Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas that summer of 2015. Covering every base.

In 2017, I would (yet again) encounter opinionated clerks. THIS time for different reasons. This time because they didn’t believe inmates should have the right to marry. Especially LBGT inmates. Heaven help us. Texas clerks who forgot their job description included issuing marriage licenses?

People who had been hired to issue marriage licenses for a living that refused to do their job.

Opinionated county clerks refusing to issue marriage licenses based on religious reasons? AGAIN? I was as shocked as my clients.

Tarrant County was by far the nicest clerks office I have ever encountered in Texas and still is.

Tarrant County is also accepting from other counties which is why they are backlogged.

If you are a booked client and your marriage license expires waiting for a date, I will reimburse you reimburse you 1/2 the cost of your marriage license but this offer is ONLY VALID for previously booked clients as a courtesy.

Yesterday I was also interviewed by a journalist in California apparently following my blogs and social media who “found me on LinkedIn.” Was I lost? Lol. Media people always “find me on LinkedIn.”

It’s a running joke with Cindy and I. Cindy “how did they find us?” Wendy “apparently they were looking on LinkedIn.” We both laugh.

This journalist was initially only interested in my balcony elopement ceremonies at my home due to restrictions of group gatherings.

Love will find a way and for clients canceled by the venue, it did right in my front yard.

After discussing the challenges this virus has brought to my clients marrying an inmate in the many states that Cindy and I service, the interview switched over to “why and how I became a prison officiant in Texas?” Oh brother here we go again… I’m so controversial or so a few people think.

I had been marrying people in jails and federal facilities for many years in other states long before I began officiating in Texas state prisons.

Why? No one had asked me to officiate in a TDCJ facility until April 2017.

In three years now I’ve officiated several hundred Texas Department Of Criminal Justice weddings.

So many in fact that nearly my entire client base shifted to inmate weddings predominantly in Texas and California but also in 36 other states.

Other service area states only schedule inmate weddings 1 to 2 days per year. Mostly scheduling only occurs 1 day a year in many states which is why and how “we can cover so many states including Texas.”

Texas Units schedule EVERY inmate wedding at their facility two days a month.

Shocking as it may sound, I now regularly “turn down traditional bookings” unless the gig is at a venue that I’m on staff at such as Belltower Chapel.

For three years now, my client base has shifted to prison weddings which (not surprisingly) shocks anyone contacting me from media.

Don’t be shocked. I prefer inmate weddings. Why? Because there are no drunks at a detention center wedding that’s why. There is no drama. There are no divas. There are no guests.

When you’ve been planning and officiating events as long as I have you have seen drama. You have encountered drunks.

I’m picky about large Events and have been for years now. Why? Because I can be that’s why. I don’t have to work. I work because I enjoy the clients, the travel and the special moments I share with my clients.

My life is an adventure from one day right into the next. Retirement? How boring.

Cindy and I are born entrepreneurs. We created a people over profit based business to help anyone. Texas Twins Events and Texas Twins Treasures were merged in order to create a barter option, The Pawning Planners in 2015.

While other vendors laughed, we laughed all the way to the bank.

We helped rich people AND poor people along with any economic level in between. We opened a window to help low to middle income clients that had never existed.

Creative people are often laughed at until someone realizes they are successful.

In 2017, due to the demand for inmate weddings, we again rebranded and expanded Texas Twins Events to include inmate weddings in 38 states. Federal, ICE, Private, County or State operated.

“Entrepreneurs are people that will use any obstacle they encounter as a vehicle towards success.” Cindy Daniel

Now and then, someone noticing our success asks us to train them. This always takes me off guard a bit. I begin reading an email that starts with “I noticed you are the most sought after inmate officiant and decided I would like to start a business like yours. When can I call you to find out how?” Short answer? Don’t bother. I’m not hiring and my entire family work with me as inmate officiants. You will never be successful in the inmate officiant business without three critical components. What are they? Knowledge. Don’t ever walk into a Unit without being fully informed regarding policy and procedure. Educate yourself. Second you will need the clients to make your business successful. Third, you will be required to do far more than simply show up. You will need to assist your clients through a very lengthy paperwork process. Unless you can successfully do all of the above and support yourself financially in your quest to compete, you will fail. This role requires answering your phone 24/7. This role requires knowledge, passion and dedication. This role often requires answering 10-30 emails from the same client throughout the prison wedding planning process.

Traditionally, an officiant spends 30 minutes on site at a wedding and less than 2 hours preparing for the ceremony.

Inmate weddings involve travel. I can map out several Units on the same day and do on a regular basis. Are you ready to drive 2-4k miles a week? If you aren’t this isn’t the business for you.

“We don’t create competition that we don’t have.” We set out to be different from the start. Others laughed. Prison weddings? Where will they find the clients? Heads up we don’t they find us.

Bartering event services? Those twins are crazy. Yea, crazy like a fox. We have been flipping items for most of our lives. We are also experienced appraisers. If we can’t flip it we don’t take it in trade.

We also are capable of creating our own inventory and do including bouquets, bouteniers, veils and floral designs. We bring everything our clients need on wedding day. We own the inventory we loan.

Cindy and I were different from the beginning of Texas Twins Treasures by flipping refurbished items as early as 2003 with our first EBay account. We had to be creative! Why? Both of our husbands were unemployed.

Flipping items at Texas Twins Treasures literally saved our farms. We circled our wagons and figured it out. Cindy and I even sold our own furniture to pay the bills and replaced our homes with refurbished furniture items. We found flips then bartered the fabric then bartered the labor with a local upholsterer.

Cindy and I learned how to be creative. Why? We had no choice. We didn’t have parents to call for help. We had each other.

Poverty is a great teacher. You learn how to survive while learning to think outside the box. Cindy and I aren’t in the teaching industry. Sure if we had time we could be but we don’t. We have three businesses with a very diverse group of clients that warrant our attention.

Cindy and I are in the entrepreneurial industry. Experienced public speakers, problem solvers and selling geniuses. We’ve worked in sales for thirty years. We’ve also worked as brand ambassadors. People are either born to sell or they aren’t.

Cindy and I don’t just sell what other people sell. We sell what people want. Dedication, quality, transparency, honesty and integrity. You can build a business from the ground up. We did.

Cindy and I have built all of our businesses solely on happy clients referrals. Loyalty is important to us. We have never advertised or needed to.

“Without common sense your wealth today can become your poverty tomorrow.” Cindy Daniel

My candor often shocks media people contacting me now and then.

Perhaps they are unprepared for my transparency? Oh well that’s THEIR LUGGAGE and THEIR TRIP.

If you are contacting me for an interview, buckle up for transparency, honesty and candor. My life and my business are a wild mix. From an exclusive venue to a prison? You bet.

Any journalist contacting me is contacting me because they are either shocked we make our diversity work or surprised at our success.

Often, “media people” are equally taken back by our grit, drive, determination and ambition.

These Texas Twins are just as resilient as our clients. Our inmate wedding clients are warriors. They do it all and they do it on the outside alone. They are resilient, passionate and perseverant.

“If you don’t focus on your journey to success you will end up working for the person who did.” Cindy Daniel

Monday I was contacted by someone with the Dallas Morning News who had read my blog on Texas Twins Events regarding “Catfish Adoption Scams.”

Did I think at the time that the person contacting me was using me as bait to get to my client, Deanna? No. I thought someone contacting me because she wanted to give up her baby was a blessing.

After all, April 11 was and will always be a heartbreaking day for Deanna and Burt. It was the day they lost DeLilah at Harris Hospital. It was the day I baptized DeLilah.

Two days later I officiated Delilahs memorial.

Several months later, my niece and twin sister joined me at a photo shoot for the Villareal IVF fund.

Deanna needed family photos for her campaign. Months later Deanna learned she couldn’t conceive. Months later Deanna decided to try surrogacy. A year later, Deanna still had no success.

Fast forward November 2019. A message sent to my FB account by Lacey stated “I’m pregnant and I want to give my baby up for adoption.” It’s hard to surprise me.

FB hid this message from me until I was searching hidden messages last Tuesday and found it. No one was more shocked to see that message than I was.

But over the course of a few days, Lacey would show her true colors. Lacey never did speak to me on the phone. She always had an excuse. She would only correspond by text and messenger.

Lacey could have been a man for all I know. Here’s what I do know, Lacey wanted to get her claws on Deanna and used me to get to her.

Deanna would do anything for a baby and somehow some way Lacey knew it.

Each and every day I’m contacted by someone who is trying to accomplish this or do that and has no idea how. I’m accustomed to unique situations. I wasn’t familiar with the situation of someone like Lacey. I prefer transparency in all areas of my life.

I’m still reeling from Lacey and the drama that unfolded Easter Sunday. Deanna is too but we will both be far more cautious from this point forward.

If you missed the blog on Texas Twins Events, here’s my last eye opening blog post about Lacey and her for profit adoption scheme… Deception And Direct Deposit? Adoption Scam.

Back to county clerks chaos… Whether you find a clerk in time to obtain your marriage license or not, stay calm. We can send another Affidavit to the Unit.

For my county jail clients, it’s often easier to wait until the inmate is transferred. Why? Because currently no county inmates are being chained into the system. County Jails have no law library.

An Absentee Affidavit REQUIRES a notary.

If a County Jail won’t allow a mobile notary into their facility, you cannot obtain the Texas required Absentee Affidavit.

I’m off today to ship our latest addition to Texas Twins Treasures, logo designed face masks. We have sold out twice which is pretty surprising to Cindy.

Cindy and I are currently sold out of all Texas Twins Treasures logo detailed face masks and we will have new stock in two weeks.

Cindy and I will not be restocking Versace until mid May as Chanel and LV outsold the Versace masks hands down.

We sell what sells and apparently the Versace isn’t as popular. I don’t know why because I liked the Versace because it was different but apparently not everyone else did.

My twin grandnieces, Maryssa and Makenna are models our latest additions to Texas Twins Treasures. Maryssa is a ham for selfies anyway so she’s having fun hamming it up for the camera.

Why did we go into the mask business? The possibility of all my service area states and State as well as Federal Units possibly requiring not only Cindy and I but also all of our clients to wear masks after the Coronavirus exists.

Walking into a prison after Covid-19 wearing a mask will be different but it’s safety first issue.

Unable to find masks for ourselves or our clients, Cindy and I decided to make our own.

Our success by offering designer masks has shocked a few of our competitors who didn’t think of it themselves or who wonder where we are getting our fabric.

Our fabric is straight out of my closet. From designer scarves, dresses, slacks and pants to bathing suits, I’ve been collecting designer logo clothing for some thirty plus years now and used what I had on hand to create these amazing one of a kind designs.

We do not sell fabric for our masks or refurbished furniture items in my Texas Twins Treasures storefront. Why? Because the average Joe has no idea how expensive quality fabric is for one and for two it wouldn’t be a Texas Twins Treasure if you could find it anywhere.

“Some people may get jealous when you find success because they are too lazy to look for it themselves.” Cindy Daniel

Back At TDCJ Beto Unit & Big Surprises At TDCJ Units Revoking Visitation & Rescheduling Of Confirmed Dates…

Monday while traveling from the Tarrant County Clerks Office to Parker and Palo Pinto Jails, my husband send me a text that read “buy toilet paper we are out.”

This wasn’t an unusual request from my husband as I had left with a list of weekly items that I normally buy and stock once a week.

I do not buy toilet paper every week because there are only two of us at our home and we don’t need or warrant more than 4-6 rolls at a time. But, this simple request would become extraordinarily difficult to find for me.

Welcome to the toilet paper controversy with hilarious memes and people laughing at others buying toilet paper this past Monday.

By Friday, the people laughing weren’t laughing.

By Friday people in small town Weatherford were getting into fist fights over Charmin.

By Friday I had seen the world change before my eyes. Hoarding and flipping hand sanitizer for $100 on eBay? I’ve seen it.

Toilet paper for $20 a roll on FB Marketplace? I’ve seen it. People buying all of the cold medicine, alcohol, hand sanitizer and wipes as well as canned food items, sugar, meat and food while wiping out supplies for anyone else? I’ve seen it.

I’ve seen some of the wildest scenarios in four days that I could ever imagine. I wish I hadn’t but I have.

On Friday, Cindy and I took a break between clients to go to Walmart. Shelves were empty. Baskets over turned by angry customers left lying on their sides. Ransacked shelves empty greeted shoppers who didn’t expect this type of “mission” to buy toilet paper or anything else for that matter.

Cindy and I left Walmart and headed to Dollar Tree. No toilet paper. No hand sanitizer. No bottled water.

We then drove to Dollar General and found alcohol for the injections my husband gives me at home because going to the doctor once a week with my schedule isn’t convenient. The alcohol was 50% rather than 70% but it was better than nothing. We also found 2 packs of 4 roll toilet paper. There were only 2 packs of 4 roll TP in the store.

We then left Dollar General and went to Albertsons. Still no hand sanitizer. There was coffee and cream and bread as well as eggs. The panic that would arrive a few days later hadn’t “hit yet.”

I bought cantaloupe, watermelon, broccoli and my usual staple items including coffee and cream as well as salmon and chicken breasts and a few cans of soup.

Had I known that there would be food shortages for my Sunday or Monday shopping depending on my schedule, I might have bought a few cans of soup more, some rice and even some beans or ramen noodles but, hindsight is 20/20.

Monday prior to the hysteria and hoarding going on around me, I arrived home and prepared my suv for the drive to Beto Unit in Tennessee Colony on Tuesday to meet my bride. I had loaded furs, bouquets, hats and fun items from my Texas Twins Inventory and planned a leisurely drive to Beto Unit.

Tuesday, I stopped in Corsicana to visit the Walmart and buy my new grandson the diapers and wipes since I couldn’t find at Cindy’s Walmart Monday.

I would have a few problems finding either the diapers or the water wipes my daughter in law prefers in Corsicana.

There weren’t people agitated racing down the aisles. There was bottled water. There wasn’t hand sanitizer or toilet paper, baby wipes or paper towels.

I needed a few rolls of paper towels but decided I could wing it if I had to by using my tea towels at home.

By Tuesday I still wasn’t alarmed. A few things were difficult to come by depending on where you went while others weren’t. No mass hysteria just YET.

I left Corsicana Walmart and headed to Tennessee Colony/Palestine Texas to meet my client at Beto.

While driving there, a herd of wild hogs came running across the 2 lane road with cars traveling 70-80 miles an hour. I saw the “hub bub” about half a mile ahead and slowed down thinking it was deer or elk.

On closer inspection, it was something I had never encountered on the 300,000 miles I have driven getting to Units in Texas.

Wild hogs? They were huge and could easily flip a car as their girth is low to the ground. I tip toed my way around the herd and traveled on wondering where they had come from and if a driver not paying attention wouldnt slow down until it was too late?

Arriving at Beto, I find my bride in the parking lot. We walk in together. She’s thrilled. Her smile shows her joy. We clear in and wait on the chaplain.

We walk to the traditional photo wall at Beto and it’s coveted with Coronavirus signs.

Frankly, I don’t want to use the wall and have my clients photo peppered with Coronavirus signs on wedding day. I request using the tropical wall in the vending machine area instead and we are granted the privilege to do so.

Leaving the Unit, my bride follows me to an old church just outside Palestine. I begin unloading and finding my favorite areas based on lighting and background. We are laughing and having a great time together. I hand her a bottle of water from my trunk and we spend a few minutes trying different areas and have fun celebrating her marriage.

I love my job. We hug and say goodbye as I head to Dallas North Tower to meet my next client.

Cutting through Tennessee Colony, I’m leery about another encounter with those wild hogs I saw a few hours earlier. My fear is confirmed when I see a hog on the side of the road outside of Cayuga, Texas. Someone wasn’t paying attention.

Backroads in Texas give you a wide variety of surprises such as deer, elk, possums and armadillos which can jump straight off the ground four feet right into your grill. Wild hog herds though were a new one for me.

Cautiously driving towards Corsicana aware that something else could jump out on the road, I’m unaware of the widespread panic spreading across America.

I take calls from clients and Units. I check in with my husband and let my son and daughter in law know I will drop off diapers and other supplies I’ve found to them in the morning. I’m not worried about baby wipes because I assume I can find them. I will later realize I can’t.

By the time I leave North Tower in Dallas, a phone call from my niece at Point Hueneme, California regarding “people fighting over toilet paper and water.” This IS DISTURBING. Toilet paper?

Leigh Ann is frightened. People at the military base are no longer touching and running her ID. Instead, they are now simply looking at it.

People are acting differently. Leigh Ann plans to go to Ventura and try to find bottled water. I advise her to wait until her husband comes back from work since her 4 year old, Madyson is a handful.

Checking the clock on my Sahara, I don’t have time to file licenses in Tarrant County and decide to do so Wednesday morning on my way to drop off cold supplies to my son who has sinusitis and diapers for my grandson.

I decide to stop in Lake Worth to buy groceries, juice and soup. There are no paper towels, water or toilet paper at Walmart. I buy meat, pasta, bread, lunch meat and cheese as well as juice. The supplies are low but I assume the trucks are coming or running behind.

There aren’t entire empty shelves other than cleaning products, hand sanitizers and toilet paper or water. There is still fruit and vegetables. There is still soup, rice, beans and other staples.

Wednesday morning with my Jeep loaded for my sons house, I head to the clerks office. There are signs regarding the Coronavirus everywhere. The governor of California has revoked visitors to prisons. This is alarming.

I have 5 Units next week. Will TDCJ follow suit? I’m thinking no but my husband is thinking a strong maybe on my phone call to him leaving the clerk. “They are cancelling major events. NASCAR, golf, basketball. This is spiraling out of control. Update your clients and stay on top of changes. They will need to know what’s going on. Stay calm. This will pass but it may take a week or two.”

I’m worried but helpless to change what’s coming. Leigh Ann is increasingly concerned watching the news by Wednesday. Costco and Sam’s are running out of everything.

There is no hand sanitizer available anywhere. My son needs it as he is sick with a new baby. Cindy and I decide to make our own hand sanitizer.

My son is getting better but still answers the door in a mask. I begin unloading an full of items for my son and his wife and begin cooking lunch for them while checking on the baby.

Ollie is three weeks old and doing well but he’s fragile. He wears an Owlett sock to monitor his breathing, blood sugar and heart rate.

Leaving my son fully stocked other than baby wipes, I drop in on my husband down the street from my sons development. McBee Homes is just a few miles away. I invite my husband to lunch.

We choose Boo Ray about 1/2 a mile from McBee. It’s dead. There are very few people eating out. I notice it. My husband does too.

My husband decides to ask about my schedule next week and any possible changes. It’s a full plate. I’m at Green Bay Unit Monday. Wallace and Middleton Units Tuesday. Allred and Roach Units Thursday. Estes Unit Friday then back to Green Bay and Parker County. I will be driving about 2300 miles.

My husband again advises me “TDCJ may follow California. Caddo Parrish is also suspending visits.” Matthew like me is following prison news.

I consider cancelled visitation at prisons before answering my husband. “Weekend visits are thousands of people at prisons. My client and I are two people. I’ve decided to add to my booster shots a phnuemonia shot just in case and after Cindy’s heart surgery, believe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her either.”

I’m still not even entertaining the possibility that TDCJ will cancel my confirmed dates. I cannot imagine having to tell my clients who have waited months that another delay looms in the future. I worry. I fret.

I also head to Dr Stern for an adjustment. The stress of Leigh Ann in California and people hoarding along with the possibility that my clients could be rescheduled has me with a stiff neck.

Dr Stern has been my trusted chiropractic go to for twenty years. He knows when I’m stressed I hold stress in my shoulders. My left shoulder is out. He pops it back in and goes over the importance of finding time to relax. I have none. Time is something I never have.

Thursday morning, Cindy arrives at WorthamWorld. We have a list of things to buy for an upcoming wedding at Botanic Garden and head to Hobby Lobby. We both discuss the news media and coverage of this mysterious virus. We worry about Leigh Ann and Maddy in California. But, we don’t think mass hysteria is going to come to Weatherford or Fort Worth. We are both wrong.

I talk my twin into getting a phnuemonia shot with me at Walgreens. We both walk into prisons on a regular basis. Keeping our vaccines up to date is important not only for our own health but also to keep from getting ill and possibly getting our family or clients sick too.

I buy colloidal silver. I buy zinc. I listen to Cindy complain about her arm pain. I have it too but it will get worse later. So painful was my left arm and shoulder by 1AM that I woke my husband crying out in pain. I go get Aleve.

