DAY 80: JESUS OVER LEBANON
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 08:07PM 
"JESUS OVER LEBANON".
That's what Frieda called him.
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Steve Jeffries is one interesting individual.
He succeeded in capturing the undivided attention of much of our community one bright sunny spring day several years ago when he determined that the most expedicious way to get his message out -- and finally get people to really listen to what he had to say -- was to, without forewarning, ascend the highest and most visable point in all the City of Lebanon.
He scaled the height of St. Augustine Church, his raging figure atop the tower accentuated by a Confedrate flag that had curtained his bedroom window until that decisive moment; that flag now served to underscore the seriousness of his mission.
The standoff lasted for hours.
There were a lot of unknowns with which the authorities had to contend.
No one knew if Steve meant to jump. No one knew if he had a gun. No one knew what manner of mayhem he might have brought to the top of that tower, whether in the form of ammunition that could cause irreparable harm to the hundreds of school children just across the way at the area's only Catholic grade school or...what? No one knew. Nothing like this had ever happened before in our county - ever! Some knew that Steve had recently made a trip to WACO, but had been turned back by the authorities there...
I suspect that all the emergency services of Marion County had not quite prepared themselves for all the contingencies Steve Jeffries embodied that day.
As the afternoon wore on, I recall talking to Mr. Jeffries' mother - my back-door-across-the-street neighbor. She, too, wondered how it would all end. She helpfully suggested that I might climb the tower and talk her son into coming down. "He has always thought a lot of you, Donna", she said. "He just might listen to you".
Gulp.
The next thing I remember is seeing our former Sheriff, Eddie Masterson, and some of his staff, bravely venturing inside. I held my breath, imagining their winding ascent on that stairway of the tower, wondering what might happen when they reached the top.
The next scene was our Sheriff bringing Steve Jefferies down. No one was harmed. Those are memories from many years ago.
I was filming the whole thing, and so was Bob Abell. Bob's professional footage made the state news.
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The photo in this entry is one I took of Steve just a few years ago and well after the "Jesus Over Lebanon" incident.
My daughter and I had received word that Steve had cut his hair! And he was at the Sheriff's Office!
WHAT???!
We'd never seen him without those long flowing locks! Naturally we had to see this for ourselves.
Though technically after hours, we were able to get into the Court House with no trouble, determined to catch a glimpse of our former back-door-across-the-street neighbor. And that we did.
My daughter wanted to just go into the Sheriff's office, but I wanted to take a more back-door approach because I was wanting to "sneak" a picture of him. I thought if we got into that side room that I might be able to take a picture undetected.
As it happened, we crept in the back way---(we were so sneaky!)-----and there he was! We were face-to-face with Mr. Jeffries himself, and it was true - his long hair was all gone.
And so I had to ask him if he minded if I took his picture.
He didn't.
As it turned out, this picture was taken during a very slender moment in time - moments before Steve was officially released from custody on a criminal charge, but nearly simultaneously being taken into custody again for another matter.
There was such a fine line between those two events - so fine that I doubt Steve Jeffries ever realized he was a free man.
I wonder if he ever really will be.
I hope is is doing well today.
