WI atheist blames many for his woes; Senator and others refute claims - Part 1

November 2, 7:15 AMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

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The Wisconsin atheist - Lawrence Flowers

Lawrence Flowers is an atheist. But, never mind that for now. What is most important here is that he is a human being.

Mr. Flowers is nearly 60 years old. He is reportedly on disability and is diabetic. He lives in what he describes as "squalid" conditions. Because he has no running water, he says he is unable to clean himself, his clothes, and his abode properly. Although there is a spigot on an outside well that supposedly is about 25 feet from his home, he says his failing health makes it difficult for him to haul substantial amounts of water from the spigot into his home.

According to Mr. Flowers, the electricity into his trailer is fed through a hole in the wall, run in a crude and unsafe manner from another facility. He cooks on a hotplate that is on its last leg. His microwave is giving out. His refrigerator has definitely seen better days.

He lives on some property in a small town in Marinette County, Wisconsin, that was left to him and his two half-brothers when their mother died.

He claims to be in desperate need of medical attention but he is afraid to get it. (More on that later.) He has no transportation and depends on a local resident to shop for him and get his food to him via a cab.

Some people have written Mr. Flowers of as a "loon." Some people just think he is a nuisance. Others, it seems, just disregard him all together. I have spoken to Mr. Flowers on a number of occasions via phone, e-mail, and chat. Although he seems perfectly lucid most of the time, it does seem he is mentally distraught at the very least.

He also seems suicidal at times (he has admitted to attempting suicide at least four times). If it is true that he has been through all he says he has for the past five years, it would be understandable if he were, in fact, on the edge.

Mr. Flowers blames nearly everyone around him for his present state of being. But, there are those, including Wisconsin State Senator Jim Holperin, who believe Mr, Flowers' situation is of his own making. (More on that later.) Of course, Mr. Flowers doesn't see it that way.

How it all began

According to Mr. Flowers, his troubles began a little over five years ago when the farmhouse on his property burned down. The fire happened on September 21, 2004. At the time the farmhouse burned down, he was living in a temporary, make-shift abode that he refers to as the "coop" while the farmhouse was supposedly being remodeled. He figured he could live there until his insurance company, Maple Valley Mutual Insurance Company, paid him for his loss.

Eventually though, he was forced to put a house trailer on the property as the "coop" was no longer habitable. And, according to Mr. Flowers, the insurance company didn't pay him all it owed him. In fact, to this day, he claims the insurance company improperly split between him and his brothers monies paid out on the policy and that it still owes him $10,000. It dispute this claim, stating that all monies owed have been paid and divided as indicated by the policy.

Allegations

In addition to claiming the insurance company has done him wrong, Mr. Flowers claims that his lawyer at the time, Daniel Miron, who supposedly represented his interest in regard to the insurance payout, "sold him down the river." He believes that the insurance company and his former attorney "colluded" to keep him from getting the rest of the money owed him. Of course, his former attorney also disputes his claim that he is owed more money.

Now, Mr. Flowers believes that there is a conspiracy including nearly everyone in his area, led by his former attorney, to drive him from his land. He also contends that state officials are doing nothing to help him because they are protecting Miron.

In Mr. Flowers' own words, he believes that an, “atheist-despising, Marinette County big wig with unimaginable power, control, and connections wants to drive an atheist (Mr. Flowers) off his property and out of the county in order to facilitate the taking over of the property by an out-of-state half-brother (of Mr. Flowers) and the possible transfer of a portion of the property to the county.” (More on the "atheist-despising" aspect later.)

In addition to implicating his half-brother in his tale, Mr. Flowers points the finger at local residents, law enforcement personnel, his former attorney (the aforementioned “big wig”), the insurance company - Maple Valley Mutual Insurance Company, a Wisconsin state representative, a former Wisconsin state senator, a current Wisconsin state senator, and more. The list is as long as is his list of allegations. (As a side note, I have been added to that list at least three times now and have been suspected of being with the FBI.)

I asked Mr. Flowers what made him think that his former attorney held so much power in the area. He explained that in such a small area, certain people hold power because of who they are. Further, he said, Attorney "Miron has a [son], 'Dave', who is a sitting Marinette County Circuit Court Judge."

After a bit of searching, I discovered that Attorney Miron is the city attorney for one of the cities, Peshtigo, in Marinette County. It is an appointed position. Mr. Flowers said he was not aware of this when I told him about it. Still, does any of this mean that local and state officials would cover up wrong doing by Miron? (As an unrelated side note, Doug Miron, Attorney Miron's son, won $31.4 million dollars in the lottery in mid-October of this year. He took the lump sum pay out and received $11.2 million after taxes.)

Mr. Flowers has gone so far as to add the atheist community at large to his seemingly ever-growing list of people who have failed him. He claims that atheist organization have ignored his pleas for help. They, too, he said, have left him there to rot.

He has even blamed me for the fact that he has not received medical attention, though each time he mentions it to me, I tell him to either take a cab to the hospital or clinic or to call 9-1-1 if the situation is as dire as he claims. Because he claims to trust no one in the area, he won't. Of course, my assumed refusal to help him get medical attention, according to him, is cruelty of the worst kind on my part. (It may be worth pointing out that I live some 1,500 miles away from him.)

In the interest of space availability and time, I will only be addressing a few of Mr. Flowers allegations. As I have mentioned, his list is long and I could write a pretty lengthy book with all that he alleges has happened to him.