My arm feels like it weighs 100lbs. I worry I’m having a bad reaction.

At 3AM, I call Cindy. Her arm is killing her too. We are both highly concerned this pain will be permanent.

I consider buying a sling the pain is so intense. After reviewing answers from others who have had the same shot, I decide to use my arm rather than prop it.

Friday morning, I drive to Weatherford. Cindy sits for me to meet her after Parker County Clerks Office. We can’t find feminine items for Cindy’s twin granddaughters and decide to set out on a mission. The twins are picky. They are also brand loyal.

Walmart is a mad house. Empty shelves and angry shoppers abound. We leave and go to Big Lots. We then leave and go to Albertsons. We then leave and go to Brookshires then H E B. We come up empty. There are no hygiene products to be found the Twins brand or otherwise.

There’s a fist fight at Brookshires. In small town America? Willow Park of all places? Two grown men fighting over toilet paper.

Someone is honking and yelling at someone else to pull out of a parking lot space. Angry honking which is rare in Texas is everywhere. People are agitated. Angry. Scared.

Governor Abbott announced a state of emergency. He also suggested removing visits from nursing homes, prisons and large gatherings of people.

Fifteen minutes later, TDCJ suspends all visitation. But, does this affect my clients and I as we go into Units during the week. I begin calling Units for next week. The revoked visitation affects my clients. Their dates are cancelled.

Arriving home, I’m still fielding panicked clients in Texas and other states. I have no idea how long this will last.

An email from Chaplain Rentz of Bridgeport Unit that reads “I’ve just got off a conference call with all Chaplains in TDCJ and they have Cancelled all Volunteer entry into Units throughout the state until further notice.”

I’m still trying to determine if my clients are affected when I find that they are. Everyone will need to reschedule. People who have waited months for a very important date. People who will be saddened and disappointed. My people. My clients.

Leigh Ann sends me photos and videos of mass hysteria in California. I advise her that Texans are equally terrified, angry and behaving in a manner I’ve never seen before.

I’m 55 years old. I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve lived through the gas crisis in the 60’s and 70’s. I’ve never seen people fighting over food. I’ve never seen people fighting over water or toilet paper.

I’ve never seen anything like this mass hysteria occur in my lifetime. I hope I never see it again..watching people fight over gas as a child was something neither Cindy or I can or will ever forget.

We are all in this together. Please don’t hoard essential items that others need. Please don’t leave home if you are ill and please wash your hands

Attitude, Aptitude And Experience Are Keys To Success.

This morning while preparing to fly from LAX to DFW, a call from Waco, Texas came in. The caller was planning to marry at TDCJ Robertson Unit. I take calls 7 days a week from 6AM to 9PM. Robertson is slow to or process paperwork. A few of my TDCJ Units are. How do I know? I have 7 clients waiting on paperwork or dates at Robertson and others waiting months at a handful of Units. Lock Downs stop paperwork. Patience in the planning process is a must. 

The Certified Offender ID takes weeks and occasionally months to come in. Once it does, a copy takes an additional few weeks. It’s time consuming to wait on paperwork. Occasionally for my clients, it’s frustrating too. 

Planning your Prison Wedding requires paperwork and if you’ve never done this before, someone patient to lay out the process. I’m that person. 

While McClennan County will allow you to purchase a marriage license with a certified birth certificate and Absentee Affidavit, there are a number of counties who require the TDCJ Certified Inmate ID. Obtaining this ID can take weeks to months. Know this “going in.” 

For many clients, it’s by far easier to obtain a certified birth certificate but if you can’t, the long wait on an ID in Texas begins. Buckle up and be patient. 

You can go to ANY clerks office in Texas to buy a marriage license. Remember though that you cannot buy a marriage license in Texas without both parties being present UNLESS you have a notarized absentee affidavit explaining the absence of the other party. 

The absentee affidavit is critical to getting that license. While the option of an inmate ID or birth certificate exist there are no options regarding the absentee affidavit. 

A few clerks offices require the ID, Absentee Affidavit and Certified Birth Certificate. This is why having options to go to another clerks office are important. 

For a number of folks who think that ANYONE can officiate a Prison Wedding, it should be noted that only a handful of people actually can. That person must be authorized to walk into a Unit. That person should also know and follow all rules of procedure. That person should be reliable, honest and transparent. That person should also have a stellar track record. That person is me. 

Because the planning process can easily take 4-6 weeks in Texas, there are rolling clients on my books at any given time. Because of this, I limit new bookings and I don’t advertise. I am sought after for inmate Officiant services more than anyone else in this industry. Why? Because I care and because I know what I’m doing. I also know the ins and outs. 

A few people were surprised that LBGT prison weddings aren’t uncommon. Others offended about my diverse clients. Some of these people voice their opinions to me. Opinions are not my luggage and not my trip. 

If you are hiring a Prison Wedding Officiant, their role involves far more than just showing up. They should be holding your hand throughout a confusing planning process too. I do. My clients are important to me.What can you wear? From pantsuits to skirts and dresses to slacks, wear what’s within the guideline and what you feel comfortable in. You can wear ornamental headpieces but we must clear the Unit. You may be asked to remove hairpieces to enter the Unit. Don’t panic I will help you redress after clearing into the Unit. Who files the license? You can but I prefer to. Why? Because a license must be filed within 30 days of me signing it. I file licenses three days a week in person or by certified mail. I’m OCD. If you forget to file your license, we can request a duplicate or amend the license but it’s a lot of trouble. It’s easier for me to file it for you and I’m happy to do so.Why do you need a certified copy? The Unit and Inmate Records require a filed copy of your marriage license. While a copy is a few dollars cheaper it isn’t a legal copy. Please request a certified copy and mail it to the attention of inmate records at your Loved Ones Unit.

Why are some Unit photos better than others? Each Unit is different. One Unit has better equipment or a more skilled Correctional Officer taking photos. 

You offer free photos with your extensive inventory as a courtesy. Why? Because weddings are Life Events. I want my clients to have the flowers, the furs, the tiaras, the fascinators, the signs and fun they deserve on wedding day. I want them to have an opportunity to celebrate their marriage.My clients are warriors. They make their love story last. They endure. They persevere. They overcome all obstacles placed in their path. They are the strongest people I have ever met… 

LOVE Is LIGHT To LIFT And HARD To HOLD. TDCJ Allred To TDCJ Cole To Winstar In A Blizzard…

Texas weather is highly unpredictable but for clients who have waited months to marry, getting to Allred Unit yesterday had my husband “volunteering” to spend the day with me to alleviate his fear of me freezing in a ditch. My husband has a wild imagination. Seriously. All of our suvs and trucks are AWD or 4WD. Matthew has never been to a Prison with me and didn’t know what to expect. I advised him to “get ready to meet the most amazing people in the world!” My clients are hilarious, passionate, independent and wonderful in every way. 

Leaving Fort Worth where there wasn’t any sleet or ice and headed towards the eye of the storm just outside Bridgeport, the roads were pretty sketchy and fairly deserted. Everyone was staying off the highways due to a travel alert except the Wortham’s and my clients as well as semi tractor drivers.

Matthew and I rolled into Iowa Park two hours prior to my four Unit Weddings starting at 12:30. Because we were so early I started texting my brides to see where they were. One of my clients was across the parking lot from us. Because we were both early and because the drive to Cole Unit from Allred was three hours, I suggested leaving the Unit to do bridal photos while waiting on my other clients. Rosalinda hopped out of her car and we had some fun pulling out a fur collar and her choice of bouquet while I found a coordinating tiara. Driving back into the Unit, Matthew returned his business calls and emails while I returned emails and answered phone calls. My other clients still weren’t on site at 12:24 so Rosalinda and I walked into the Unit together to check in. 

Walking into the Visitation Area, the Chaplain advised us her wedding would be no contact due to the G4 status of her fiancée. This was a crushing blow. But we cannot change an inmates status or the protocol of contact or no contact Weddings. 

After finishing her ceremony and signing the license, I asked the Chaplain if my other clients were on site. The Officer at entry said no. The Chaplain and I went over the paperwork for reschedules and one of the names I did not recognize as my client. This problem was discussed at length yesterday. If you HAVE NOT booked services and had your LO list my name on an I60, be aware that Allred will now require you to furnish the last 4 digits of my state issued DL. Why? Because you cannot find this information unless I provide it to you that’s why. The person’s who both had listed my name on an I60 and didn’t show up yesterday won’t be rescheduling with my other clients on February 19th either. You will both need to hire and retain my services as you should have done in the first place. The Unit goes through a lot of work to process these I60’s and I’m not going to officiate a ceremony for anyone who hasn’t hired me. 

Minutes prior to rescheduling Vallecia, the Duty Guard announces her arrival. The Chaplain escorted my client and I to the front as I waved goodbye to Rosalinda and said hello to Vallecia. We followed the Chaplain back into the Unit. Following her ceremony, the reschedules of my other clients have been moved to February 19th.

Matthew was enjoying 70’s rock and ready to roll to Bonham. We hit the Whataburger and drive through small towns named Jolly and Muenster before seeing Nocona known for western boots. We both notice nearly everything other than gas stations are closed driving through these quaint towns while the townpeople stay warm and dry at home in small town America. 

Arriving at Cole Unit I send a text to my 5:30 bride to let her know I’m on site. She’s excited and thrilled to get married. The groom is just as excited. Going over their vows and watching the love they feel for each other was heart warming. I borrow a pen from the officer to sign the license while visiting with the Chaplain about his newborn son. I meet such nice people at Units. The staff are always friendly. My clients are always fascinating too. The Harlequin costume raised a few eyebrows but my bride rocked it.Leaving the Unit, sleet is falling and I find the fascinator my twin sister made for our bride and a coordinating bouquet for her bridal photo shoot. She’s fun, happy and finally married. 

I met three amazing people at Allred and Cole yesterday. The clients who didn’t make it to their wedding get rolled back into my roster. 

Headed to Winstar, my husband tells me “you are right about having the best job in the world. Your clients are thankful for your help. You get to listen to music and take calls while going from one adventure to the next. I’ve had an amazing day with you and it isn’t over yet.”

Rolling into Winstar to check in and meet my client for a late night wedding, Matthew and I have two hours for a wonderful candlelit dinner and time to hit the slots for me and tables for him before I’m back officiating another wedding at Winstar…

TDCJ Officiant Wendy Wortham Work, Travel, Transportation, Tantrums & Tiaras…

I sleep very little during wedding season. For years, my Team and I “caught a break” off season to address refurbishing trades from Pawning Planners Clients sold at Texas Twins Treasures. Inmate wedding services changed our “off season.” How so? We no longer have an off season and are booked year round. Prison weddings took the place of “off season” for the Texas Twins.

A few folks (including my competitors) wonder how on earth my first Prison wedding literally shifted our client base 300 percent?  

The answer my friends is NOT BY ADVERTISING. The answer is by exceeding clients expectations, earning their trust and gaining their loyalty. 

A few of our competitors are jealous of our success but, “you can’t profit from the harvest if you don’t plant the crops.” 

In April 2017, Misty emailed me regarding performing a Prison wedding at Sanders Estes Unit. I underwent the process to become an Approved Officiant in order to help Misty. 

I have never marketed myself or paid for advertising in the event industry. I HAVE NEVER NEEDED TO ADVERTISE PRISON OFFICIANT SERVICES either. 

Due to this new expansion of our services at Texas Twins Events, I didn’t anticipate the surge in new bookings because at the time, I was unaware that the market and subsequent demand for inmate weddings even existed. 

But, A few months after Misty’s wedding at Estes Unit in April 2017, I was with another client at Michael Unit in September 2017. 

In October 5, 2017, I was with three clients at Estes Unit. By October 7, 2017, I was with another client at Ferguson Unit. 

By December 28, 2017, I was at Darrington with a client who had originally been at Jester Unit and hired Jo Anne (a competitor) to officiate her ceremony.  

This same client told me “Jo Anne can’t officiate so she told me her sister would but the Warden won’t allow her to. I need someone to marry me.” She hired Jo Anne but now Jo Anne was telling the client her sister would officiate? What was going on with my competitors?

The Jester inmate was subsequently transferred to Darrington. I drove to Darrington and married the client who wanted a reliable Officiant after being run around by my competitor. As usual, I exceeded her expectations and provided prison wedding Officiant services. 
My goal and the main reason for starting Texas Twins Events was to help people. By helping Misty with a creative request for services, over the first year of performing inmate services, bookings continued to roll in. I didn’t need to advertise Prison Weddings. I leveled the playing field in an industry that prior to me was charging exhorbitant fees to consumers simply because they wanted to marry an inmate. While my competition was being greedy, dishonest and misleading, I was being honest, affordable and most importantly, reliable. 

Prior to prison weddings, I had been in the event business many years prior to expanding my business to include prison weddings and had never advertised our services and more importantly, didn’t need to long before offering inmate Officiant services. 

Frankly, at the time Misty contacted me to marry her, I was juggling 50-75 existing through Texas Twins Events as well as being an Officiant on staff at Bell Tower Chapel and addressing clients Bartering through my sister business, The Pawning Planners. 

I was also a consultant for GLG and under contract with my twin sister with production companies and filming numerous projects at the same time within the same window. 

I.E. I was busy but, if people needed help marrying an inmate, I was willing to find time to help them. Since prison weddings are scheduled Monday through Friday leaving my weekends free for traditional and existing bookings, I easily could take on more inmate weddings and did. 

Prison weddings were a “perfect fit” to my existing schedule and more importantly, didn’t interfere with existing client bookings on evenings and weekends. 

Although I wasn’t “marketing inmate Officiant services,” word of mouth expanded my inmate Officiant business over and over from April 2017 to now. In fact, we now cover several states. 

Jo Anne (a competitor) had began trolling my sites since 2017 and following me. Although Jo Anne had been performing prison weddings for two years longer than I have and should have built her reputation, she had disappointed the previous clients who subsequently hired me instead. 

Over two years and running now, Jo Anne also recognized and realized that she was  losing her clients to me. I didn’t steal her clients. Her clients like everyone else found me. If you lose a client to a competitor, you lost them based on your own behavior. 

With the Darrington and Stiles clients, Jo Anne couldn’t perform their weddings due to being rescinded. I called her about “this issue” myself since her previous clients continued to find and more importantly, hire me. 

Throughout this two year window, more and more clients would book with me although again it should be noted that I never advertised to generate new clients. 

Clients found me because they had heard about me or because the other Officiant they had hired let them down. Unlike my competitors, I didn’t let anyone down. I treat each and every client like the star they are. 

One sunny afternoon while I was on site with a client at Belltower Chapel & Garden,  another call (and previous client of Jo Anne) came in regarding a wedding at Stiles Unit from yet another person who had hired Jo Anne and was unhappy. “She doesn’t answer her phone and when she does, I can’t get any information. “I hired her but I’ve heard about you. Will you help me?” 

Stiles Unit is an all day drive to and  from my location in Fort Worth. However, after speaking with this young lady, I committed to marrying her myself. 

I also advised this young lady to call the Courts in Huntsville to verify whether Jo Anne was approved. The new to me client called me back to tell me “Jo Anne wasn’t Approved.” 

Due to this shocking information regarding my competitor, I called Huntsville myself. My client was right. I quickly posted the contact information to the Courts in Huntsville on my FB business and personal sites in order to warn ANYONE planning to marry an inmate in Texas to verify Officiant credentials with the Courts PRIOR to retaining an Officiant. 

Immediately following my FB warning post, one of Jo Anne’s “clown posse” called the Courts in Huntsville to “file an erroneous and false complaint” against me regarding my simply stating the facts regarding  my warning to anyone considering hiring a TDCJ Officiant. 

Of course, a false and erroneous complaint from my competitor, Jo Anne and her posse regarding my honest statement had no impact whatsoever on my stellar reputation with the Courts in Huntsville. 

Heads up folks I’m nothing if not blatantly honest. I went into this business to help people. Jo Anne HAD BEEN IN THE PRISON WEDDING business for two years prior to me. Jo Anne has had every opportunity to be a success at this point. 

I wasn’t promoting myself or advertising to TDCJ bookings and I wouldn’t need to. Honesty and client satisfaction built my Prison wedding client base. 

Obviously, Jo Anne and her sidekicks false complaint regarding me warning consumers to call and verify credentials neither impacted or impeded my credentials in Huntsville. “We have other Officiants and I’m calling the Courts to file a complaint against your post regarding Jo Anne.” Sound familiar Jo Anne? 

You know, my post about people needing to know whoever they hired was QUALIFIED to perform the job they had been hired to do in the first place? If the truth bothered you, why didn’t you advise people retaining your services that you couldn’t perform their ceremony in the first place? If you hadn’t let your clients down and they hadn’t found me, I also wouldn’t have known there was an issue with your credentials either. Think about it. 

Our prison Officiant and planning business have literally boomed regardless of the sneaky tactics Jo Anne and her “clown posse” continue to pull. 

In February 2018, I was at Coffield Unit when a call came in from someone who needed an Officiant at Hodge Unit who had originally hired Jo Anne. These continued victims of my competitors continued to find me. I knew there was a problem because my new clients told me what they had been through dealing with my competition. Unlike my competitors though, I made their former clients day at a prison seemless, pleasant and memorable. 

In March 2018, I was at Hutchins Unit with another client when as usual my site was being consistently visited by Jo Anne. 

In March, I was also at Beto Unit when my website Team advised me that Splendora, Texas continued to hit my sites. I track every visitor to all of my sites. Jo Anne began paying for placement on google. 

Cindy and I flew to California to film This Time Next Year with Cat Deeley while also working destination events booked through Texas Twins Events. I.E. we were too busy to worry about Jo Anne. In fact, we always have been. 

We HAVE never been too busy to save clients who hired the wrong Officiant before coming to us. We MAKE time for people who need help. For Jo Anne’s former clients, we’ve made time again and again. 

In April 2018 I was back at Estes Unit before travelling to Stiles Unit on April 19, 2018 and marrying  the bride who needed my help AFTER hiring Jo Anne first.  

Since becoming a TDCJ Officiant April 2017, due to the number of clients coming to us for help, we have rebranded and expanded to address the growing need for inmate wedding services. I’ve been the second Officiant over and over because the first Officiants AKA my competitors have consistently let their former clients down. These “other Officiants” could have done the right thing and chose not to. They also lost their clients to me because they failed to provide services they had been paid to perform. 

A few days ago, Jo Anne drove traffic from her own page to my page by tagging me on FB.” While booking in these new clients, I asked “how did you hear about us? We have never advertised. So, can I ask who it was that referred you?” 

The shocking answer of my new clients and how they found me over the past few days was ironically not from previous client referrals but instead from my competitor? Jo Anne. 

While Jo Anne was busy talking about me on FB as well as tagging me, she was also inadvertently promoting me. Amazing isn’t it? 

New bookings that had never even heard of TDCJ Officiant, Texas Twins Events or Wendy Wortham until my competitors couldn’t stop talking about me? Finding me due to posts from my competition about me? Increased traffic that crashed my site due to my competitors? 

Ironically, because life is ironic, my site crash and subsequent “new Prison bookings” wouldn’t have happened this week without “help” from my competitor, Jo Anne. 

In March of 2018, I decided to buy a trademark for Texas Prison Weddings. By September 2018, I realized that I had hired the wrong attorney to do so. I was never interested in limiting myself to Texas in the first place. 

I decided to abandon my March 2018 trademark filing and focus on clients in several states instead. Texas Twins Events is national so why limit ourselves? 
Since all of our services including prison wedding services are available in several states, I knowingly and willingly abandoned the trademark for Texas Prison Weddings. My competitor subsequently picked it up. 

The trademark was approved for Jo Anne a just a few days ago, my competitor aka Jo Anne cannot stop talking about me or stalking me. But, everyone is listening including prospective new bookings. While Jo Anne is busy talking I’m busy working. I don’t care about that trademark and gave it up knowingly, willingly and intentionally. 

Trademarks don’t earn you business. Only you can do that. Limiting myself and my staff to Texas? NEVER. We travel baby. 

The inept trademark attorney I had hired to file the trademark was a blessing in disguise. How so? The name would have “put me in a box of only performing prison weddings in Texas” but, fate and my ability to overcome obstacles along with a dash of divine intervention and entrepreneurship are why and how I didn’t care about a trademark or a name that would have effectively limited our audience and subsequently, our services to Texas. 

I effectively threw that “geographically limiting” Prison trademark idea straight into the trash instead. 

