I wrote the following Letter to O.J. Simpson July, 2007– two months before he committed his last crime in Las Vegas on September 13, 2007 (my birthday) in which he was ultimately convicted for and for which he is currently serving time for.
As some of you know (and those who don’t – see Do you believe in Messengers? Synchronicities of the Highest Order – Me & O.J. Simpson), I have been connected with the O.J. saga since July 9, 1993 (O.J. Simpson’s birthday and not without coincidence, Jody Arias’s birthday)
You see, I, too, was affected by Domestic Violence as it was during my early teens when my stepfather tried to kill my mother with a butcher knife. He was arrested for disorderly conduct, not attempted murder, not assault & battery. I take serious the issue of Domestic Violence. Before you read the Letter to O.J. Simpson, I’d like to share a little verse I wrote (concerning the attempted murder of my mother.)
I awoke to the sounds of the fury
So loud were the screams,
I had to do something in a hurry
From my bed, I rose quickly to my feet
For a moment I stood there,
not knowing what to do next
But my mother’s screams pounded
heavy against my chest
I could hear my stepfather saying,
“I’m gonna kill you bitch.”
Not another moment to lose,
I tore down the hall
In the kitchen,
my mother pinned against the wall
There was my stepfather,
wielding a heavy knife
Attempting to remove from my mother her life
As I got closer I saw the blood
gushing from my mother’s cheek
Again she tried to say something but couldn’t speak
I yelled to my stepfather to drop the knife
But he turned with whiskey
spewing from his breath
And threatened me also with death
With a fourteen year old fist
I swung but missed
My stepfather stared me in the eye
and hissed
He lunged at me but I quickly drew away
As my mother gasped for another day
I jumped and kicked
the knife out of his hand
I had to do something to alter the plan
I leaped and grabbed him
around the neck
Against the basement door,
I held him in check
He spat at me and said,
“Your mother’s a fucking whore.”
With that,
I pushed open the basement door
And with my remaining strength
threw him down the stairs
I rushed to my mother’s side,
her blood now in puddles upon the floor
As a boy of fourteen,
I now knew about the ravages of war
By Ricky J. Fico
My Proposal to OJ Simpson: July 2, 2007
O.J. Simpson, I’ve a great proposition for you – a guaranteed win-win situation in which you will benefit greatly, not only financially but also personally. The proposition I am going to make you will revitalize your career and put you back in the spotlight – this time a more favorable one. And, most importantly, if you accept my proposition it will launch you into a new career – a very rewarding career, a career that will help you regain respect, something that’s been eluding you since killing your ex-wife and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
Again, O.J. let me stress to you that you have nothing to lose but so much to gain if you accept my offer. It’s a bona-fide guarantee. I know very well that you are missing the limelight, the money, the fans, the praise. In the past you were driven by the attention fostered upon you and let’s be real here – it’s been pretty much absent since you had killed Nicole – who, you had recently stated, “she was the love of my life.” I don’t doubt this; never did I doubt the fact that she was the love of your life. Another reason why you really should consider my proposition.
O.J., I have an idea for a book coupled with a 4-hour television interview. Following these you will have hundreds of speaking engagements, town meetings and go on tour visiting all types of institutions and treatment centers. You’ll be quite busy O.J. but I assure you that you’ll still have time for golf.
O.J., if you accept my offer, your face will be on the cover of many magazines including “Psychology Today,” “Time,” “Woman Magazine” and ‘O – Oprah’s Magazine. Think of the possibilities. You will be the talk-of-the-town. You’ll be asked to appear on many talk shows, not just the local ones but also the big national talk shows including Oprah, Montel Williams and Dr. Phil. It’ll be just like old times, O.J. and I know you really miss all that attention. For the last ten years your ego has taken a pretty big hit, hasn’t it?
O.J., my proposition holds so much promise and again, let me stress emphatically that it is a win-win situation with a guarantee that you have nothing to lose. All the money that will be earned through this deal will settle your debts, this time though, all your debts including the 33.5 million dollar judgment against you for your responsibility concerning the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.
O.J., I thought hard about this and my proposition has nothing but positive implications. Any negatives that may come from the accepting of my offer will be offset by the positives, which will be many. I assure you that the good coming from the fulfillment of my offer will be cause for much celebration…
O.J., now this book I want you to write is this: “If Only I Didn’t Kill The Love of My Life.” Unlike the other book, which was really an ill-conceived proposition, this book is going to not only set the record straight once and for all but also offer hope and healing for tens of thousands of others… I didn’t see this happening with the previous book idea, not at all.
The basic premise for “If Only I Didn’t Kill The Love of My Life” is relatively simple: How your life would’ve turned out if on the night of June 12, 1994 you would’ve sought the alternatives before going into that rage resulting in the death of Nicole (the love of your life) and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The possibilities are endless. I am going to present here a few scenarios, one being possibly the best of them all.
Scenario One: Firstly, let me relate to you that one of my former co-workers, who by the way, I had over at my house to play Scrabble for god’s sake, ended up killing his ex-wife. And why? Because she was the love of his life.
Wayne Chaney’s wife had to separate from him because he became abusive, controlling, jealous, paranoid, arrogant, had self-esteem problems, drank too much, did drugs, was irresponsible. Because of these pathologies he, in many ways, was childish and immature in his thinking.
