Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Fuhrman questions unanswered

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003 | 8:19 a.m.

Mark Fuhrman continues to pop up on TV shows as an author and expert in law enforcement.

Fuhrman, you might recall, was the Los Angeles Police Department detective who became the sacrificial lamb in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. That, of course, is a matter of opinion -- mine.

Watching the detective-author on TV caused me to recall a day when a pleasant lady called and asked if she could come in and talk to me.

When she arrived she opened the conversation with: "Does the name Fuhrman mean anything to you?"

It was not too long after the murder trial. Of course I knew the name, and I assured her I had watched Mark Fuhrman testify in the much-publicized trial.

She told me her name was Billie Fuhrman and she was Mark's mother.

During the trial, Billie Fuhrman had kept a daily diary, which she asked me to read. She was considering having it published in book form.

I read every word, fascinated by the emotional merry-go-round of a mother as attorneys tore her son's testimony apart. The diary also contained family background that had never, to my knowledge, been published.

My instincts told me a book was a possibility, and I recommended a local author friend to work with her.

At the time, I had the impression Billie Fuhrman was in need of financial help, but she is a very proud lady. She said she earned money making hats, which she sold to some of the major shops.

Time went by and I didn't hear from her -- until one day she called and thanked me for the time I had spent.

"Mark doesn't want me to try to get my book printed," she said.

There was no explanation, and she never contacted me again.

Now each time I see Mark Fuhrman on television, I wonder whatever happened to this mother who so carefully chronicled his downfall.

Our military personnel fight against heat, dust, homesickness and even sudden death in Iraq and other embattled areas.

Imagine how they must feel when they learn the Pentagon wants to cut their pay.

Uniformed Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan will lose a pay increase approved last April of $70 a month in "imminent danger pay" and $150 in "family separation allowances" unless President Bush and Congress take action to keep the increases.

Military service is not what one could classify as a high-paying job.

Those who have chosen to protect our country from harm deserve to be paid adequately. If cuts are needed, they shouldn't be made in the salaries of our enlisted men and women.

We hope Congress and the Pentagon receive thousands of letters and calls objecting to any cutting of salaries of our military.

The invitation to hear University of Nevada, Reno President Dr. John M. Lilley present his State of the University address is so expensive looking, it would lead us to believe he has something mighty significant to say.