Prison weddings occur even in other countries, I love to travel and I love to meet new friends. Worldwide prison weddings? Count me and my Texas Twins Events Team in. We will see ya all at the prison! 

Our services are available to many states and our success has a few folks shaking their fists but, our success comes entirely from happy clients, referrals and stellar work ethics. Loyalty is earned. 

My competitors, spies and internet trolls should take a page from my playbook and treat each and every client with the same degree of attention that we do but, common sense is like breath spray. The people who need it the most refuse to use it and get up in your face anyway. Jo Anne’s hometown friend attempting to discredit me with an erroneous complaint regarding my honest FB post and subsequent warning  “advising anyone hiring a TDCJ Officiant to first verify their credentials with Huntsville” was surprising to say the least but the “clown posse” and their antics have continued and even accelerated the past few days. Who cares? I’m working with the clients my competition COULD HAVE HAD if they had bothered to perform the task they had initially been retained to provide. 

“Trust, Honor, & Integrity are the building blocks of success. “Your CHARACTER says a LOT about YOU, even IF you aren’t LISTENING, everybody ELSE is.”

Jo Anne followed up her FB tagging Wednesday morning with more trash talking of while I was with a traditional client in a meeting and preparing to drive to Ferguson Unit immediately afterwards.

While still with my client, a negative review  notification from someone who “just happened to be friends with my competitor, Jo Anne AND even lived in the SAME town (Splendora) as Jo Anne aka the “competitor.” The notification came through to my cell phone. 

Jo Anne and her friend “aka the derogatory reviewer” who’s never retained my services  or even spoke to me (although she said that I was rude in her review) both live in Splendora, Texas. Now Jo Anne and the clown posse were making up fake reviews. 

This “reviewer” who had never hired me or my staff or at the very least even had ANY degree of contact with Texas Twins Events OR TDCJ Officiant whatsoever apparently thought that “leaving a derogatory review for a business you’ve never had any connection to was acceptable behavior.” It isn’t. 

The first Splendora, Texas derogatory and defamatory review would later be followed up by a former client of Jo Anne’s. 

Jo Anne and her posse were too busy laughing with themselves to recognize that “tracking the common denominator of these fake reviews was being conducted” while I was driving to Ferguson Unit. 

The common denominator? Jo Anne and her FB post tagging me. Stirring the chili and getting her friends fired up to unjustly attempt to sully my name. 

Here’s a tip ladies, I keep records of every phone call. Every email. Every text message. Every visitor to ANY Wendy Wortham site and I had NEVER had any INTERACTION with EITHER OF YOU. 

Also, phony reviewers, you were both “late to the party” attempting to hide your friends list connecting you both to Jo Anne. 

The first derogatory and unscrupulous “review” was posted to my page “Prison Weddings With Wendy Wortham” was within an hour of Jo Anne tagging me on FB regarding that trademark I had let go months ago. 

Jo Anne just can’t help herself. She trolls my social media, visits my sites several times a day and even subscribes to all of my blogs. Jo Anne is obsessed with me, my twin and my staff as well as her previous clients smiling at photo shoots after we marry them. On one occasion, Jo Anne even called her former client from Hodge Unit after seeing that I had married her. WTF? 

Jo Anne is literally obsessed with me AND her former clients. But, unlike most crazy stalkers, this competitor and her “friends” weren’t going to ruin my day with their preposterous antics. 

Fake reviews from her own connections? The childishness never ends but, makes it obvious that my stalking competitor has far too much time on her hands. 

Before arriving at Ferguson Unit, one of Jo Anne’s former clients left ANOTHER derogatory review. This type of rampant stupidity is why 24 hours later, my site would crash due to heavy traffic. All because my crazy stalker wanted to draw attention to me? Yes. 

Who needs a publicist or marketing person when your stalker aka competitor Jo Anne cannot stop talking about you and subsequently directing traffic and new bookings to you. 

Hell, Jo Anne, if you keep talking about me, I’m going to be forced to hire more personnel. 

By tagging me on FB and effectively, redirecting YOUR own traffic directly to my services, aka Jo Anne had increased my bookings from 1-3 clients this past week to 12.  

Due to this “redirected traffic,” from FB tagging and trash talking of Jo Anne and her two cronies, my site crashed with an overflow of new business inquiries and bookings between 05-15-2019 to 05-17-2019. 

Had my Jo Anne NOT HAVE TAGGED ME, my newly booked clients might not have even found me on FB. After all, they were on her page FIRST.

I was at the Tarrant County clerks office Friday at 2PM helping my client, Payton get her marriage license and completely unaware of website issues when a call from a Le Blanc prospect that I had spoke with on Tuesday while driving back from San Saba Unit came in. 

Thankfully, my client was thrilled to get her license and can’t wait to get married Sunday. 

Since visitation is on certain days, Payton took the online Twogether In Texas course to waive her waiting period. 

My Le Blanc client had also attempted to follow up and contact me through TDCJOfficiant.com regarding planning her Prison wedding Wednesday while I was at Ferguson Unit. When she didn’t get an answer, she called me “I emailed you a few days ago and haven’t heard back from you.” 

Alarmed, I called my site manager to find out what was going on and resolve the issue. I would spend all night Friday contacting everyone that had attempted to use the contact us link at the same time. 

I’m really looking forward to meeting my latest bookings and especially my Le Blanc client who saved the day for me by giving me a heads up. 

Jo Anne has to have paid placement on google. She “has to” because I don’t need to and continue to outbook her over and over. 

My creative content and quality websites put me at top placement in google search engines. I’m there for free and have been all along. Paid placement? No thank you. 

My twin sister and I have filmed a television pilot based on our business, The Pawning Planners, we have signed with seven production companies regarding show concepts about our businesses and we are currently negotiating with other production companies and networks as well as writing a book and continuing to rebrand and expand. 

While juggling our numerous responsibilities, inmate wedding services have continued to grow beyond any expectation I could have anticipated. We now service inmate weddings in several states. 

Had my site not crashed due to this “redirected traffic” from Jo Anne, the timeline of the “site occurrence” wouldn’t be so “easy to pinpoint.” But, it was. My web designer tracks visitors and urls. The moment my competitor tagged me, my site traffic increased. Boomerang clients? You bet. What goes around comes around. 

I will (as usual) give these new clients the care and courtesy they should have gotten from my competitor who was far too focused on attempting to tarnish my reputation to realize what she was doing. 

Truth is always stranger than fiction. My reputation is why I’m successful. So successful that I’ve added TDCJ Officiants and expanded into other states. 

Client loyalty is a priceless commodity in business. Earn it and you won’t have time to stalk me Jo Anne. Stop trying to figure out why I’m successful and start trying to figure out how to be successful instead. I know, it’s a totally new concept but, try it. Stop stalking me and start focusing on you.

For those unaware of how I got started in the Prison wedding business, it’s actually an interesting story. A creative request to officiate a prison wedding a few years ago and my willingness to undergo the process to help a stranger literally changed the dynamics of our bookings. True story. 

I have never once even considered advertising because at the time I agreed to become a TDCJ Officiant, I already had commitments to my existing clients on the books from Texas Twins Events and The Pawning Planners. My evenings and weekends were booked out nearly two years and I didn’t see how I could possibly squeeze new clients into my schedule. 

I had expected my first prison wedding to be my last request for an inmate wedding because I didn’t realize there were other people who just like Misty needed a TDCJ Officiant. I wasn’t planning to rebrand and expand again. But, due to the demand,  it happened. Texas Twins Events expanded and rebranded a second time in five years to include inmate weddings.

Inmate weddings actually opened a new door and took us into a completely new direction. An adventure of rebranding and expanding with new business bookings based entirely on my first happy Prison Wedding client, Misty at Estes Unit. 

I helped Misty with her prison wedding and by doing so, I was gifted with new opportunities and a new direction. 

For those unaware, I merged Texas Twins Events and Texas Twins Treasures to create a barter option aka The Pawning Planners in 2014. As usual, Cindy and I were pioneers. No one in the events industry had ever considered bartering. We did it first. We have never been afraid to invest in ourselves or finding solutions for others. We are entrepreneurs. 

While our competitors in the events industry laughed at the Texas Twins and the idea of bartering event services, we flew to Hollywood and filmed a sizzle reel. Laughter is the best medicine other event vendors who also troll our sites. 

While our competitors stalked us, we filmed a television pilot. While others expected us to fail, we continued to expand and rebrand. WITHOUT EVER ADVERTISING! The need existed to find a way to fund Dream Events and my twin and I found a solution. The need also existed for honesty and transparency in the Prison Wedding business and again, we grew to address the requests. 

As usual, the moment other event vendors who used to laugh at our idea to create a People Over Profit based event business only to later offer a barter option, no longer laugh. We help ANY income level. 

These same vendors who thought “Prison Weddings were controversial” also thought (years ago) that being openly LBGT friendly would destroy their business are now (so they say) LBGT friendly. Better late than never ya all. 

As other event vendors hid their affiliation with LBGT clients years ago, my Texas Twins Events Team welcomed anyone from any background. Yes, we are different. We are fearless and undaunted by haters who cannot understand why our unconventional business methods are far more effective. 

How our businesses that have never advertised or paid for promotion have continued to succeeded, grow and thrive surprises everyone. Our clients are our priority. Their loyalty is why year after year we continue to grow. Surprised? Don’t be. Referrals are priceless. 

Building a client base requires YOUR dedication. Welcoming ANY client? ANY request? We have and our dedication and resilience within the events industry is a story all of its own. 

From weddings to purple unions to estate liquidation to flipping trades to prison weddings, birthday parties and baptisms, my family and I didn’t care about the people laughing. We cared about the people coming to us for help. We focused on our clients. 

We took the risks no other event vendor was willing to and we would do it all over again. We have continued to grow because our clients are family to us. They are a fabric in our lives. Our relationship doesn’t end after an event. Quite the contrary, our relationships are friendships with our former clients. 

Inmate weddings take place during the week and therefore wouldn’t interfere with existing bookings on the weekends making adding prison weddings to our services the “perfect fit.”

Since I began offering inmate wedding services, we have continued to grow based entirely on our reputation and client referrals. There is no need for me to advertise nor has there ever been. 
Cindy and I think differently than our competitors. We have never “fit a mold” and we have always educated ourselves about any aspect of any product that we have ever sold. Product knowledge is essential in ANY industry. 

My sister and I are both survivors. We left home at 15 and made our own way in life. We didn’t have friends or even family to help us. The reason we started Texas Twins Events years ago was because we didn’t have anyone to help us with our own weddings. Why not? Our mother was a heroin addict who abandoned us as children. We came from a broken family and had no friends or family to help us plan our own weddings. We started our business based on our own experiences. True story. We wanted to give people the weddings we didn’t have ourselves. 

What we DID HAVE was the tenancity to succeed. We are passionate and resilient. We are dedicated and determined. For our competitors, we are also a force to be reckoned with. Client loyalty has expanded our business year after year after year. 

For those wondering how we got here, a little background…. At 18, I was a commercial actress with Mel Tillis doing Whataburger commercials. 

When I needed nice clothing, I became a model to create a fabulous wardrobe and go into high end sales. To sell, you need to look successful and I did. To sell, you need to earn a clients trust and I did. My twin and I had no one to fall back on. We only had each other and we are the most honest salespeople you will ever meet. If we wouldn’t buy it, we didn’t sell it. 

People buy from us because they trust us and we don’t ever let them down. Cindy and I have never been afraid to roll up our sleeves or get our hands dirty either. 

The Pawning Planners (Texas Twins) can put up fences or strip, stain and reupholster trades and more. This twin team knows the value of hard and honest work. We have helped people that no one else was willing to help on more than one occasion. For YEARS. 

The broken fence (below) was a request for help from someone who had no money or barter but, needed our help. We jumped in and rented a truck to pick up free panels and poles to help someone we had never met? Yes, we most certainly did. 

You’ve never met anyone like us because we care about others. We are passionate and perseverant. Finding someone to donate panels and poles? Sure on Craigslist. 

The person contacting us for help with a broken fence didn’t have a truck. We went to Home Depot and rented one. 

The fence person came to us “because she heard we help people.” We do. Occasionally, we give insight to people in order for them to help themselves too. Cindy and I are entrepreneurs who became successful because failure was never an option. 

What made Cindy and I “different” made us sought after. We are the people we would like to meet. 

“You cannot buy a referral OR a happy client. You earn their business by dedication and exceeding their expectations. 

Throughout my life, only once have I needed to advertise and it was within an industry I had no prior experience with. What was it? Luxury car sales. I can sell anything. 

During a divorce, I needed a car and upon realizing that luxury car sales offered free demos, took a job at Cadillac. In order to gain my own client base in a wholly new career path, I used my previous experience as a former print and commercial model to run my own ads in Country clubs across Texas. This “type of advertising” had never been done before in the car sales industry but, I’m a pioneer and my creative advertising campaign paid off for me as a Cadillac salesperson. 

Direct marketing specifically to consumers that could afford to buy luxury cars was the most successful investment I had ever made at that time in my life. Even I was shocked at the success of my unique idea to market myself. I generated clients booking by appointment and I had more clients than I could handle. 

While other salesmen laughed at marketing campaign, they didn’t laugh long. Clients generated through my creative marketing campaign referred their friends and family to me. 

Within a four year window, I was awarded again and again for customer satisfaction and excellence. I retired from Cadillac “on top.” 

My reputation sold all of those vehicles. I earned the trust of my clients and their loyalty. 

After two years, I no longer needed to pay to advertise. I had more business than I could handle because I was willing to be different. To do something different. To invest in myself and stellar work ethics. I knew if I could bring clients in, I would sell and sell I did. 

I don’t fit in a box. Clients I had previously sold Cadillac’s to booked again. This time for event services. 

Former Cadillac clients book new services and ALL of our clients for Texas Twins Events, Texas Twins Treasures, The Pawning Planners and Prison Weddings ARE REFERRED CLIENTS. 

Dedication and dilligence are how we have grown year after year. Happy clients continue to refer their friends and family to us again and again. We build relationships not sales numbers. 

You can’t afford to buy loyalty or referrals. No one can. Loyalty and subsequently, referral business is earned only through building trust with a client.” 

Cindy and I stay busy with interviews. After all, there isn’t a business as versatile as ours anywhere. We especially enjoyed a radio interview together Thursday afternoon regarding people over fifty starting their own business. 

The most important aspect of any business is to expect a learning curve. I didn’t expect to rebrand and expand in order to address low income clients but the need existed and The Pawning Planners was born. I didn’t expect to rebrand and expand again to address inmate wedding services either but, a creative request for an inmate wedding is why and how Texas Twins Events rebranded and expanded again. I’m open minded. 

From rich to poor, our clients are the biggest mix of people from any background you could imagine. But, by rebranding and expanding, our services became available to any income level for any service. 

I’ve been in sales my entire life and the key to sales is building quality in the product and establishing a relationship with the client. Unlike my competitors, I have. 

Although we are based in Texas, Texas Twins Events has offered destination event services from the inception. We’ve never been limited to Texas. We have no plans to start now either. The Texas Twins Travel! 

I’m not ONLY familiar with competing businesses because at WorthamWorld, I am also familiar with competing neighbors.

Friday morning, I was kicking off my morning at 5AM, and I was surprised to see Maria (the maid next door) walking towards Foxy and I. After all, I’m trying to walk my dog in silk pajamas unnoticed. I had a long day ahead of me and wasn’t planning to deal with my entitled neighbor or her brow beaten housekeeper, Maria. 

Ninety nine percent of my neighbors don’t work. There’s a lot of “old money” in Westover Hills, TX. From old mansions to exotic cars and a 90 year old grocery store that sells items 50% or more above “traditional” grocery stores, watching maids walk from the bus to work every morning is a regular occurrence. 

I like Roy Pope Grocery and I realize convenience is expensive so, I enjoy walking to the market with a parking lot full of Maserati’s, Porsche, Mercedes and Rolls Royce vehicles. These folks could walk too but they prefer to drive and leave their cars running. 

If you were a car thief, my neighborhood is the neighborhood to “score” at. Occasionally, I will drive my Santa Fe SUV or my Nissan Rogue over to Roy Pope if I’m returning from a booking. 

My “flawless neighbors” in full makeup and fancy cars give me the stink eye though for a number of reasons but mainly because I work and they don’t. 

Also, watching film crews and clients come and go at WorthamWorld raises a few eyebrows around here. My neighbors are far from liberal or open minded. 

I occasionally pity my neighbors the same way I laugh back at my competitors who once laughed at me. The “affluent housewives” looking down on others would certainly have a fairly tough time surviving on their own should their their husband’s ever leave. I’ve seen it happen. I will see it happen again. 

I’ve never looked down my nose at anyone because I’m old and I’m wise and I happily say hello to my “Beverly Hills Wannabe” neighbors on a regular basis. 

Apparently though, my snootiest neighbor had seen me leave my driveway with Foxy  Friday morning and had sent Maria over to ask me “have you called the city about mowing the estate next door to you?” 

I (momentarily) considered marching over to my neighbors house and getting snappy but poor Maria was just a messenger. Her mistress (most likely) would take out her frustration on Maria if I had. 

A few times over the years, I’ve driven Maria home. Maria is hard working and supports her family. Maria is too good for her mistress who “likes to keep up appearances” in Westover Hills with perfect makeup and clothing to go check her mail or drive to the Country Club. She’s an Instagram neighbor. Her life on social media looks envious but, reality isn’t social media ya all. 

Insta life and real life are far from the same. My neighbor is most likely depressed and struggling with alcoholism. I remind myself daily to pity her rather than resent her but, her treatment of Maria bothers me to no an end. 

If I ever cave in and allow my husband to hire a maid, I’m going to save Maria from being under the thumb of my neighbor. The house next door to me upsets everyone in my neighborhood. But not to the point of them taking any action other than telling my husband or I to “do something about it.” They all have lawn men and could easily send their workers over but, have never done so. Instead, they complain to us to “do something.” 

A few of my “entitled neighbors” have all day to call the city but in my neighborhood,  it’s regularly expected that my husband and I do it for them. “Your husband is a developer. He knows everybody downtown. Surely he has a few minutes to take care of this for the betterment of the neighborhood Wendy.”

The rambling eyesore next door to my home bothers me to such an extent that I’ve hired yard men for years to clean it up. I’m currently on strike though as the neighbor on the other side of it has decided to pay yard men to “cut only four feet into the abandoned estate because you hire people to handle that yard.” Humph. This statement lit me up. 

Six years of paying yard men to clean up someone else’s property and the attitude of all of my neighbors expecting me to continue to pay for the upkeep are what actually led to my strike. Mowing four feet of that yard is ridiculous. When I pay yard men to clean up that estate, I don’t tell them to “just do my side and leave the other side.” 

My husband is equally sick and tired of maintaining the adjoining property with no benefit whatsoever as well as running construction on his numerous developments and dealing with the city regarding the abandoned estate next door is the last thing he wants to do although it happens to be “related to our neighborhood as opposed to his development neighborhoods.” 

My husband and I are on strike about paying to upkeep a property solely because we are forced to look at it next door. What’s wrong with that neighbor? He could sell the lot within days for easily $500k but chooses to let raccoons move in and trees to overtake the property. I don’t get it. 

I told Maria I would call the city on my way downtown and report the three home decaying estate next door to the city again rather than telling her what I REALLY thought about her boss while my haughty neighbor looked on at both of us. 

Poor Maria rides the bus every morning then walks to my neighbors estate. I see her as I’m walking Foxy. I’ve always felt sorry for her. 

Once she arrives at work, her mistress makes her change into a maids uniform. It’s belittling to her. I know she hates wearing it as much as I hate seeing her wear it. 

A few of my neighbors would benefit from manual labor and a good days work. The neighbor Maria works for is one of them. 

Often I think a few of these neighbors must be so far upside down in debt that I nearly expect to see the repo man coming over to pick up their fancy cars but, it hasn’t happened yet. 

Driving exotic cars is something that you will never see me do. We pay cash for new suvs every two years and don’t owe on credit cards or anything else. My husband and I aren’t flashy and we like it that way. 

Rich people get on my nerves but more than that, housewives who run around in tennis outfits ALL DAY while driving $400k vehicles and acting superior to anyone who isn’t driving a fabulous car REALLY GET ON MY NERVES. 

Entitled neighbors aside, I (as usual) had a jam packed weekend of client meetings and events. As my nosy neighbors watch our three suvs and a four wheel drive truck pull out of my driveway at 6:30AM after going over the weekend schedule for my Texas Twins Events Team schedule this morning, I ignored my nosy neighbor rather than giving her the finger. It’s not easy. Her opinion of our clients lights me up. 