After his wife left, Wayne became even more irrational. Oh, how he missed his wife though. Because of his pathologies she was at times, like a mother to him- nurturing him, trying to take care of him. But now, she was gone and possibly seeing other men. The thought of this enraged Wayne. He could not let go. In his mind, it became: “If I can’t have you, nobody can.” Because Wayne didn’t seek help for his conditions and obtain reinforcement he did the unthinkable. One day he entered the office building where his wife worked. He was determined, no turning back now.
He shot his wife point blank, killing her. A few days later, vowing not to be taken alive, he was killed in a shootout with police. How sad, so very sad. Two lives gone – and all this could’ve been prevented. If only Wayne had a better understanding as to why he was the way he was and sought help. His wife would still be alive and in time, there existed the possibility that he and his wife would reconcile and together, live out a happy life. The possibilities would’ve been endless.
O.J., I want you to think hard now. Close your eyes. Imagine you and the “love of your life” Nicole walking hand-in hand on a beautiful stretch of beach in Hawaii, the waves gently caressing the shore. After extensive soul searching, coming to terms with your shortcomings and sociopath behaviors you had finally sought counseling. You had to be knocked down, brought back to reality. You had to take an honest look at your life – your childhood, your overbearing mother, your homosexual father, even your stealing of beer from beer trucks.
Do you remember those days when you and your buddies would do that kind of stuff? Hey, my buddies and I did the same thing – an easy few cases of beer. Sure, it was a crime- one I am not too proud of now but that has really been the extent of my criminality.
O.J., picture your life now. You and Nicole enjoying your middle ages together, while both Justin and Sydney are both in post-graduate school – Sydney studying medicine and Justin sociology, psychology and philosophy. He may even follow your footsteps and do some broadcasting of football games on a part time basis. So much promise, the possibilities are endless.
Everybody was so happy when you and Nicole had remarried. You both had regained the trust in each other and for once and for all, have learned to be honest with each other, communicate to each other, be faithful to each other –all those wonderful elements that’ll guarantee a happy and healthy marriage. See, all that counseling had paid off. Getting to know yourself and all your shortcomings, what freedom. To really have a conscience, see O.J – look at all that could’ve been. But there’s more, so much more.
Back in Hawaii, you and Nicole visit your friend’s restaurant. Ronny had done a wonderful job and “Goldman’s on the Beach” has become a phenomenal success story. Isn’t it wonderful that you and Nicole could have such great friends, who are not only successful but who would do anything to help others.
Just like Ronald, when he took time to return Juditha’s glasses that she had left at Messaluna’s on the night of June 12, 1994 – the night you had flown to Chicago for that Hertz Engagement. The night before, I too, had returned to Chicago after spending time in both Las Vegas and San Diego. Oh, and guess what- the hotel you stayed in was right down the street from where I lived- right off River Road in River Grove.
Anyway, O.J., after returning to Brentwood after your business trip in Chicago you had stopped by Messaluna’s to personally thank Ronald Goldman for being such a wonderful friend to Nicole and for bringing Juditha’s glasses to her.
Just think of the possibilities, O.J. I want you to think hard: “If Only I Didn’t Kill the Love of my Life.” – a guaranteed best seller. There’s more, so much more.
Now it gets real, so real that you will undoubtedly feel some discomfort. This is the next part of the book. This is the part where you are going to face the demons and recount for us – the world – all the events leading up to June 12, 1994. Included in this part of the book you are going to honestly reveal to the world all your thoughts, feelings, hopes, disappointments, everything O.J. No bars held. It’s time to take off the mask, undo the cape. It’s time O.J. No more running, no more running from the truth. You had run all your life, now you must stop!
O.J., you are going to recount for us the rage boiling inside you on the day of June 12, 1994. You are going to tell us how you couldn’t let go, how you couldn’t just go to Chicago that night after you were rebuked, shunned.
You are going to tell us why you had to have the final word. You are going to tell us how the thought of Nicole with another man was eating you up inside. You are going to bare it all, O.J. No bars held.
You are going to tell us all what was going on inside your mind when you drove over to Nicole’s before killing her. You are going to tell us everything, O.J. To fulfill this proposition you must not hold anything back. You must relive June 12, 1994 in its entirety and bring to the forefront the reality of your sociopath behavior and since being left unchecked, culminated with the death of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.
O.J., this book is going to be open many doors. Something I wrote recently: “The door between us is more valuable than any wall.” Yes, O.J., it’s time to bring down the wall. Needed is a better understanding on “domestic violence, sociopath tendencies and behaviors, egotism – the list is rather long. This book is going to be cause for much dialogue and a reunification of factions. You see O.J., your pathology and ensuing behaviors knows no difference in socio-economic status, race, color or creed.
O.J., think hard. What you had done cannot be undone. After you had over-stepped that final boundary it was too late.
It is my hope that this book will help stop others from crossing that boundary – the boundary separating life and death. Your story, the real story, the true story is going to open many eyes and has the potential to help tens of thousands of people in all races, colors and creeds. O.J., it’s time to take responsibility, provide some closure while helping to open many doors. My proposition is a win-win situation; I truly don’t have any doubts.
Think about it,
Ricky J. Fico
Note: Well, he didn’t listen to reason. O.J. Simpson continued on his wayward path, wrought in arrogance, misogyny and belief that he was above the law. Time told a different tale. He chose September 13, 2007 (September 13 is my birth date) to perform another dirty deed. But this time, he would not escape justice. No, not if the stars were aligned just right and this time they were.