The taped phone call explained
Keith Morrison
Dateline NBC
Oct 12, 2018 {ID: 6119} {Class: State (Criminal) | Sub-Class: Media}

This video, extracted from the Dateline NBC program, is dated October 12, 2018. Since Dateline insisted on repeating these words over and over again in their 2-hour show—3 times to be exact—as if to imply that the love between Dianne and I was one-sided, at the very least an explanation is warranted.

So let’s begin with the most logical assumption behind our elopement.

Does anyone really believe that Dianne—a smart, intelligent, and rational girl—would leave her home, family, and friends for the rest of her life to live in the jungles of South America with a guy she didn’t believe loved her just as much as she did him? If our elopement was a rash decision, then it could be argued that this was just one of those crazy spur-of-the-moment things kids in love do. But when you spend months secretly planning an elopement with the person you love—buying disguises, gathering supplies, saving money, etc.—then that same argument cannot be made so leisurely. We all have experienced love at some point, but even the most skeptical have to admit that there is no way Dianne would do such a thing if she didn’t feel the same love back.

Secondly, to put these words into perspective, you have to imagine you’re back in high school as a teenage boy. At that age, guys don't talk about falling in love, or tell their friends—let alone their best friend—about spending the rest of their lives with a girl they love. Girls may discuss it, dream about it, and hope, but not boys. And that was exactly the situation with me and Tom. He knew that Dianne and I were intimate, but we NEVER talked about it.

And so, two weeks after the accident—after losing the girl I also left my home, family, and friends to spend the rest of my life with—my mind was not only in shock, but still in that high school mentality. If I never talked with Tom about love before, then why would I all of a sudden start discussing how much I loved Dianne, how much she meant to me, and why we left everyone so we could be together?

Which brings us to the curious point of why would Dateline imply I didn’t love Dianne. Is it because I said she tagged along? Does that automatically imply that I didn’t love her? As I said before, Dateline is a crime mystery show and they have figured out a formula that works for their viewers. I spent an entire day interviewing with them and answering Keith Morrison’s questions, but they chose NOT to include any of the above points in their program.

What is interesting, though, is that they briefly grazed over my other comments I made in that same phone call which were positive, and thus contrary to their character portrayal. Comments like, “…, but you know, we're, we just got so close. As close as anyone could get.” and “It felt like half of me died when Dianne died.” I guess those lines don’t really fit their crime mystery theme, and don’t have as much impact with their viewers, or their ratings. Welcome to showbiz!