Poor Maria is working for a tyrant over there. The fact that my idiot neighbor forces Maria to wear a starched maids outfit to identify her position at that estate infuriates me. 

But, I can’t save Maria. Her position in life bothers me though. One day, I hope Maria does give her mistress the finger one day and finds someone else to work for that treats her with respect.  

Someone needs to “knock that invisible tiara” off my “full of herself neighbors head” but, it won’t be me because I don’t have the time and more importantly, I live here. 

Last weekend my always “determined to impress others neighbor” hired valets who blocked all of our driveways for her party. I was forced to go over there and advise her that three of us couldn’t get out of our driveways. Her response? “Well, go find Maria to tell the valets as you can see I’m entertaining.” Ugh. Poor Maria. 

Rich people are often the worst clients I’ve ever had. They want everything and bitch about paying for it. Although my husband and I live well, we have always treated others with respect and kindness regardless of where they work or how they earn a living. In fact, neither of us have had to work in years now. We both enjoy our work but I enjoy it far more than Matthew. Why? Because building and development incurs new problems everyday. I don’t have his problems. I jump in my SUV and head off for good times with great people. Unless of course, they are rich people and then it isn’t always wine and roses. 

I prefer prison wedding clients. Why? Because my clients are friendly, excited and thankful that’s why. Rich people never are. I’ve limited my traditional bookings for years with affluent clients because of this fact. I turn down new booking requests on a regular basis from “affluent” clients. They are the most demanding people in the world to work with. 

When you don’t have to work to earn a living, you don’t put up with someone handing you an apron to serve food when they hired you to coordinate and officiate. Rich clients don’t want to pay for additional staff. They assume because you have a team that your team will volunteer. Wake up! I prefer to say no and move on to clients we ENJOY working with. 

Rich people think everyone is “day labor.” They assume you have nowhere to be and all day to get there. They also think they are your ONLY CLIENTS. 

I WILL ALWAYS prefer our low to middle class bookings because real people treat you like you would want to be treated. My arm has to be twisted to take on a “big event.” Big Events will always be a hassle. I never look forward to them. 

My haughty neighbor knows I perform prison weddings and LBGT events and “doesn’t approve of rainbow unions or prison weddings.” She actually stopped me one day to tell me about her opinion. I stopped myself from telling her to go F herself. It isn’t easy being me. 

I encounter stupidity from others (mainly my neighbors but occasionally, my competitors) who think their opinion matters to me on a regular basis.

This morning I’m starting my day at Green Bay Unit in Fort Worth. This is a massive detention center that I’m meeting clients at at least twice a week. If you haven’t heard of it, I will include more information and warn you that phone calls are $15 each. Do not assume that these calls are $5 each because they aren’t. 

Tarrant County TX – Green Bay Facility has a phone program where inmates make outbound calls only, you cannot call into jail. Since you are paying for those calls don’t make it a habit of accepting collect-calls, they are over $15 EACH. 

The alternative is to set up an account through their third-party phone company which charges steep fees for each minute used. You are paying for them to call you. 

The preposterous amount of money that Keller charges had one of my clients mothers calling me crying. $775 for ten phone calls? I couldn’t believe it myself. To rectify this issue, I helped Mariah and her mother draft a Letter Of Intent and report this flagrant financial abuse to the Consumer Protection Agency as well as the AG. Beware of collect phone calls ya all because it’s anyone’s guess as to what they will cost. 

The Tarrant County TX – Green Bay Facility is a County – medium detention center located at 2500 Urban Drive in Ft Worth, TX. This county jail is operated locally by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office and holds inmates awaiting trial or sentencing or both. 

Most of the sentenced inmates are here for less than two years. Tarrant County accepts inmates from surrounding towns, municipalities and the Ft Worth Police Department who do not have their own long-term lock-up.

There are new detainees delivered to the jail daily, the see arrest records here. Some are released after putting up bail, are released to a pretrial services caseload, are placed under supervision by a probation agency, or are released on their own recognizance with an agreement to appear in court. 

If there is no release, the inmate must wait here at the jail for their court appearance as a guest of the County, getting a bed and three square meals.

Trustees are inmates who work in the jail as cooks, as orderlies for the staff, in the laundry or in the commissary. The trustees are paid a very small amount for their time and some jail gives the trustees a few days off their sentence in exchange for their work.

When an inmate arrives in jail they are put together in a large holding cell with other inmates in the intake. While in intake they are under heightened observation. Violent and out of control inmates are segregated.

I was actually “following the groom” who had been transferred from Tarrant County Jail to Green Bay. Last week my client and I thought he was at Tarrant County but as usual, he was moved without being able to notify his fiancée. We found him again after a collect call. 

Not knowing where your loved one is continues to be upsetting to my clients. Luckily, my Green Bay client has an attorney I know well. I know most attorneys in Fort Worth and Dallas from my years spent in courtrooms as well as socially at fundraisers for Kay Granger and from Ridglea or Shady Oaks Country Club. 

Unlike my snobby neighbor who will spend her summer laying around the Country Club pool sipping martinis and trying to look sexy, I only go to “the club” for client meetings, social functions and the occasional lunch or dinner with my husband. 

I have no idea why my neighbor hasn’t died yet of alcohol poisoning with the ever present martini glass in her hand? I’ve never seen her without a drink regardless of what time it is. How do people function drinking 24/7? I don’t get it. 

Anyway luckily, I knew the attorney and called him to get me a notarized Absentee Affidavit for the inmate. I had a great call with him discussing both of our families and pitching him on getting married. For years now, I’ve asked when this attorney is going to get married? His internet date stories are hilarious though and if he were to finally meet someone and hire me to marry them, I’d really miss his hit and miss blind date sagas. 

Speaking of Tarrant County Jail, I will be back over there today to meet my Dallas County Jail client who was bumped to Tarrant County due to a warrant. Following the Groom is actually a regular occurrence. 

I’m at Rivercrest for a client meeting and lunch this afternoon and no I don’t like watercress sandwiches. My husband loves them and Rivercrest is famous for them. Yuck. 

My husband pretty much lived at Rivercrest Country Club most of his life. His father, grandfather and entire family were members of this stuffy old above 70 years old clique. 

Rivercrest isn’t the fun Country Club of Fort Worth. Both Rivercrest and Colonial are the “stuffy” clubs of Fort Worth. 

The fun folks are members of Ridglea and Shady Oaks or both. For people like me who hate golf, comparing the greens is totally lost on me. Every golf course looks the same. 

My husband could spend hours explaining the differences of the greens at Rivercrest, Colonial, Shady Oaks and Ridglea but the conversation would put me to sleep in seconds.

I’m considering cutting this Rivercrest client loose for more than ONE REASON. First, she calls constantly and when she isn’t calling, her mother is. Secondly, this wedding is at the club and eleven months from now. Nearly another year of constant phone calls? Hell, I need to bill by the call with this client AND her mother. 

It’s an ass whipping to deal with Inlaws and Outlaws in the planning process. This bride begged me to take this job and my husband “knows the family.” 

My husband and I constantly bicker the “valid points” he thinks there are regarding my consistent issues about taking on “affluent clients.” I prefer not to. 

My husband doesn’t know how difficult rich people are to work for in the event planning business but, I do. Cindy does. My husband thinks “working these larger events is a great way to expand.” 

My husband didn’t expect prison weddings to take off and even today cannot believe how successful this extension of services would be. 

A few affluent clients won’t take no for an answer after “telling their friends the Texas Twins are doing their event.” Heavy sigh. I wish they wouldn’t tell people they booked with us long before I’ve ever considered taking the booking. Now you feel pressured to commit. They realize this and then, you are under their thumb. Jeez. 

Today, I’m going to have to go over a few ground rules about these constant phone calls from “traditional clients.” Last night, my bride thought her ring wasn’t big enough. People don’t marry based on the size of the stone. I found this troubling phone call to be a “sign of things to come.” 

Occasionally, “people who have it all can never have enough.” I’ve had enough already and this wedding isn’t until next year. You get the point. I had a lengthy discussion about her finding fault with her ring, the napkins the venue the this and that and taking the time to call me to call so and so and tell them she’s unhappy. I advised her to use the phone and address the issue directly and remove calling me to call them from this circle of chaos or… start paying me by the call. I think I’ve got this covered now but, we will see. 

I’m going to once again go over the truth that guards are not professional photographers. PLEASE DO NOT FILE A COMPLAINT regarding UNIT PHOTOS. Guards are doing the best they can and often with less than professional quality equipment. 

Certain Units have the worst photos and we can’t change the outcome of a bad photo. What we can do is accept that it’s not going to be an amazing shot an move on. 

Hodge and Estes take amazing photos. Seriously. The lighting and everything is as close to perfect as you can get in a Prison.  Coffield is hit and miss. One day the photo might be okay and the next it’s hard to even identify myself in a Unit photo. 

But, these are the only photos we are going to have of the inmate so, let’s keep it light and lower our expectations of high quality photography at your unit wedding. 

I reviewed an interesting request yesterday while in the parking lot waiting on my Mercado Event Center client. “We are looking for a female officiant that is non-denominational with zero religious agenda. Although we are a man and a woman, our ideal officiant is someone that has performed same sex marriage ceremonies in the past or would be willing to in the future. For us that’s a screener right there.” 

The only thing I was uncertain about was being liberal. Was I? I’ve never thought about it. I’m open minded and always have been. I decided to ask my husband. I’ve never put a label on myself but, my husband was roaring with hilarity at my question. “Oh my gosh! You are the most liberal person I’ve ever met in my life. I have to play down how liberal and non judgmental you are on a daily basis to conservative people who begin a conversation with “I saw you wife on the news or such and such show. I heard your wife on the radio. Your wife goes to Prisons? Doesn’t she have enough clients to address? Your wife shouldn’t be working she doesn’t need to work. Tell her to go learn to play bridge at the club.” Wendy, the description of liberal should have your name in it. Lol. The definition is actually: open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.” Hmm. I guess I AM LIBERAL!

Go play play bridge at the Country Club? I would rather jump off a bridge. F that. 

I decided to go ahead and take on this new booking because I love curious and interesting propositions. They weren’t LBGT but were interested solely in someone who performs LBGT Weddings? What the? I’m interested. It’s difficult to surprise me but this guy did. 

Between Willow Lake Event Center, Villagio and Belltower client meetings yesterday, Cindy and I had two radio interviews. Both were fun but Cindy and I especially enjoyed Karen’s. Her story of meeting her husband on Match and not realizing until buying their marriage license he had lied about his age by 6 years was hilarious. Normally, women lie about their age but, the way she told that story was absolutely hilarious. We loved talking with Karen!

I’m meeting my Goree Unit bride this afternoon at the Tarrant County Clerk to hold her hand buying the marriage license. My Crain Unit Groom made the same request. Buying a license if you’ve never done it is scary for my clients. When I don’t have time to accompany those needing someone with them to buy the license, my staff does based on who is available. Don’t be scared. It’s just a process. 

No one in Tarrant or Dallas county is going to be rude or confrontational with you because you are marrying an inmate. You will be just fine. But, if you would feel better having someone with you, just let me know and I will make arrangements. 

I’ve had several inquiries for California Prison Weddings so I will elaborate on requirements. For the past year, I’ve stacked inmate weddings to work in travel expenses. It’s not an problem to stack inmate weddings. In fact, I regularly stack in Texas and Louisiana as well as California. Beginning August 1st though, Leigh Ann will be handling California inmate weddings and the need to stack will be removed. 

My son and his wife will continue to handle “Houston runs” to county jails in adjoining cities. 

Cindy is joining me as a TDCJ Officiant due to the number of requests. We will continue to travel as a team wherever we can because we love our road trips but, in an effort to help everyone, bringing Cindy on board to Officiate prison weddings is a necessity. My son is more comfortable at county jail Weddings as his wife. 

Hoping you have an amazing day and really looking forward to being back on site at Villagio… 

If You DON’T Focus On YOUR Journey To SUCCESS You Will End Up WORKING For The Person Who Did…

For a few months now I’ve been pushing off a press release for an award I was presented. Why? I don’t have time to sit down for a one to two hour interview. My work takes precedence over anything else in my life with family running a close second. 

I’m frequently asked how I became so successful by others who readily realize that I have never advertised or needed to. The answer is by exceeding my clients expectations. If everyone else in the sales industry would put forth the effort with each and every client they too would see amazing results but, sadly we live in a world where sales are similar to taking a number. Once the number is taken, it’s thrown in the trash. 

Relationships outlast the initial sale. I don’t treat clients like sales. I treat them as individuals and make their needs my priority. I’m different because I actually care about my clients. 

My Beto client last week touched my heart. Her journey hasn’t been easy. Both of her parents were sentenced to prison when she was only one year old. She had also just given up her apartment and had her car towed a week prior to her scheduled wedding at Beto. Hearing this news days before the wedding and knowing she had a two year old son touched my heart. How could I find her help for a very stressful situation? I quickly went to my contacts at Womens Haven and Union Gospel Mission as well as deeply discounting my fee and even offering to drive her to Beto myself. 

At her photo shoot, I asked her “what her plans were for her and her son?” My bride had family in East Texas but, her son attended school in Forest Hill and my client didn’t want to pull him out of the school she had fought to get him into. Her son’s school took precedence over any decision she would make to find a new home and job to support herself and her young son. 

It’s not well known but, my twin sister and I were residents at Women’s Haven ourselves at fifteen years old. Homeless and alone, Cindy and I both lived at the center until we could get on our feet again. During my divorce, I worked 2-3 jobs to support myself and my son while paying his Ad Lidem attorney and my own attorney. Without my twin sister helping me by taking care of my son, I have no idea how I would’ve afforded childcare back then. 

I’m driven and determined because I’ve always had to be. I’m compassionate because I’ve learned that caring about others journey is rare but, I care far more than anyone realizes. 

Yesterday as I was driving back from Dallas North Tower and the county clerk, my Beto bride called me regarding filing the license. An issue she faced was that she no longer lived at the address she had given when purchasing her marriage license. If I filed the license for her, it would be mailed to the old address. I spent some time going over a few alternatives with my client that included going to the post office to put a hold on her mail at her old address as well as getting a P.O. Box or filing the license in person. 

If I file a wedding license, it’s mailed directly to the address given by the couple. If a client files the license in person, the license is recorded and handed back. I suggested this option to ensure the license wasn’t lost in the mail and put gas money in the envelope containing her wedding photos to be sure she wouldn’t run out of gas getting to Dallas. I hadn’t heard from her prior to running to Dallas myself yesterday morning and assumed she had filed the license herself last Friday. Otherwise, I would have driven her to Dallas myself to spare her the trip and the expense of gasoline. 

This morning as I prepare for a call from Kate, a journalist on my way to Tarrant County Detention Center, I wonder if my bride has been by my office to pick up her wedding photos and gas money? I wonder if she has found a place to stay or a job and I wonder how the burden of expenses involved to be a Prison wife will affect her life? I worry constantly about my clients. I can’t help myself.

There’s a stack of mail in my office awaiting my attention. There’s also a five page questionnaire for Power Woman Of 2019 awaiting my attention. I have 172 emails to answer and I have a text from Cindy. My day is off to a “roaring start.”

Cindy now has both of her adult daughters and all three of her grandchildren living with her. I’ve talked to Adult Protection Services in Valdosta and Texas. The “Stephaney Situation” is finally blowing over although I may need to testify in Valdosta, Georgia regarding how my niece wound up there and how I realized that there was a problem while at Wynn Unit with my client in Huntsville, Texas. It’s a long story.

Cindy is overwhelmed at “trying to make everyone else happy in my home other than myself.” Cindy does it all and without my help, Cindy would be doing it alone. Maryssa and Makenna argue incessantly and Leigh Ann has a chip on her shoulder regarding her sister, Stephaney moving back home. “Five females fighting” is an ongoing rerun at Cindy’s house. Arguing over the bathrooms, arguing over the chores, arguing about each other. I could go on and on here. Cindy lives at Camp Chaos. Don’t let the happy smile you see Cindy wearing fool you. Cindy spent seventeen years caring for our selfish grandmother. My sister finally snapped over our grandmother and kicked her out after nearly eighteen years. I would have never moved her in. I’m far less tolerant of moochers and morons than Cindy. My twin has the soft heart regarding our family that I possess regarding our clients. It’s a fact. 

Cindy has spent her entire adult life caring for her children and grandchildren and Cindy needs a vacation. Cindy loves leaving her fighting family behind to jump in my SUV and head off to meet clients. Who could blame her? At home, chaos and more chores await my overworked twin sister. 

After listening to Cindy nearly crying while I sat in my SUV at the Tarrant County Clerks Office preparing to file licenses before walking across the street to the county jail, I butt in and suggested “laying down the law. It’s your house. Your adult children are guests. I’m highly concerned about Leigh Ann’s husband, Alex coming to stay from July to August and bringing more chaos. You need to establish rules and guidelines. If you don’t, I will.” Cindy knows I will and it will be far less confrontational if she would snap and start putting her own needs first. If she can’t though, I certainly can.  

My Beto bride sends a text asking “are you home?” I’m twenty minutes from home but at least an hour from attending to filing licenses and meeting my Tarrant County client. I suggest meeting me for lunch at the 7th street Starbucks in an hour after she picks up her wedding photos and gas money. I’m highly concerned about her and her child and have a list of suggestions for her to get back on her feet. I have plenty of time to get to Jack County Jail and Parker County Jail to meet my afternon clients before heading to Willow Lake Event Center with Cindy at 4PM. Leigh Ann will pick up Maryssa and Makenna at 3:30PM and after their incessant arguing this morning on the way to school, Cindy could use a break from the twins and Leigh Ann quite frankly. 

Yesterday, Cindy and I were with our clients at Taylor’s rental looking at bar height tables and chairs for a June graduation party when Leigh Ann sent a group text to Cindy and I regarding Stephaney. I was instantly lit because when my family know we are with clients, the last thing I need are to be blasted with family bickering but, Leigh Ann consistently and repeatedly makes her problems a priority to her mother and I. “Maddy had milk on her mouth and I asked where that milk came from? I went into the living room and Stephaney was eating cereal and had been sharing it with Maddy. I’m so furious about this that my hands are shaking!” 

I walked out of Taylor’s to call Leigh Ann. While she attempted to interrupt me, I interrupted her. “Listen, we are on location with clients. We don’t care about your problems and if Maddy wasn’t hungry she wouldn’t be asking Stephaney to feed her. You need to go feed your daughter and stop disrupting us with stupidity while we are working. We don’t care how mad you are. Now we are mad you bothered to dump your problem on us. Grow up.” I then hung up and practiced smiling in the parking lot before walking back to my clients and sister. 

I abhor disruptions to my carefully orchestrated agenda from family members and everyone realizes it. And yet, the consistent disruptions from my family are a regular and consistent occurrence in not only my life but my twin sisters too. Dash it all. 

What Leigh Ann should have been doing was feeding Maddy first and finishing the Sunday rehearsal photos second. But, explaining prioritizing to my niece is an escapade in futility. 

Meanwhile, my Bridgeport bride had sent me a message on FB that would have to wait until choosing tables and linens and my Allred client wanted to know about the Absentee Affidavit while my Torres client was concerned “about the glass” and my Eastham client wanted to know “how much longer the I60 would take?” My phone never stops ringing and bleeping alerts. 

Preparing myself to text back and answer emails from the Taylors parking lot after happily waving goodbye to my June clients, I turn to Cindy and say “about the California back and forth situation, I’ve come to a decision. We aren’t telling any of our adult children when we are leaving or arriving in California. We need a few days of fun without being drug into drama in San Diego with Leigh Ann, the twins and Alex. We won’t check in on FB. We will pretend we are still in Texas. Wink. Wink.” 

Cindy is shocked by my “plan.” I’m not. I need a break from my family and whether Cindy knows it or not, she does too. My sister is thinking. I jump in before she can respond (as usual) “listen, we are exhausted and overwhelmed. We have a podcast with Karen and then the Twyce Twins, a press release for Power Woman Of The Year, a follow up interview with Kate, and we are juggling 29 clients with new clients each and everyday. We need a vacation and I’m booking us into The Beverly Hills Bungalow for three days of spa, shopping and fun before we hit the bricks on that August wedding in two cities. It’s going to be an ass whipping and if we don’t catch our breath, I’m afraid we will be in the hospital from pure exhaustion. We are bouncing from Louisiana to Arkansas to Oklahoma to California seven times between August and October. It’s time to put our needs in the “front pocket” in order to be camera ready and refreshed for our clients. Our families and their chaos are killing us with stress Pal. Unlike our clients, they dont appreciate our sacrifice today, tomorrow or ever. With them it’s me, me, me, I, I, I. We must hopefully before our 55th birthday in November, learn to put our demanding kids and chaos on the back burner.” 

Warily, and probably feeling guilty (as usual) my twin sister agreed. Traveling gives us the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company but, thanks to cell phones, our family is always a text or phone call away from screwing up the day. It’s a fact.

My son and his wife have been traveling together as an Officiant and photography team the past 4 years. When my son and his wife get into an argument, everyone in my family hears about it. My daughter in law “I can’t drive with him in the car. Nothing I do is right and he makes me nervous.” My son “Stephanie doesn’t pay attention. She’s either driving too slow or driving too fast.” Me “you two are married and work together. Try to stop bickering and work together on learning patience.” Cindy “Robert and Stephanie Hafele are arguing again.” Me “I cannot stop what’s coming. Those two think they are communicating when in fact they are arguing.”

When I’m on location with Leigh Ann as I was last weekend at one of my rehearsals, I’m called “The Boss.” I instruct Leigh Ann on locations for photos and how to pose the wedding party. I wonder how Leigh Ann will handle addressing clients in California when I’m not there telling her what to do? It’s a valid point. I recognize that more flights to California to “save the day” await the Texas Twins. Our adult children are needy and often demanding. Heavy sigh. 

For two years now, I’ve been bouncing between states for inmate weddings. It was essential due to my burgeoning client base to add Leigh Ann as a TDCJ Officiant and to bump county Jail Weddings as well as traditional requests for an Officiant/photographer to Robert and Stephanie. 

Cindy and I are both stretched to the limits. My traditional bookings are now three years out. Weekends and evenings that include holidays are taken up by traditional clients. 

Trying to find a day off is impossible during wedding season. As usual, my anniversary will be bumped into my birthday this year when things slow down. My husband accepts my overwhelming schedule. He knew when he married me that I was an overachiever and accepts it. He’s also fifteen years older than me and turns off his phone from 6PM to 8AM Monday through Friday and altogether on weekends. 

Matthew is “off work when he is off the clock.” We have very different views regarding client needs. I never turn my phone off which may be why my husband is “tuned in” on client needs and family chaos. He hears it all. 

My husband doesn’t have any family to burden him with their problems. I cannot imagine what a worry free blessing that would be to not have adult children or grandchildren and their problems dumped in your lap like my husband doesn’t. Seriously. My husband as well as Cindy’s husband don’t have children which is a remarkable comparison to Cindy and I with our “carnival of chaos kids and grandchildren.” Opposites do attract. Our marriages are proof of that.

I’m going to go over the certified marriage license to address questions about the process of changing an inmate status from single to married. While we are inside a unit, often there will be a copy of the marriage license filed with inmate records. This is not a certified copy. 

What constitutes a certified copy being available has a few caviats. First, the license must be signed by the Officiant AND then filed at the clerks office either in person by the client or via certified mail from me to the clerks office BEFORE a certified copy of the license is available for purchase. 

The certified copy bears a seal deeming it as certified to be true and correct. While the original marriage license (after being signed and filed) can be used for the DMV and SS Office, it CANNOT be used for a change of status to inmate records. 

Only a certified copy of the marriage license can accomplish this task. You will purchase and then mail the certified copy to inmate records at the Unit your spouse is incarcerated at. 

You have 30 days from the date I married you at the Unit to provide a certified copy. You will then need to change your name (if you intend to do so) on your state issued ID for visits to the Unit.

The reason that Units NOW REQUIRE a certified license is to prove the marriage license was filed and is legally binding. 

Apparently, several people were “going through the motions to get married” but, by not filing the license, were effectively not legally married. Due to this issue, certified marriage licenses are now a requirement at many if not all Units.

Reading a text from one of my Coffield Unit brides was truly good news today. The inmate has made parole and will finally be coming home. I cannot wait to Officiate their Vow Renewal with family and friends present to celebrate their new journey of freedom and promise together. God Bless my amazing couple and their resilience. What a blessing.

My Beto bride and sit down together to “go over her plans for her son and their new direction to move to East Texas.” Visiting for a little over an hour before running off to Jack County, I also prayed that this trip would bring my client a new job and positive direction although removing her son from school was somewhat troubling to her. At two years old, her son is resilient enough to change schools now as opposed to being older. I will order her certified license as the Officiant and forward it to her to send to the Unit. 

Since there are many questions about certified marriage licenses, I’m adding a photo of the questionare for Dallas County for your review. 

The cost in Dallas is $10. The cost may vary by county. Tarrant county charges $21. Unlike Dallas county, there is no form online in Tarrant county. Here’s the link– Tarrant County Certified Marriage License Request.

Juggling incoming emails and text messages while sitting in the parking lot of Jack County Jail, my husband sends me a text telling me he loves me. It’s the little things but the stinky skunk development problem is finally over and Matthew is relieved! Thank goodness. We’ve had a month of brain storming to solve the skunk issue and, it’s a month too long. 

I miss my happy go lucky husband. Matthew is actually hilarious when he isn’t stressed out. Cindy and I are looking forward to road tripping to Stiles, San Saba, Crain and Huntsville Units before heading back to Louisiana in May. We love getting away for a day or two and hitting the junk shops together. 

My husband prefers long walks with my feisty Beagle, Foxy Wortham along with the Golf Channel or NASCAR and a dry martini. 

Cindy’s husband left for Canada today so she has 5-6 days before Steve Daniel is back home for a 1-3 day “staycation” at Camp Chaos AKA Cindy and Steve’s house. 

With five females fighting over the bathroom, I’m guessing Steve was “ready to roll.” Fighting for a bathroom isn’t fun at Cindy’s house. I drink a lot of water and coffee and it’s not uncommon for me to stop at Petro on my way to her house to effectively “stand in line.” 

Things will get worse when Alex comes to stay for a month before leaving for San Diego with Leigh Ann, Maddy and the twins. A summer in San Diego will do them all good and an empty house will be a Godsend to Cindy as we bounce all over the place to client bookings. 

In fact, I’m looking forward to Cindy staying at my house for our slumber parties and spook movie nights.

My Saturday clients are so much fun that Leigh Ann and I can’t wait to see them again. I love it when clients at outgoing and spirited at photo shoots.We love our LBGT clients and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the rehearsal photos for Brokk and Ruben. 

Since I’ve been asked, I do stop and start blogs between bookings. I just leave my WordPress app open and pick up where I’ve left off. All of my blogs are typed with one finger on my iPhone. Often, while waiting on a client at a Unit or venue. I spend a lot of time waiting as I’m always early.

I reviewed another email regarding someone else blogging on one of my sites and will once again go over why I have no interest in “guest writers.” First, my content is entirely my own and based on my experiences with clients and my family since they are both combined. 

Secondly, I have no interest in sharing my platform with others. 

Thirdly, I do not allow back links on any of my sites. Sorry, but, I’m not now nor will I ever be interested in having a guest blogger.

I’m off to the Parker County Courthouse and looking forward to meeting all of my new clients in the coming weeks… 

Your INFLUENCE On Others Can Make THEIR JOURNEY A JOYFUL TRIP Or A LONG HAUL…The Choice Is Up To You…

This morning while grabbing a quick coffee prior to “hitting the road,” my husband asked me the same question he asks everyday “is there anything I can do for you?” Sounds like a simple question but, the depth and the meaning aren’t overlooked by me. My husband would do anything for me and I know it. The same is true of me for him or my twin sister, my grandnieces, my son, my nieces and my clients. 

I’m just as driven, determined and dedicated to making my clients day as worry free and pleasant as possible as I am with my own family. 

Everyday is a “no repeat” day. There are no re takes or do overs. Being the best version of yourself might sound silly to anyone who hasn’t faced death. The fragile nature of life is lost on them. It isn’t lost on my twin sister, my husband or our children. Why? Because my twin sister nearly died in an accident at 23 years old. 

For fifteen years now, I’ve faced several surgeries to fight “the C word.” I cram as many “moments into each day” as humanly possible. I don’t take any day of my life for granted. Instead, these minutes, these moments, these opportunities are viewed as the gifts they are. I’m “C free” and have been for several years but each and every check up, I literally “brace myself for bad news.” By the grace of God, I haven’t heard any in five years. 

Laying out my usual array of CD’s for my drive to TDCJ Coffield Unit, Donna Summer, Elton John, Lenard Skynard, Rod Stewart, Chicago and Jim Croce would be keeping me company on this trip since Cindy was busy in Parker County, Leigh Ann had a booking on the courthouse steps and my son was on his way to Houston. 

I don’t mind driving alone on Texas highways or anywhere else for that matter. Music occupies my mind and keeps me company. I know all of the words to all of my favorite CD’s. 

My husband only knows the beat or rhythm to music and nearly never pays attention to the words. I find his favorite AC/DC song to be the only song he actually does know the words to hilarious. What is it? Thunder Struck. It cracks me up. 

Checking in with my Thursday Beto bride to confirm timelines after passing through Corsicana and hoping rain wouldn’t ruin my Tuesday and Thursday photo shoots after Unit weddings, my 2 hour and fifteen minute trip to Tennessee Colony was running closer to 2 1/2 due to the usual road construction. Heavy sigh. 

Sitting in a line of traffic, I had time to review email requests for Goodman Unit, Middleton Unit, Garza East, Ellis, Estelle, Clements, and Dominguez Units. I review at least 5-8 new requests every 2-3 days for prison weddings. 

Even I am often surprised at the sheer numbers of clients wanting to marry an inmate. Texas is our highest booking state with California running second and Louisiana third in requests for an Inmate Officiant. 

Since I was driving without a copilot, I called the prospective clients back rather than emailing them. 

Road construction to Tennessee Colony is a virtual mess of mazes through small towns. I often wonder where everyone works or why people just abandon old farmhouses and leave them to decay. What happened? 

In Texas towns that have a Prison, nearly everyone works for TDCJ. The number of employees who have retired and returned to TDCJ is impressive. 

One law library clerk told me “2025 is my retirement year and I won’t be coming back like everyone else does. I will leave the bars behind me and find something to do outside of the prison.” I am fairly sure he means it. My husband checked in several times along the way and let me know he had a dentist appointment today. Like me, Matthew hates going to the dentist but, it’s a necessary evil. 

Listening to Chicago “being without you takes a lot of getting used to,” I remind my husband to take an Aleve to prevent a headache at the dentist. 

I then reminded myself to call Cindy since she’s the one “I was without” on my Tennessee Colony trip. 

Cindy doesn’t enjoy riding with me to Tennessee Colony because “there’s nothing to do.” She’s right. There are no shopping centers or cafes and the only drop off point is the General Store. There are five Prisons though and I make the trip here at least twice a month to one or more of the five Tennessee Colony Prisons. 

Rolling into Tennessee Colony with my bride a few minutes behind me, I sent my husband the “greeting” sign featuring TDCJ Units located in the city that features only one General Store. 

Nearly everyone in the General Store either “knows someone employed by TDCJ or is related to someone employed at one of the Units.” 

Five Units house inmates within fairly close proximity of one another in Tennessee Colony. Coffield and Michael are both located behind the same guard entrance gate. The close proximity of Coffield and Michael are convenient for me because I can move from Coffield wedding ceremonies starting at 9AM to Michael which usually schedules me in at 10:30 or later which is how I literally “bounce” from Coffield to Michael with fluid frequency to meet my clients and conduct their wedding ceremony. 

Often I “stack” clients if I have more than one client at the same Unit with thirty minute intervals for each client. After I complete wedding ceremonies at Units, my clients and I find a place for their bridal photos. 

Bouncing from Coffield or Michael to Beto or Gurney wouldn’t be quite as convenient as you would need to leave the Coffield/Michael Units to drive “back through town” and down another two lane road to get to Beto, Gurney or Powledge. 

Coffield and Michael schedule inmate weddings on Tuesdays. Other Tennessee Colony Units prefer Thursday’s. I’m in Tennessee Colony so often that I could literally drive it blindfolded. In fact, I’m back in Tennessee Colony on Thursday. This time at Beto then on to Hodge Unit. Hodge Unit is in Rusk, Texas and forty five miles from Beto. 

I’ve left Tennessee Colony Units to drive to Huntsville Units on more than a few occasions. Huntsville is also a city of Prisons and one hundred and two miles from Tennessee Colony. It’s a very long day to leave Fort Worth to Tennessee Colony to Huntsville but, it’s doable. 

I’ve spent up to eighteen hours driving from Unit A to Unit B and occasionally even Unit C before heading back to Fort Worth to rise and shine at 3AM and start all over again. Whatever I can do to keep from renting a hotel for prison weddings, I do during the week as weekends often find me at Destination Events and staying at hotels. With my schedule, finding time to be home at night and see my family during wedding season is difficult at best but, I give it my best shot. Having a copilot helps tremendously as my twin and I take turns driving to locations over 6 hours from the DFW area. 

Arriving at Coffield Unit, I was thrilled to see my beautiful bride wearing a wedding dress. This is a rare treat. I loved the entire ensemble. Her bouquet was perfect match to her dress. 

Although my bride wasn’t allowed to bring her bouquet into the Unit, I couldn’t wait to incorporate it into her bridal photos after we left Coffield Unit. Her smile said it all. 

My TDCJ clients are nervous, excited and exhilarated to finally be getting married. It’s a long and arduous process. Michael Unit won’t allow dresses or skirts of ANY TYPE inside the Unit. Advising my Michael Unit brides that only slacks are allowed isn’t an easy conversation but, it is necessary. The Rule at Michael is unbending. 

The “wait” at Coffield is always surprising. Occasionally you can “get right in” while other times the wait can run anywhere from 1-3 hours inside the Unit. My bride and I checked in together at 8:50AM for a 9:00AM scheduled wedding ceremony. I had expected to be out of Coffield by 10 at the latest. Instead, it would be after 11 before we finally walked out of the Unit together. 

“Screening in” can be a time consuming ordeal. I always screen in first. I decided that while my bride was being screened, I would head to the Wardens Office to sign in and pay for Unit photos at $3 each. I always buy three photos for my clients as a courtesy.

Luckily, I had bought 2 rolls of quarters rather than one since I’m at Beto on Thursday as my Tuesday bride had forgotten her quarters and realized it in the parking lot. To solve the problem, I emptied my Beto quarters into the Coffield baggie to cover us for 6 photos at Coffield. I’m nothing if not prepared. 

I can (and will)  get quarters for Beto on my way to Erath County on Wednesday for Beto on Thursday. 

I never go to a Prison without quarters. Often my client may forget to bring quarters for photos and a wedding ceremony is the one event where clients want as many photos as they can get although the quality of the photos is often “questionable.” 

If we all have our heads in the photo, it’s a good day. Guards are not professional photographers and “you get what you get.” 

Amazingly, Estes Unit by far has the best Unit photos. This is saying a lot from me because all of my clients want Unit photos. 

Privately owned Units rarely (if ever) offer wedding day photos. Sanders Estes takes the best Prison photos I’ve seen from any Prison in Texas. 

Sanders Estes is also the only Unit where a guest or guests have been allowed to witness the ceremony. 

Sanders Estes Unit
Sanders Estes Unit

Clear or “in focus” photos are rare at Prison Weddings. Allred actually runs a close second with Hodge Unit coming in third regarding photo clarity and quality. 

Allred Unit
Hodge Unit
Beto Unit

Back to the waiting area at Coffield, my client and I would continue to wait while another bride waited on her “other Officiant.” 

I’m well aware of this “other Officiant” because she is almost always late and always unfriendly. I pay little or no attention to her intentionally although I WISH she would pay more attention to her clients and arrive on time. 

The entire Unit accommodates prison weddings and her work ethics are embarrassing and inconvenient to not only her own clients but also myself and my clients who are “effectively forced to wait on her to ride in on her broom with an attitude.” Prison Weddings aren’t planned overnight. The process is time consuming and stressful to clients who anxiously await wedding day. 

From start to finish, planning a Prison wedding can take anywhere from three weeks to months. The “person on the outside” will send an Absentee Affidavit and the “person on the inside” will request a TDCJ ID that can take several weeks. 

Once the “person on the inside” has the Absentee Affidavit and ID Notarized, the “person on the outside” will use both documents to purchase the marriage license. The “person on the inside” will then file an I60 Request For Marriage Form listing the TDCJ Approved Officiant on the paperwork. 

The I60 requires up to 6 signatures. Once approved, the Warden will hand the chaplain the paperwork to set the date and time for the marriage. The TDCJ Officiant will then confirm the date and time assigned. I.E. Prison wedding planning is a lengthy process. 

I created a video to walk prospective clients through the process. Here’s the link– TDCJ Approved Officiant Wendy Wortham Explains The Prison Wedding Planning Process. 

One of my clients, Mary, waited months to get approved for her wedding. Another, JoJo, waited over a year. Still another waited six months at Stiles Unit. Part of the issues these clients faced that made their journey more difficult involved Unit transfers or a CLM status or other “hiccups.” I spend months walking each of my TDCJ client facing “hurdles” through a confusing process. I also become everyone’s mother when a Prison wedding has hurdles. 

I spend FAR more time talking or corresponding with TDCJ Clients than I ever will with a Texas Twins Events, Pawning Planners or other client booked through a venue that I’m on staff with. Prison Wedding Planning is by far more complicated than a “traditional wedding.” 

On weekends and evenings, I’m often working with “traditional clients” or on site at a venue when a call from a TDCJ client may come in. I juggle everyone everyday and return calls every 2-3 hours. 

My “job” never ends with any of my clients because they offer re book with myself and my staff for other services including Vow Renewals upon release of the inmate or Baptisms and these clients ALWAYS refer their friends and family to my staff and I. We have earned our reputation of excellence by exceeding our clients expectations. These clients are like family to my staff and I. They are far more than a “Gig” or “Booking.” 

Waiting on “another Officiant” is the last thing any client needs on wedding day. Having everyone else on site for their wedding wait on “another Officiant” who obviously has a blatant disregard for everyone else’s time continues to infuriate me. 

The “other Officiant” needs to buy a watch or find a new business that isn’t based on being timely, organized or articulate.  

At Allred, my clients and I were forced to wait yet again due to this same “other Officiant.” It’s aggravating to me that people don’t view being late as stealing because it is. You are taking something you cannot replace. These brides or grooms have waited months on their wedding day. 

The last thing anyone wants to do on wedding day is to wait on “another Officiant” who is unprofessional and uncaring. When “another Officiant” consistently being tardy to a Unit subsequently forces my clients and I to wait on their arrival for my clients wedding ceremony to take place, such conduct annoys my clients as well as pissing me off at the same time. Some people take no pride in their work ethics. 

Hire someone with a stellar track record and responsible behavior. It will save you a lot of grief. It can also save you money. How? Well, if you’ve hired someone who doesn’t return your calls or answer your emails, you might very well have also hired someone so unreliable (obviously not affiliated with Texas Twins Events) that they won’t bother to show up on wedding day! 

How do I know about NO SHOWS? Because I’ve been hired as second and even the third Officiant or Planner or BOTH over and over for years by clients who had “hired the wrong vendor to begin with.”  

That’s right. I’ve taken calls from hysterical brides or their mothers or members of the wedding party for YEARS who found themselves wishing the  had hired Texas Twins Events in the first place but instead, found themselves ALONE at a Unit or venue with a MIA Officiant or Planner (obviously not affiliated in any way, shape or form with my staff).

These “emergency requests at the 11th hour” have been going on for so many years now that I now have emergency fees in place based on our availability. After all, my staff and I DON’T HAVE EMERGENCIES. The client who hired the WRONG VENDOR is HAVING AN EMERGENCY. 

I will never forget the TCU wedding party calling me years ago about “two hundred guests waiting and we can’t get in touch with our Officiant. We need someone here as soon as possible.” I had been working on a Texas Twins Treasures trunk and obviously unprepared to “run off and save the day” but, due to the hysterical phone call, changed my clothes and dashed over to the church. 

Arriving with everyone upset and agitated, I had no idea what they wanted for their ceremony, names of the wedding party, who was giving the bride away or anything else for that matter. Also and more importantly, who was paying MY FEE? Upon inquiring about my fee in the midst of the circus environment of chaos, I was told “we didn’t bring any money because we paid the other Officiant.” 

Oh, you mean the person who DIDN’T bother showing up? I advised the wedding party of the facts since paying the No Show Officiant doesn’t benefit me one iota. “I received a hysterical phone call on my day off begging me to drop everything and run over here to save YOUR wedding. If you don’t have funding to pay my fee, I will be leaving now and ya all can have a great party.” 

Turning to leave, someone managed to come up with my fee. I am not a volunteer. I’m a staunch professional who effectively “goes to work” in exchange for consideration. If you have no money, you can submit a bartered item proposal through my sister site, The Pawning Planners.

After the “TCU incident,” and similar escapades that included excuses pertaining to paying the “other Officiant” that prevented these hysterical folks from paying me or anyone in my staff who ACTUALLY DID SHOW UP when the initial vendor hired and more importantly, PAID DID NOT, all of my sites were updated with “emergency fee structures” as well as holiday fees. I don’t have emergencies and no one on my Team does either. 

I abhor tardiness. Worse, are the “consistently tardy people” who assume that by being tardy that their behavior is acceptable to everyone else who are effectively forced to wait on them. 

I’m never late. Ever. I leave a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour earlier than necessary for every commitment I have. I plan ahead. Not showing up at an event? NEVER. But, I’m not like everyone else. My staff aren’t either. Our booked clients are OUR PRIORITY. 

Since the other Officiant was MIA and most likely running 20-30 minutes late (as usual), her client was alone and feeling somewhat insecure about “screening in” since the alarm kept going off when she attempted to “clear in.” 

The “hold up” at screening due to the other client bringing a ring box and ring into the Unit. Ring boxes have metal hinges. Metal interferes with the metal detector. Whether it’s jewelry, a watch, a girdle with boning or a bra with underwire or even a ring box, YOU MUST CLEAR the machine to enter ANY TDCJ UNIT. 

I strongly advise all of my clients not to bring anything other than their current state issued ID, Marriage License, car keys and quarters. It will save you and I time screening in and make our visit far more pleasant on wedding day.

Having someone walk in bewildered and alone while wondering if their “other Officiant” is going to bother showing up is just too much for me. I often wish they had someone reliable in their corner during what is often already an emotional process but, again, I cannot save everyone from hiring the wrong Officiant. I’ve seen it happen before and I will see it happen again. I’m not only referring to Prisons either. 

My office “fields” emergency Officiant calls on a regular basis because someone hired the wrong Officiant, Photographer or Planner. You know, the “other Officiant or vendor who were paid to show up but didn’t.” 

Getting a call from a frantic bride, groom, mother of the bride or groom to one of our  Texas Twins Events cell phones from someone in a panic because “our Officiant didn’t show up” or “our planner isn’t here” or “our photographer isn’t here and we need you to send someone over immediately” are the types of phone calls no one wants to take. 

Don’t these frantic callers assume that we aren’t already on location? You know with the clients who booked with us. We can’t save everyone. What we can do is put our clients needs first and if I have any available staff, send them to the “emergency” caller. But, these emergency services come at a higher rate. Also, emergency services are based entirely on availability. Our clients don’t have emergencies because they booked with Texas Twins Events. 

I’m booked up to 2 years out and no longer take on emergency Officiant bookings. The reason for this is that you are effectively “going in cold” with clients you know nothing about who are often angry, anxious and upset because “someone else” had let them down. It’s an awful situation for the client who trusted the “wrong person” but again, I cannot save everyone. My staff cannot save everyone. Our priorities are our booked clients first and foremost.  Everyone else is secondary. 

Emergency Officiant situations are redirected to my staff and their availability. I work 7 days a week and can’t run off from my existing clients “to save the day” for a “stranger” simply because they ask me to. 

I strongly urge people who have been wronged AKA “STOOD UP” by another vendor to get a refund before calling Texas Twins Events and expecting us to drop everything because “we help everyone.” We help people who hired us in the first place. File a small claims lawsuit against the person who knowingly and willfully “ruined your wedding day.” Why? Because you paid them to show up that’s why. You trusted them to honor their end of the bargain and they failed you. This my friends is called “Breach of Oral or Implied Contract.” It you have paid for a service you didn’t receive, it’s also called “Theft Of Services.” Study up and know your rights as a consumer. 

Booked clients take precedence over anyone else coming to us at the 11th hour in a panic because they initially hired someone else. Not OUR luggage- Not OUR trip. 

No one on my staff has ever and I mean never will not been on site at a booked event. It will never happen in my lifetime. I have a full staff for this very reason. If someone becomes ill, there is always a backup that will not be scheduled on the same day. I have never missed a booking in my life, if I’m sick, I go to the ER or Urgent Care and get a shot before heading to my booking or after my job is through.

At Sanders Estes Unit, I had three brides and immense pain. Why? Kidney stones. I waited hours to go to the ER to ensure my clients needs were met first. I was also flying to California 36 hours after this photo was taken and terrified my pain was due to a ruptured appendix but, my bloody urine actually eased my mind. Kidney stones again. Ugh. 

Would I have gotten on that plane following an appendectomy? Yes. Against doctors orders I would have. I would also have sought medical treatment in California if I experienced any complications from surgery in Texas. But, by the Grace of God, my pain wasn’t due to my appendix. My smile on the railroad tracks literally masks my discomfort. No one has the work ethics that I possess other than my twin sister, Cindy. 

There are no sick days or emergencies in the events industry. Whatever is going on in my life or my staffs lives takes a backseat to our clients needs. There’s always an ER or Urgent Care facility open after hours. 

“Work ethics AND morals are like a good set of tires. Everything you have is riding on them.”

Cindy Daniel

The ring at Coffield shouldn’t have been there. Since many of my clients inquire about rings, I’m going to go over Section K of the Administrative Directive because the question regarding rings comes up frequently with my TDCJ Clients. 

I’ve memorized the Administrative Directive and no, I don’t call wardens and ask them to make exceptions because they are running a Prison and very busy and also because as a TDCJ Officiant, it’s expected that we know and understand the rules and guidelines set forth pertaining to inmate marriage and, I do. 

Offender property prevents ring exchanges and yet… the other bride was unaware of the limitations that would require her to leave the Unit with the ring she had brought. 

I suggested that the guard remove the ring from the box setting off the metal detector and that the  bride wear the ring herself as I also explained to this young bride that wedding ring exchanges are strictly forbidden. The bride then told me “the Warden said I could put it on but I would have to take it off when I left.” Oh, so someone called a Warden to ask to bring a wedding ring into the Unit although it’s unauthorized? Wow. It’s tough to surprise me but, calling a Warden to ask for something because it isn’t allowed isn’t a good idea. In fact, it’s something that I strongly suggest no one does. 

I’m just going to put this out there because giving someone a ring on wedding day only to have to remove it and effectively “take it back” is perhaps even more emotionally traumatic than not presenting it in the first place but, that’s my opinion. 

My clients are strongly advised against calling the Warden to ask for something that’s prohibited in the first place. It’s far better to follow the Administrative Directive. That’s why there is one put in place giving inmates the right to marry in TDCJ Units. 

By the time my client and I were called to go to the Visitation Area, my bride and I were more than ready to “get the show on the road.” After all, we had been waiting for quite some time and having the “other Officiant” haughtily stare at me enjoying a conversation with not only my client but also her own client was more than a little awkward for her I’m guessing. 

I can talk to anyone and I can certainly befriend anyone who is unaware that a ring box is going to set off the machine. “Clearing” a machine is essential to entering the Unit. Whether you need to disrobe, take your hair down, remove a ring from the box or whatever else is setting off the machine, compliance is required. My bride had to take her beautiful updo down. It’s very distressing on wedding day but, clearing the machine isn’t “optional.” 

Walking through the heavy doors into the visitation area, I decided to use both backdrops for photos because lighting is often an issue at Coffield. I wanted my bride to have the best possible photos from her wedding. 

The groom was nervous and thrilled to see his bride. These moments are emotional. My client and her beau have been through phone calls, confusing paperwork and long wait times to stand with me to marry. They are excited and yet, apprehensive. No one knows what to expect. I lay out the rules. “You can hold hands. You can hug. You can kiss twice but no open mouth. No groping. We will be respectful and stay within the guidelines.” I also remind both parties “although this wedding is taking place inside a prison, once I sign and file this license, you are legally married and dissolving your union will require a divorce. Do you both agree to continue?” They always do. I’ve never had anyone change their mind on wedding day but, I have had a few people hyperventilate and even vomit. I’m not specifically speaking only about Prisons either. I’ve seen pretty much everything in my years of the events industry.  

My hair was a mess with humidity and my usual ponytail pulled most of it out of my face. I had cut my bangs again while waiting on a client at Green Bay Unit and as usual, messed my hair up AGAIN. I need to throw my cuticle scissors out of my SUV and stop taking whacks at my bangs but, for years I’ve been guilty of attempting to cut my own bangs and botching it. Time is something I don’t have. 

My couple looked fantastic and although the groom was a little nervous, he relaxed before posing for photos. 

My bride was a delight in every way. I love my clients. My “client” is the person on the outside. This confuses people but shouldn’t. The person on the outside is responsible for finding their TDCJ Approved Officiant. I don’t advertise and I never have. 

Frankly, my reputation is why and how I stay booked. Referral business is a gift. If you are doing your job right, you won’t need to advertise. Moving over to the other backdrop across the visitation area, the groom wanted to see the license after I had signed it. Occasionally, the groom or bride want to view the license and I found this to be a “sweet moment.” I had no idea that this wedding had been something the couple had planned for years. The reason the groom wanted to see my signature was to know “the deal was done.” 

My bride had told me something that was not only real but also raw with honesty as we stood waiting on a guard to unlock the heavy steel door. I turned to face her as she said “Wendy, I’m doing time too while he’s in here. For years I’ve thought I can’t keep doing this. He has to want to get it together and, he finally does.” She was absolutely right. I thought of the line in a song on one of my cd’s and just as the heavy steel door was being unlocked “I can’t wait upon a lovers cross for you” Jim Croce. No one can wait upon a lovers cross forever. I understood completely what my bride had meant. 

The person on the outside is a warrior. They make all of the sacrifices. My bride had waited because she wanted light at the end of the tunnel and I pray she finds it. 

Her new husband went before parole last week and I’m hoping he makes it. I love happy endings and will also be officiating their Vow Renewal upon his release and looking forward to seeing them both again. 

I had packed my make up kit but had no time to put on any make up other than lipstick which is why I wore my “no make up” tinted glasses. Time. I have so little of it. I live every moment and I love working. I love meeting new people and I love my job.

I now have 3 pairs of glasses for my “on the dash” days where lipstick and a smile are all I have time for. Makeup? Who has ten minutes for that? I know I didn’t. My bride and I said goodbye to her new husband and walked back to wait another hour near the metal detector. Why? Because the second bride and “other Officiant” were buying photos too and rather than print our photos first, the guard was back in the Visitation Area with the same camera and SD card. It would’ve been far more convenient (for us anyway) to print our photos first but, we wait patiently. 

My client and I would wait on the other bride who would come out to wait alone with my client and I on her own photos while the “other Officiant” stomped off and walked right out of Unit leaving her client to wait alone. I felt sad for her. Sitting alone and abandoned after waiting on that “other Officiant” she was now watching leave as my client and I waited with her on the wardens secretary to print out our photos first. 

Weddings aren’t a “drive through.” I was glad my client and I were there to keep the other bride entertained with some good company. 

Life Events aren’t “on the dash” and yet, arriving late and leaving early, the “other Officiants” behavior didn’t surprise me at all. Frankly, I’m used to it with this “other Officiant.” I always feel sorry for her clients. She doesn’t care about how important their “moment is.” She doesn’t take into consideration how long they’ve waited or what they went through to get to their wedding day. It’s a tragedy. 

I can only imagine how lonely a long drive to a Unit for a Prison wedding would be. Driving home after a Prison wedding without your new spouse by your side? Even lonelier.

I had wished the other bride was able to join my client and I to celebrate her wedding and take photos with us but, I can’t save everyone. 

My role is with my client. I must address the person standing in front of me although I’m old and wise enough to see how so many things that could make a day brighter for others would only take a moment of compassion, care or understanding if only the person they had hired would make more of an effort. Sigh. 

Driving to Tennessee Colony, I had seen an old building I wanted to use as our backdrop and my client followed me as the mist turned to rain. No matter. My hair was already a mess. 

I love how these photos turned out! My beauty and I braved the rain and had a great time together. My bride was a natural and I always try to find a unique background to give photos depth and this building was perfect. 

As we both wiped the rain off our faces and I changed signs and floral arrangements, I was so glad to have the opportunity to capture my clients joy on film. 

I had told the groom that I would send my beautiful bride double prints in order for him to have a set. God Bless this beautiful lady and as always, I’m honored to meet such incredible and resilient people who overcome any and all obstacles to make their relationship work. 

I’ve got jam packed few months ahead and wish all of my clients, friends and followers many minutes and moments of joy. They are out there ya all. Grab them. We are all on a short window. Tomorrow is but a promise.

Take a moment to smell the flowers or grab a coffee. Remember that clients are people too. They aren’t numbers. Put yourself in their shoes and I can assure you that you will make them feel as important as you would like to be treated yourself. My clients are worth it to me. They are the fabric of my life. 

Don’t forget to put your needs in the same order of importance as the people you care about. I’m hoping to find time to get my hair cut…

Taken. You Hear The Stories But, You Never Expect To Be Involved In One Of  “Those Stories”..

Last Saturday, my twin sister and I said goodbye to my niece Stephaney as her journey to Valdosta, Georgia began. Stephaney was excited and looking forward to spending a few months on a beautiful ranch with horses, rolling meadows and atv’s. 

Cindy and I felt surely the change of scenery in Georgia would be good for my niece. Our entire family were “on board” with this decision for Stephaney to give Georgia a try but, within days we would greatly regret sending Stephaney to Georgia.

My niece is 31 years old. She is beautiful and she is Bipolar One. Stephaney also struggles with meth addiction and self medication. For 16 years, my twin sister and I have tried to “save Stephaney.” 

It would be while trying to save Stephaney (yet again) that would put my family far too close to losing Stephaney to “the wrong person.” A person who wanted her solely to benefit financially from having her. 

I’m including a photo of my niece because being pretty was an asset to Jane Doe. The person who tricked my family into sending Stephaney to Valdosta, Georgia.

After putting Stephaney on the second bus bus to Valdosta last Saturday, (I will explain the first bus fiasco momentarily), Cindy and I walked back to my SUV after saying goodbye to Stephaney while double checking she had plenty of money and two suitcases with everything she might need at the Dallas Greyhound Terminal.

I remember watching my niece get settled into the bus and praying for a safe journey. Cindy and I walked back to one of our black suvs and finally felt that “worrying about Stephaney” was something that we could stop doing on an hourly, daily, and weekly occurrence for the first time in 19 months  as we waved goodbye to her on the bus. Or so we thought. 

Cindy and I left Dallas to drive straight to Eastland, Texas to meet our Saturday client and begin a jam packed weekend of 6 events for my main company, Texas Twins Events. There wasn’t time to grab a bite as we began a long day after several days of staying at a hotel with Stephaney waiting on the second bus that would eventually take her right into the greedy arms of Jane Doe. The person we believed had a beautiful sprawling ranch and who also helped people with mental illness and addiction problems. The person who had convinced our family of what an “angel” she was. Umm hmm. Jane Doe was nothing if not elaborate regarding convincing our family to send Stephaney to Georgia. 

“Traditional bookings” occupy my nights and evenings year round but, during wedding season, the combination of Monday through Friday inmate wedding services at Prisons and Jail combined with my “traditional” weekend and evening bookings gives me no spare time at all. 

Cindy and I could finally put all of our tears, anger and frustration regarding “fixing Stephaney” far behind us as we headed to Eastland or so we thought. 

The Texas Twins were about to embark on a journey so surprising and shocking while we continued to juggle our TDCJ Clients, Texas Twins Events Clients and our lives that the details of losing Stephaney will enlighten and astound you. We would effectively be “balancing a juggling act of looking normal for clients” while dealing with trying to save Stephaney by Monday when her bus finally arrived in Valdosta.

I “fell” for the “trap that I was led straight into.” Jane Doe should have used her talents for the entertainment industry because she would have made one helluva actress. Her fluid flare for dishonesty would be unmatched by anyone that I have ever encountered. 

Cindy and I were “easy targets” for Jane Doe though due mainly to our transparent nature. We have always been honest about our lives and our journey. It isn’t an easy path but life doesn’t have an “easy button.” Dealing with Stephaney had literally worn my twin sister and I both to the bone. 

Looking normal for clients and our existing family would be the hardest thing we’ve managed to do in years but, we did. My husband had other issues at a development while Cindy’s husband was dealing with issues at Cindy’s home. 

Cindy and I have never hid the fact that Stephaney and her choices have created a carnival of chaos for us both. 

At 15, Cindy and I were homeless and eating out of trash cans. It’s important you know this. We had nothing at one time in our lives and worked to becoming something. 

Because of our history, Cindy and I also knew that desperate people either take the right path in life or they don’t. Jane Doe had NOTHING. We wouldn’t know this though until it was too late. Jane Doe also chose the wrong path in life. Jane Doe was an opportunist. A parasite. A person who looks for “opportunities” regardless of who is hurt. 

Jane Doe is the most devious person that I have ever encountered or may ever encounter in this lifetime. She wanted Stephaney and like idiots, we had delivered her. 

For people who have nothing, everything is worth something. A half eaten sandwich in a trash can years ago was worth something to two homeless and starving teens. We felt lucky and blessed to find that half eaten sandwich without mayonnaise. Why? We had learned not to eat anything from a trash can with mayonnaise because we would get sick. 

Without understanding our own background and struggles, you will never know why Jane Doe wanted Stephaney so badly. Luckily, one day, the police found Cindy and I digging through the trash and saved us by taking us to Women’s Haven. We were truly blessed on that day and finally off the street. 

Jane Doe would create and fabricate a false life and false reasons to get Stephaney to Valdosta. Jane Doe had nothing but, Jane Doe took the wrong path. Jane Doe chose two fighters. We would fight back after learning the actual details too. 

Most everyone is aware that Cindy and I have had more than our share of heartache with Stephaney. While other thirty one year olds are taking their parents to dinner, my thirty one year old niece was dragging my twin sister and I through one emotionally traumatizing escapade right into the next. From jail to Psych Wards and everywhere in between, any degree of predictable behavior effectively flew out the window when Stephaney relapsed. 

A few months ago, Jane Doe “reached out” to help Cindy and I with Stephaney by offering a change of scenery. This invitation was what I had thought at the time, a literal Godsend. But, Jane Doe had other reasons for wanting to “help us with Stephaney.” At the time Jane Doe contacted me, Stephaney was back in a mental institution again. We’ve had nearly two years of the Merry Go Round that Stephaney’s addiction and mental illness have brought into our lives now. Jane Doe was about to use her knowledge to an advantage regarding my niece. 

The phone calls and messages between Jane Doe and I went on right until yesterday. It would be the last time I would ever correspond with her again. It would also be the last time I would trust someone without checking their “story” and “background” out myself too. 

Jane Doe was the “Devil In Disguise.” She’s where she won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore and she belongs there. Jane Doe should have tried to earn an honest living. 

Had I gone to Valdosta, Georgia myself and seen in where I was really sending my niece, I can promise you that Stephaney would never have left Texas. 

But, Jane Doe was smart enough to know that Cindy and I work seven days a week and that Cindy is the custodial parent of Stephaney’s twin daughters, Maryssa and Makenna who are both currently enrolled in public school. I couldn’t fly to Georgia due to my schedule. Cindy couldn’t fly to Georgia due to her responsibilities. 

Cindy, Stephaney and I were “the perfect marks.” Jane Doe chose my family because we were also effectively “easy targets.” 

“I’m a fantastic actress. My sister is too. The majority of our clients have no idea that we can effectively forget the chaos in our lives in order to focus on the client standing in front of us. My role demands that I turn my back on the choir to focus on the congregation.”

Wendy M Wortham

The “choir” is and always will be my family. Throughout my life, I’ve shifted focus when working directly to my clients. The “peanut gallery” of my life regarding my family is behind me rather than in front of me intentionally. What you are about to read will surprise you just as much as it hurts me. Shifting the focus from my family to my work put me at a disadvantage. 

Trusting the “wrong person” also put my niece, Stephaney in a very dangerous position. Jane Doe knew my habits, my schedule and my thought process. Jane Doe had followed my posts and blogs for years. Jane Doe had researched me. 

Jane Doe had also claimed that she wanted to “help Stephaney” by inviting her to Georgia and she expertly “soothed every fear or concern” we had with the talented cunning of an incredibly smooth con artist. How so? Jane Doe was fully aware that Cindy and I were at our wits end after 19 months of trying to get Stephaney on track. We had effectively tried everything humanly possible and we had failed over and over again. 

The fear of losing my niece yet again and one day having to bury her if Cindy and I couldn’t “fix Stephaney” were the sole reason that I even entertained a “change of scenery.” 

Maybe Jane Doe had been hoodwinking her way through most of her life by taking advantage of others? I don’t know but, I know this, Jane Doe had plenty of time to execute a plan to get my niece several states away. I should add that isolation was part of “the plan.” 

Jane Doe was in deep country miles away from the nearest store. At the time she initially contacted me, the distance from “town” wasn’t an issue as Jane also claimed to have transportation to “take Stephaney to MHMR on Tuesday after she got settled in.” Jane Doe had also convinced JPS that getting Stephaney a counselor immediately wouldn’t be an “issue.” 

Jane Doe knew Stephaney wasn’t on Social Security Disability due to mental illness. How? She asked me. I told her we would send money every Friday and that Stephaney would find a job within days. Stephaney enjoys working. She always has. 

There’s a reason Stephaney isn’t on SS Disability. Stephaney wants to work. It was an odd question but, Jane Doe had her reasons and they were entirely based on the amount of money Stephaney could generate right into her hands. The fact that Cindy and I would also be sending money to Jane Doe while she sneakily attempted to  sign Stephaney up for food stamps and SS wouldn’t “surface” for 24 hours after Stephaney arrived in Valdosta. 

We had no idea how or why Jane Doe would become so upset at setbacks getting Stephaney to Georgia. Who would? What was the hurry? But, Jane Doe had nothing. No food, no water, no electricity, no job, no car, nothing. Jane Doe was great at fabricating the life she would never have. Jane Doe was also planning to use my niece to obtain the financial freedom she was unwilling to earn the hard way. 

After 16 years of dealing with the unpredictable and often chaotic behavior of my niece, Cindy also took the time to take photos of Stephaney’s medication and the location for MHMR in Valdosta. 

Our entire family had believed my niece was going to a “luxurious ranch.” Jane Doe is a convincing liar and manipulator. 

We document everything. Cindy and I always have with Stephaney. She loses her medicine, her cell phone, her clothes, her ID and everything else all of the time. 

Cindy and I have spent thousands over and over again replacing all of the items Stephaney loses for years. Stephaney’s medication is incredibly expensive. She has no health insurance. 

Jane Doe made several promissory statements to JPS regarding Stephaney’s release that would later literally “uphold everything” I would be forced to explain to both the DA and AG. I never say anything I cannot prove. 

Cindy and I effectively had a paper trail. Jane Doe never anticipated that Cindy and I both would document everything about this “wonderful and relaxing excursion to Georgia” but, we did. 

Alleging someone is being held against their will is a serious crime. Before you even consider making such a statement to law enforcement, be certain of the facts. I was. 

Cindy also included in those faxes to the DA and AG numerous screenshot messages and unkept promises from Jane Doe. 

Cindy and I could easily prove my niece was released from JPS Trinity Pavillion to the care of Jane Doe and when Jane Doe would have Stephaney with her rather than us. Within days of leaving Texas on a Greyhound bus, my niece would effectively be fighting for her life in Georgia. 

Within days, I would be fighting to get my niece out of the filth Jane Doe lived in. But, I would get my niece back and while doing so, I would also hold Jane Doe accountable. 

While I was saving Stephaney, I would also save Jane Doe’s children from her too. 

Those children had been through numerous CPS investigations. I would open another investigation myself within 48 hours of my niece arriving in Valdosta. Hearing and understanding why I contacted CPS will shock you. 

Jane Doe was abusive to not only her own children but also the most negligent parent I’ve encountered aside from my own mother who also starved and later sold her four children for $50 each to go buy heroin. I’m not “unfamiliar” with negligent parents. In fact, I’m more than “familiar” with them. 

Stephaney’s counselors have always regularly “checked in” with Cindy or I as to where Stephaney was and whether she was taking her medication. Like her mother and I, the counselor also believed “a change of scenery would be beneficial to Stephaney’s recovery.” We were all terribly wrong. Not one of us but all of us including Stephaney. 

Jane Doe had convinced JPS that “Stephaney would be in good hands.” Jane Doe NEVER took Stephaney to MHMR on Tuesday. Why? Because my niece wasn’t ever going to be allowed to leave once she had arrived. Jane Doe wanted Stephaney for financial gain alone. 

Jane Doe was so convincing about her beautiful home and idea about a change of scenery that even the psychologists treating my niece didn’t question her. Stephaney’s medications are nearly $1k. 

On March 26 @ 10AM, Cindy picked up Stephaney while I was headed to TDCJ Michael Unit with my son. Cindy would buy Stephaney whatever she needed for her trip to Valdosta the following morning. Together, Cindy and I would take Stephaney to Greyhound in Fort Worth. Stephaney was excited about her trip. She loves nature and horses and was looking forward to “getting back to nature.” 

There would be setbacks getting Stephaney to Georgia as Jane Doe rubbed her hands together waiting on Stephaney to leave Texas. 

Stephaney was nervous about leaving her family behind. We all were. We hoped for a positive 2-3 month visit but, after four days with Jane Doe, my niece would never be the same again. 

It would take great lengths to save my niece but, I did. Cindy and I went to any and all means necessary to get Stephaney back. We were lucky Stephaney wasn’t moved. Had she been, we may never have seen her again after sending her to Jane Doe. 

Stephaney was called “my human” by Jane Doe. I wouldn’t know this until after she had arrived in Valdosta. The first time I heard this term, I was furious. But, Jane Doe had Stephaney. Cindy took the above photos to specifically remind Stephaney daily to take her medication and when to take it. Cindy has also paid over and over to purchase cell phones for Stephaney. 

My twin sister and I have spent so much money on treatment for Stephaney the last 16 years that we could both buy two houses. We don’t give up easily. We never have. 

Cindy had bought yet another cell phone for Stephaney on March 26th while I was in Tennessee Colony at Michael Unit the day before our first fiasco of trying to get Stephaney on the original bus to Valdosta. Read on. 

On Monday April 1st (ironically April Fool’s Day) at approximately 10:37AM after months of being “groomed” by Jane Doe into sending Stephaney to Valdosta, a call from “Jane Doe” came in. “Stephaney has arrived. I’m so excited. She’s really going to love it here.” 

Because Jane Doe had called me while Stephaney was midway through her trip about conveniently “having a car accident,” I asked “who was driving?” This is important as Jane Doe wasn’t even at Greyhound in Valdosta. Her cousin was. My niece was getting off a bus to meet someone she had never even spoken to. Someone my niece was completely unfamiliar with. A cousin that knew my niece had “just left a mental facility.” A cousin that also knew “the crazy girl has a rich family in Texas.” 

Jane Doe had told her entire family about Stephaney. Jane Doe’s cousin told my niece who thought she was going to a luxurious ranch that Jane Doe was also a prostitute. This would be Stephaney’s first glimpse into the reality she was heading into. 

Why didn’t Stephaney return to Greyhound and call us? Because her mother and I had told Stephaney to “work it out in Georgia. Prove yourself. Show your family that you are ready to get your life on track.” 

I can only imagine what Stephaney was thinking as the cousin drove her further and further into the woods. It’s horrifying to comprehend. Headed to a prostitute? A pretty girl who thought she was going to a wonderful ranch? 

For hours I wondered why my niece wasn’t calling but had another call coming in each time I planned to call and check on her. 

Within minutes of Stephaney’s arrival at Jane Doe’s “residence,” the words “make this work” from my sister and I would ring in Stephaneys ears over and over again. She knew she was far from help or even a neighbor. Jane Doe had taken Stephaney’s money, toiletries and more importantly, her state issued ID and SS Card as well as her cell phone. Stephaney was stuck. 

My niece would later admit that she was also panicking. After Jane Doe had removed any and all of Stephaney’s personal belongings that Cindy and I had carefully packed into two suitcases, Jane then bartered them to her accomplices AKA her relatives. Jane Doe was like a buzzard. She took her time attacking her prey. 

Walking into a filthy home with no food or running water, Stephaney would later describe slipping in dog feces on the floor. The filth covered one end of the trailer to the other. This wasn’t a luxury ranch. There never was a “luxury ranch” for patients with mental illness to “get back to nature.” Jane Doe was no longer the happy and festive person we had come to know either. She was mean to her children and my niece. The older children said menacing things to my niece. Where had they heard such threats? Their mother, Jane Doe who also didn’t send those children to school. 

Jane Doe told my niece “you are mine now. I own you.” Jane Doe had children living in the filth without food, water or electricity. The filthiest environment my niece had ever encountered in her life. One of Jane Doe’s older children threatened to cut off Stephaney’s toes if she tried to leave. 

Going through my workday on April 1st, I continued answering incoming calls while headed to Jacksboro, Texas to begin my day of county jail Weddings. I was hoping Stephaney was getting settled into her room facing a beautiful lake. With a stunning veranda surrounded by pine trees. Jane Doe really went all out with her description. As far from reality as you can imagine in fact. I waited for a call from my niece. 

It would be Cindy that Jane Doe would have Stephaney call rather than me Monday evening some 10 hours after arriving in Valdosta and I’m certain trying to understand how she was going to leave or escape what a situation that must have been more than a little traumatic for Stephaney while Jane Doe ordered her to “call and get Wendy or Cindy or both of them to send me more money. Tell them I need $450 to turn on the electricity.” 

Hours after arriving at a Hell Hole, my niece was now being “put up” to calling her mother to send several hundred dollars? Yes. What would happen if we refused? Now you are catching on. Jane Doe HAD Stephaney. Her mother and I were no longer in control. 

Not having to worry about Stephaney and knowing she would be in good hands at a “beautiful ranch” was (I thought) a luxury for our entire family. In my mind I thought “Stephaney isn’t calling because she’s having so much fun.” Omg. I cannot believe how far off I was on the truth. That phone call was our first wake up call. No electricity? But, things would get worse. 

With Stephaney’s bags ransacked, her money taken, her life at the hands of Satan, my fragile niece assumed that she would never escape. Who could blame her? 

Jane Doe wanted Stephaney because she knew once she had Stephaney that Cindy and I would do whatever we were told. Jane Doe would underestimate Cindy and I though. People often do. We came from nothing ourselves and are far more resilient and determined than most folks. 

Jane Doe had assumed that Cindy and I were stupid but, Jane Doe and her dirty plan were about to backfire between Monday and Friday. Sure we would send money but only to keep Jane Doe from hurting Stephaney until we could get her out of there. I would stop at nothing to remove Stephaney from the situation she was in solely because we trusted Jane Doe. 

I had envisioned my niece horseback riding and unpacking, my niece was actually trying to find a way out. I never have a day off. Cindy doesn’t either. We have “full plates” 24/7. When we aren’t dealing with clients, we are dealing with our own families. It’s a lot to handle. Assuming Stephaney was happily adjusting in Georgia  came to an abrupt halt that Monday hours after her arrival with a phone call for $450.

Cindy and I were about to be in for one of the most incredible encounters with someone willing to do anything to get what she wanted that we would never forget trusting the wrong person again. Experience is one helluva teacher. 

My niece doesn’t “act insane” on a daily basis and would later tell me that “everyone called me crazy and accused me of talking to myself.” Jane Doe was a bully. I wouldn’t know this from her previous phone calls, texts or emails though. 

Cindy and I would realize the depths of Jane Doe’s deception when Stephaney continued to find her hidden cell phone and attempt to call. Jane Doe would be screaming at my niece before grabbing the phone and hanging up. 

I don’t believe Jane Doe ever even had a car to be honest with you. The entire car accident claim after we had said goodbye to Stephaney in Dallas was fabricated. My niece said a broken down car was on the property but it hadn’t run in years. 

I don’t believe that taking Stephaney’s clothing, hygiene products, perfume and other was as “confusing” as Stephaney thought it was either. “Everything is worth something to people who have nothing.” Cindy says this all the time because it’s true. Jane Doe had nothing. She would take whatever she could from Stephaney because it was worth something to someone. No water? No problem. Jane Doe would trade Stephaney’s possessions for something else. Stephaney wouldn’t tell us about the water until Wednesday while Cindy and I were in Huntsville. 

Originally, Cindy and I had planned to fly Stephaney to Valdosta but, Stephaney has only been on a plane twice in her life and although we had a setback trying to get her on a bus Wednesday March 27th that resulted in my niece being taken to Dallas County Jail due to a felony warrant regarding a probation revocation in Cotton County, Texas. This was the “original setback.” Stephaney had boarded the first bus in Fort Worth to Dallas. During the layover in Dallas, an argument escalated resulting in blunt force trauma to my nieces head. The injuries went unchecked until after bonding her out of Dallas County Jail and taking her to Harris Hospital while waiting on the next bus. This time Cindy and I drove Stephaney to Dallas and waited with her in the event of yet another brawl at the Dallas Terminal. 

By the time Stephaney finally boarded the second bus in Dallas, Texas on March 30th at 8:30AM in Dallas bound for Valdosta, I was relieved to finally stop worrying about my niece. RELIEVED. Maybe we could finally get Stephaney back on track. 

Maybe this time we had a shot at being a normal family? Fresh air and sunshine. Working on the ranch and attending counseling sessions were the “plan” for Stephaney her mother and I had envisioned. 

Surviving would be the plan Stephaney was living out in Georgia. Tuesday, Stephaney did make one attempt at escaping. Tuesday, Stephaney also became lost and cut by briar bushes in the deep country. Things would unravel within hours and the following days. Realizing that she couldn’t escape or run away, Stephaney would use brief phone calls to tell her mother or I what was going on with Jane Doe in Valdosta, Georgia. 

It would take time for my niece to honestly “enlighten” Cindy and I to the extreme poverty Jane Doe lived in but, eventually Stephaney would tell us. Had she told us sooner, we would have found a way to get her out before Friday. 

By Monday evening at 6:27PM, Jane Doe had Stephaney call Cindy. “They don’t have any electricity out here. I need you to wire $450.” This was the first red flag. Cindy could hear Jane “coaching” Stephaney in the background. Angrily coaching I might add. 

While I was sleepless in Fort Worth and Cindy sleepless in Weatherford again regarding Stephaney, the curtains to this charade with Jane Doe that we had fallen into were beginning to be pulled aside to let the real show commence. Less than 24 hours after arriving, Jane Doe had Stephaney calling us for money? 

Cindy called me. I advised her that I was confused as to how anyone on a 40 acre ranch could be without electricity. Who on earth doesn’t pay their electric bill? 

Jane Doe said she knew me from years ago. I had apparently met Jane Doe years ago on location at an event for TCGPWA. I couldn’t remember her. I meet hundreds of people at events. 

Jane Doe knew a LOT about me. I knew nearly nothing about her. “Oh you remember me don’t you? I’m contacting you because I really would like an opportunity to help your niece, Stephaney. I’m in Georgia and it’s just beautiful here. A change of scenery will do her good. Ya all have tried to help Stephaney. I’ve seen your posts but, maybe it’s time to try somewhere else.”  

Jane Doe was an acquaintance. If she was anything more than an acquaintance, I would have remembered her. She wasn’t a friend or even close friend. 

These “Jane Doe” messages and phone calls would go on for weeks in fact, nearly two months. “Friendly and loving while saying all the RIGHT THINGS,” Jane Doe even called Stephaney while a patient at Trinity Springs Pavillion. 

Jane Doe spoke to Cindy and I for hours for nearly two months. Jane Doe had invested her time wisely by playing all of us for what SHE wanted. 

Jane Doe had finally convinced me, my twin sister, Stephaney and even one of Stephaney’s twin daughters, Makenna, of what a wonderful person she was who “only wanted to help our family with Stephaney” by the time Stephaney agreed to go to Georgia. 

My family was being “groomed.” We wouldn’t even know what grooming was until losing Stephaney to Jane Doe. I had never heard of “grooming” before explaining to the DA what was going on and why I needed my niece to be “extracted.” 

By then, it was far too late to change the dynamics of a trap we had stepped right into. 

Cindy had doubts. “Why would she want to move Stephaney to live with her for the summer” I had waived my sisters concerns aside. “She’s a nice person who wants to help people. Why question the kindness of someone reaching out because they care about our family and want to help?” 

I saw this “invitation” for Stephaney to explore Georgia during my busiest time of the year as a gift. I was also naive and so happy to have a few drama free months with a burdened schedule that I never really questioned the reasons Jane Doe was so anxious to get Stephaney to Georgia. 

Hell, I was more than happy to send money to Georgia if it would keep us from looking for Stephaney again and again. Cindy was too. But, we were never willing to put Stephaney in harms way.  

The original setback was when Stephaney had originally left the Fort Worth terminal headed to Dallas to layover to Georgia. Unbeknownst to me, a warrant in Cotton County regarding a probation revocation had been issued on Stephaney. 

A “scuttle” at the Dallas Greyhound Terminal was why my niece was arrested rather than taken to a hospital after being beaten by another passenger. This would be a setback of several days for Jane Doe to get her Golden Goose. Jane Doe was VERY upset about Stephaney being arrested and detained at the Dallas County Jail North Tower. I had thought Jane Doe was so upset regarding the arrest because she was actually concerned about Stephaney. It never occurred to me that Jane Doe was waiting with baited breath on her “golden goose.” 

The “setback” of Stephaney’s arrest in Dallas would have sent Stephaney straight to prison in Oklahoma. Acting quickly, Cindy and I immediately found an attorney to address Oklahoma and pay off the bonds and fines. Stephaney was excited leaving Fort Worth to Georgia and terrified at Dallas County Jail when she had called her mother and I after being arrested. We were both angry. Another setback? Another surprise? Again? But, we took care of Cotton County. We also picked up Stephaney and rented a hotel. We were exhausted. I bought another bus ticket online. The next bus didn’t leave for a few days. Jane Doe continued calling and asking “when Stephaney was leaving for Georgia?” 

Jane Doe assumed she had lost the golden egg when Stephaney was arrested. But, the “shipment” AKA my niece was delayed only for a matter of days. 

Meanwhile, Cindy and Stephaney were enjoying life. We had a few unexpected days with Stephaney to go to the movies, shopping, and even drive to Hobby Unit with one of my clients on a road trip. 

Stephaney was having a great time with her family. Stephaney’s daughter, Makenna also joined her Mom and told her “I’m proud of you. Get your life together and we can be a family again Mom.” 

Makenna was inadvertently reinforcing telling her mom to “work it out in Georgia.” We all did. We all made a mistake. We all assumed that Stephaney was going to a beautiful place with the possibility of getting her head on straight. A chance to finally get my niece back was worth whatever the cost to me. But, nothing was worth my niece being abused, starved or forced to live in filth. 

Looking back, all of the signs were there. The flags. I couldn’t see them. I was far too busy and quite frankly, exhausted. Cindy and I have spent nearly 17 years trying to find any degree of normality with Stephaney.

After a week of working while trying to get Stephaney to Valdosta after her Dallas arrest at Greyhound, Cindy and I had taken turns keeping an eye on Stephaney waiting for her to board the second bus to Georgia. 

Stephaney regularly goes off her meds and gets lost. We regularly have spent days or weeks trying to find her again. Now you know how mentally exhausting having a relative with mental illness actually is. Unless you have a loved one with mental illness and addiction issues, you will never begin to comprehend the emotional and financial devastation loving them brings to your life. I do. Cindy does. Stephaney’s children do to. 

Now you understand why I didn’t question a break from Stephaney with “clean air, rolling meadows and a safe and loving environment.” I saw a window of a few “drama free months” and I wanted to open that window. Did I see danger? Absolutely not. 

After 16 years of Stephaney, Cindy and I were thrilled to have found a solution. Stephaney enjoys working. Jane Doe told her she had talked to a Mexican restaurant that would hire her. 

Jane Doe had each and every base covered. Jane Doe had an answer for every question. A solution to every concern. 

I believe Jane Doe has done this type of scenario before. No one would be as smooth and cunning without experience. 

I had tried to call my niece by Monday at about 4PM since I hadn’t heard from her since she had arrived. Jane Doe answered Stephaney’s cell phone and said “I’m cleaning out the master bedroom for her. I want her to have the best room in the house. She’s fine. She’s enjoying the beautiful backdrop and wildlife of Georgia. I will tell her you called.” Like an idiot, I believed Jane Doe. 

By 6:34PM, Jane Doe was coaching Stephaney into demanding several hundreds dollars on the day Stephaney arrived from my twin sister?! Stephaney sounded nervous my sister had said. Something was wrong. I was getting nervous and suspicious. 

But, Cindy and I had told Stephaney “have a good time and don’t get into any trouble out there. Please make this holiday work.” It was an actual problem. We wish we had never said this. 

We’ve had so many setbacks with Stephaney that what we meant to say was “not to go off her meds or get involuntarily committed again.”

It would take another 24-36 hours for my niece to tell us what she had been duped into. 

Cindy and I decided to wire money Tuesday from Huntsville. We were both concerned. This is highly irregular as we had told Jane Doe we would send money on Fridays. Also, we had sent Stephaney with money to Valdosta. Where was THAT money?” How was it that Jane Doe claimed to have a home in Fort Worth and a ranch Georgia and yet had no electricity??

9:31AM Tuesday morning, Cindy and I headed to Huntsville, Texas. My husband was having his own issues. My husband is a developer and custom home builder. 

For fifty years now, my husband has pretty much “seen it all” in the homebuilding business but, he had never encountered a skunk problem. I’m going to refer to this incident as the “Stinky Springtown Skunk Debacle.” 

Apparently, the skunk had died while the house was being built. Using infrared cameras while tearing into Sheetrock, the skunk was found and removed. The new custom home was repaired and an ozone machine was left in it to remove the smell last week. But, the issue wasn’t solved. Stay tuned. 

My husband was agitated about an issue he had never encountered and would be forced to educate himself about. 

Meanwhile, I was going through something that I had never encountered with a very different set of circumstances regarding my niece and my complete and total ignorance of a situation I have never thought would happen in my lifetime to either me or anyone in my family.

The home buyer had contacted my husband saying “the smell is stronger than ever. Could there be ANOTHER skunk?” Tuesday morning, my anxious husband assembled a crew to return to Springtown and again tear the house apart searching. There was another skunk. Removing the bathtub, the other skunk was found dead beneath it. I was in Huntsville when he called me. My suggestion was to add more concrete under the tub and effectively “seal the smell.” 

My husband went back to the drawing board and considered this idea. Infuriated about a stinky situation in Springtown, my husband was getting as little sleep as Cindy and I while trying to get Stephaney to Valdosta. 

Leaving TDCJ Holliday Unit, my grandniece, Makenna called. I should add that my niece, Leigh Ann and my grandniece are both hypochondriacs. Makenna said “my blood pressure is high. Can I go to the hospital when you get to town? I think I’m having a heart attack.” 

Instructing Makenna to go take her blood pressure and drink more water, Cindy and I agreed to take her to Harris Hospital. It should be noted that we regularly take Makenna to the hospital because she consistently googles new diseases and then believes she has “all of the symptoms.” 

For years now, Cindy and I have taken Makenna to a doctor of hospital to continually “alleviate her concerns.” We also have Makenna in biweekly counseling. Yes, we are overwhelmed but, our family crisis situations have never interfered with our work flow. 

Cindy and I are like two clowns juggling too many balls. Thank God we have each other!

Tuesday evening. My husband is diligently attempting to find a solution for Springtown. I’m answering emails and taking client calls. I will be up most of the night doing research myself on the stinky situation to find a solution while wondering what the hell is going on in Valdosta? Cindy and I call each other. 

Cindy and I are back in Huntsville early Wednesday morning to go to 3 Units for weddings with clients. Makenna is now relieved to know that rather than having a heart attack, she is actually dehydrated. Cindy’s husband, Steve is now home from his OTR job with Ryder. Steve is rarely home. 

Wednesday morning 5:31AM, Cindy and I leave my home AKA WorthamWorld. I spot a raccoon clinging to the chimney outside my leaded glass kitchen window at the three home estate next door that’s now been abandoned for seven years. I advise my husband about this “zoo situation” next door. 

My dog, Foxy Wortham is walked three times a day by my husband or I including his last walk at night. A family of raccoons in that estate next door highly concern me. 

I’m now on full alert for a possible “raccoon attack” in the city. I hate country living and if my lazy ass neighbor would sell that estate, I wouldn’t be living next door to a zoo. I call all of the time go get the city to mow the yard next door. I pay to repair the fence and for all of these years, I eventually pay yard men to mow the lawn next door. Three homes on one estate left abandoned? What’s wrong with that guy? He could sell the lots and tear down the three houses on that estate and sell the lots for over $600k. It doesn’t make sense to me. I simply can’t stand watching that estate fall apart but, I’m helpless to change it. My OCD tendencies prevent me from ignoring the lawn summer after summer. Ugh. My idiot neighbor must have more money than sense. The taxes alone are well over $30k a year. Every year, I check to see if he has paid the taxes or not. Quite frankly, my husband and I would buy that lot solely to develop it if my lazy neighbor would only fall behind on the taxes. But, he doesn’t. Instead, he allows the property to literally fall apart while paying the taxes. My husband and I are both baffled about this.

5:49AM, stopping at Shell to fill up, I’m outside my SUV when Makenna (one of the Twins) calls Cindy complaining that “Maryssa won’t wake up. She is going to make us late for school again!” 

Cindy advises Makenna “tell Maryssa if she doesn’t get out of bed and get ready for school that she won’t be getting her nails and hair done this weekend.” 

Maryssa unlike Makenna is entirely focused on elaborate nails and the latest clothing and hair. Maryssa is a fashion Queen and Social butterfly. 

Makenna is a stellar student who views being late for ANYTHING as the worst possible situation she can fathom. 

7:29AM, Steve (Cindy’s husband), sends this text “I’ve put my clothes in the washer and I’m in the driveway waiting to take the twins to school. While sitting in the driveway, I saw a giant raccoon climb from the fireplace to the hole in the roof Jessie fixed last week. You are gonna need to call Jessie.”

While Cindy reads this text as we are passing through Corsicana, I go on my usual rant about Jessie. “For twenty years now that guy has done the sloppiest work ever at your house. He’s always in jail for public intoxication and he’s a lazy and shiftless bum. Why can’t we find a reliable handyman that takes pride in his work to go to your house? If you hadn’t paid Jessie, there wouldn’t be a hole for the raccoon to crawl into!” This is an accurate statement. Jessie had just went to Cindy and Steve’s a week earlier to fix a squirrel hole. Now a raccoon was climbing into a squirrel hole? 

Cindy: “Our house has been a money pit for over twenty years. I know you don’t like him. Hell I’m not crazy about him myself but, eventually he shows up and does his usual shitty job. I will call him. Maybe he isn’t in jail again.” Grrr. I can’t even describe just how much Jessie irritates me. He doesn’t take ANY degree of pride in his work. Jessie is shiftless and shady. He takes money then disappears again only to return later and up his bid to get more money. Jessie is a con artist. My niece, Leigh Ann slams the door when he comes over which I find hilarious. Cindy somehow someway tolerates Jessie and his slovenly work habits. I have no idea why.

8:59AM, Steve calls and advised us to wait on calling Jessie because we now need to wait on trapping the raccoon before sealing the hole in the attic the squirrels created. Cindy tells her husband to “buy canned dog food.” 

Steve is upset that with perfect wind conditions that he COULD HAVE shot the raccoon if he wasn’t in his truck waiting to take the twins to school. Steve Daniel regularly shoots squirrels and throws them over the fence. 

Steve and Cindy live in the country. It’s a regular occurrence to see a flock of buzzards flying around their home when Steve is back home for a day or two from Ryder. Even in the country, the buzzards within city limits are highly irregular. Cindy wishes her husband would throw the squirrels in the trash. This ongoing debate between them has gone on for years. You know like Jessie and his horrible handyman jobs. 

9AM Huntsville, Texas. Cindy and I roll into Motel 6 to meet my Wynn Unit Client. I’m still complaining about Jessie. Cindy is still complaining about Steve throwing squirrels over the fence. We both realize the dead squirrels may very well have attracted the raccoons at about the same time. Matching stink eyes about Jessie, the raccoons, Jane Doe, arguing twin teenagers and the stinky skunk situation stop the moment my beautiful bride walks out of her room. 

The moment she walks onto the balcony, we are dazzled by her beauty. It isn’t just the dress either. Anyone else seeing her at that hotel was as jawstruck as we were. She was truly a vision of beauty, grace and style. Cindy and I forget about the raccoon, the skunk, Jessie, Jane Doe and everything else when we are with a client. Instead, I tell Cindy “we will be back in about an hour.” 

9:07AM, I jump into my clients car as Cindy takes my SUV to go “junk shopping.” Cindy and I still have a storage unit of items to list for Texas Twins Treasures but lack the time to list the items. We are “inventory rich.” Cindy and I simply don’t have the time to flip anything “in season.” With raccoons, squirrels, shady handymen and everything else going on including a full schedule, it may be winter before we go through inventory and list items in the storeroom. 

9:41AM Wynn Unit, my gorgeous bride and groom are married. We wait for their wedding photos to print while counting quarters to purchase them. 

My cell phone is in my clients car. Cell phones are prohibited at Prisons. I had “checked in” on FB at Wynn Unit to let Cindy know where I was and Jane Doe (who was following me on FB) knew I would be unavailable. 

Jane Doe “used this window to call Cindy and demand that she wire more money.” This time for food. 10:04AM, Cindy is now at Walmart in Huntsville “wiring money to Jane Doe.” While I was at Wynn Unit, Jane Doe called Cindy stating urgently “we have no food here. I need you to send us money.” Jane Doe has Cindy stay on the phone with her causing further stress. 

Cindy has NEVER wired money. Cindy also couldn’t call me about this “urgent money need” as I was at Wynn Unit. I would have insisted on sending money ONLY to my niece and Jane Doe most likely knew it. 

With Jane Doe on speakerphone, Cindy attempts to use Walmart to Walmart to send the money. Cindy also suggests sending it to her daughter, Stephaney as we know she has a valid ID because we took her to get it before sending her to Valdosta. 

Jane Doe gets agitated and says “send it to me and use a code word.” Walmart requires ID. Jane Doe then says “send it to my cousin #### ######.” A few minutes later, Jane Doe says “send it to my aunt ##### ########.” Jane Doe doesn’t have an ID. Hmm. 

Cindy was losing her mind trying to comprehend why she cannot simply send money to her daughter? Cindy is beyond stressed. Cindy is confused and concerned. Other employees and shoppers continue to ask my twin sister “are you okay? Don’t send money to anyone you don’t know.” Even strangers recognized there was a problem. 

The urgency Jane Doe is suddenly exhibiting regarding “needing more money for food immediately” on Tuesday after just having had Stephaney call Cindy for money to turn on the electricity Monday evening would be how Wendy and Cindy finally recognized there was a problem in Valdosta, Georgia. Had we known ANY of this, we would have never sent Stephaney to Georgia.

Leaving Wynn Unit, I call Cindy to meet my bride and I. Cindy doesn’t tell me about Walmart or Jane Doe. She waits. Upsetting a client on wedding day takes precedence. 

11:05AM, Cindy meets my bride and I for photos following the wedding ceremony at Wynn Unit. I’m still unaware of the Walmart money. I’m with a client and when I am, solely focused on the client. Cindy knows this. We begin unloading my SUV full of props together. I’m on a timeline. I’m meeting my next client immediately after at  Byrd Unit.

I arrange the bride, her mother, her stepdaughter and her best friend in numerous photos while Cindy hands me various items including tiaras, bouquets and other items I’ve brought with me in order to make their photo shoot beautiful and memorable. I’m also “on the clock” to get to my next Unit.11:28AM, Cindy and I roll out of Motel 6 to head to my next Unit. I’m dropping Cindy at Salvation Army as planned to dig through trash searching for something “flip worthy” for Texas Twins Treasures when Cindy finally tells me about Walmart Money Transfers to ANYONE OTHER THAN HER DAUGHTER who has a valid ID and that Jane Doe has no food. I hit the brakes. Wtf? 

Me: “she doesn’t have electricity or food? What the hell is going on in Georgia?” Cindy: “Jane Doe says she has Stephaney’s purse, her ID and SS card. Jane Doe is signing Stephaney up for food stamps and SS Disability. Stephaney found her cell phone and told me they don’t have water either and haven’t in a very long time based on the filth in the bathtub and sinks. They use the bathroom in the woods. Omg what have we done?” OMG WHAT HAD WE DONE?! We had sent a mentally ill person, a fragile doll to hillbillies who were going to do God knows what to her while bilking Cindy and I for thousands of dollars. I needed a plan.  

I google the address of Jane Doe from the Walmart to Walmart receipt. I search property records. Jane Doe was living in an abandoned house. SOB. Jane Doe was worse than anyone I have ever encountered in my entire life. This is saying a lot. My grandfather molested my sisters and I. My mother left us locked in closets and cars and regularly “forgot about us.” My first husband beat me half to death. My second husband had mistresses. I’ve been lied to. I’ve been deceived. I’ve trusted the wrong people to do the right thing. 

I had never been in a situation with a loved ones safety in jeaopardy from my own hand. I had trusted Jane Doe. 

I think what can I do as I drive on to the next unit? I wonder how I can get my niece out of a bad situation that I’ve inadvertently put her into? I kick myself for falling right into a trap. But, while at Byrd Unit, I also devise a plan.

Picking Cindy up after my second Unit, I tell her “Jane Doe has us under her thumb. She has Stephaney and knows she is in control. There are children in that house with no running water, electricity or food. It’s child endangerment to have children in that type of circumstance. Stephaney was just discharged last Tuesday from a Psych Ward with PTSD and Bipolar One. Jane Doe knows Stephaney has been involuntarily committed 16 times in less than 2 years. Jane Doe assumes you are well off and somehow knows I’m affluent. Jane Doe wanted Stephaney to benefit financially. We have to get Stephaney out of there. We must also save those children while we are at it.”

12:32AM, I call CPS Valdosta, Georgia and request a visit to Jane Doe’s address. It’s an address that I wouldn’t have had if not for Cindy wiring money at Walmart. 

2:02PM, Stephaney finds her cell phone and calls us. “Listen, I’m hiding in the woods here. She lied to you. This is a hell hole. The kids are starving. I believe I’m going to die here. They won’t let me leave. I’m watched all of the time. Jane Doe said that if I try to leave, I will get lost in the forest and never find my way back.” Me: “listen. We are going to get you out. CPS is coming for a welfare check. When they arrive be where you can see a car enter while hiding in the woods. Go with them. Get out of there. We will get you home.” The line went dead.

8:41PM, Stephaney has seconds to tell Cindy from her cell phone “CPS came and I’m still here. Please tell the twins I love them. I will never get out of here. They won’t let me look for work. Jane Doe lied about everything. They want you both to send money and sign me up for food stamps and SS Disability. I’ve given up. I’m miles from town. No one has a car here. These people are so poor that I’ve never witnessed poverty this bad in my life.” Jane Doe screamed for Stephaney to get in the house. Jane was angry about CPS coming to the trailer and wouldn’t allow them inside. For reasons unclear to me, CPS does not pursue the issue. The line went dead. Jane Doe had taken Stephaney’s cell phone again.

I decided to call Jane Doe and “dummy up.” When she answered she was agitated “I know who called me in. They don’t even know my real name. We have a lot going on here.” She hung up. Her real name? There was a name other than what she had given me? Cindy and I (as usual) call each other. This IS A PROBLEM because Jane Doe might hurt my niece if she knows we are in Texas “stirring the chili.” I need a better plan. 

Wednesday evening 11:12PM, I email the Haven in Valdosta, Georgia. I also “explain the situation.” I email ANYONE I think can help us. My niece is mentally ill and being held against her will. She cannot leave and we cannot go get her. 

Thursday morning 6:21AM, the Haven administrator emails me to call her. I do. She tells me “she must call us herself. We can only act if we hear from her. We cannot act on her behalf without her consent.” 

6:24AM, I call Cindy while making my husband breakfast. I haven’t told my husband that I’ve made a tragic mistake sending Stephaney to Georgia. I can’t. He has a development with a skunk problem. Instead, I research “human trafficking for financial gain.” I need to know who to contact to get my niece out of that situation.

7:02AM, I email the DA in Valdosta. I also call Cindy to fax all of the records pertaining to Stephaney to the DA. Jane Doe spoke to JPS and made arrangements with MHMR in Valdosta for Stephaney. Jane Doe has no idea that we can prove all of this either. Cindy and I document everything. We are willing to contact every government agency necessary to get those kids and Stephaney out. 

In 2012, I sold Debt Survival Solutions LLC. I’m nothing if not dilligent and articulate. Did I ever in a million years imagine I would find myself in a situation where I was completely at the mercy of someone else? NEVER. Yet, I was and when I can’t solve a problem in a straight line, I resort to a circle. I would cover every base. I would bring my niece home. 

Failure is never an option. I could never forgive myself if something happened to Stephaney “on my watch.” For years, Stephaney has consistently put herself in harms way. For years, her mother and I have tried to save her. This time was DIFFERENT though. I needed a successful extraction. I couldn’t do it myself. I would need help. I had to find the right help. I would do just that. 

8:22AM, I leave to head to Green Bay Unit and meet my client. Cindy is already faxing the DA from Office Depot in Weatherford, Texas. 

My niece isn’t answering her cell phone. Jane Doe probably has it and I know it. I wonder if my niece is still alive? 

9:03AM, Jane Doe now wants me to send more money. “Stephaney eats more than anyone I’ve ever met. I can’t keep enough food in this house. Send whatever you can and do it now!” 

9:12AM I’m sitting in my SUV thinking. I have no days off to go to Georgia myself and save my niece. I consider paying my son to do it for me. I call him. He can’t. He’s moving into his new home. 

10:34AM, I pull into Tarrant County Clerks Office. I’m filing marriage licenses before I walk across the street to meet my next client. While waiting with my number in hand at the clerks office to file a stack of marriage licenses, I have another idea.

10.48AM, I email the Attorney General of Georgia. I call Cindy to fax the same documents to the AG she earlier faxed to the DA. I still can’t get ahold of Stephaney and I’m now fearful she’s chained to a bed being beaten or raped. I’m panicking. I’ve inadvertently put my niece in a horrific situation solely because I trusted the wrong person. 

11:09AM, leaving the clerks office, I send a FB message to Jane Doe. “If anything happens to Stephaney, I promise I will use any and all means necessary to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law. You lied to me. You lied to her. You lied to her mother. You even lied to her daughter. You know damn well I would never have sent her out there under these conditions. Where is my niece?! You had better pray she’s safe.”

Jane Doe waits to respond. She’s wondering how I know what’s going on. She has no idea that Stephaney keeps finding the cell phone her mother bought less than a week ago to contact us. Jane Doe keeps someone watching Stephaney at all times. 

12:11PM, Jane Doe calls me. “Look, she’s safe I’ve got my aunt and my mom watching her. She isn’t allowed to leave. It’s unsafe. It’s to protect her. She isn’t hurt. I’m in Macon, Georgia and I’m going to send my cousin to bring her here.” I say “no. You leave her where she is and you had best not hurt her in any way, shape or fashion.” 

I need Stephaney at that house. I’m on a timeline. If Jane Doe moves her, I may never see my niece again. There are law enforcement officers preparing to go to Jane Doe’s address. I cannot have my niece moved. I’m firm about this. I even agree to send more money but not if Stephaney is moved. I’m buying time. 

1:27PM Weatherford, Texas. Cindy is in my SUV, I call the DA. The DA is contacting the PD to “send someone out there.” 

Cindy and I have no idea if Jane Doe has moved Stephaney or not at this point. We have both googled “Macon, Georgia human trafficking” and are shocked as to what we learn. We are also terrified. 

2:14PM, Valdosta PD call my cell phone. The Sheriffs Department has Stephaney. 

2:37PM, Cindy and I buy a bus pass for Stephaney with while walking into Walmart to wire her money. 

Stephaney is safe. She’s out. She wasn’t a statistic. The Sheriffs department transports Stephaney to the Valdosta Bus Station. We wire money to Walmart for Stephaney. We are relieved and thankful Stephaney is okay and coming home. 

But, Cindy and I will never be as trusting as we once were…by the way, Jane Doe is exactly where she needs to be. 

Jane Doe won’t be doing anything like this to anyone else. Jane Doe underestimated her “marks.” Jane Doe deserves everything she has coming to her…

“COURAGE is being SCARED to DEATH but, SADDLING up ANYWAY.”

John Wayne