more infrequent. His bouts of depression were probably more troubling to Kathy; it would have been in her nature to try to keep Charlie happy During the spring of 1966, she began to gently guide him towards professional counseling.
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Charlie believed he suffered from some physical malady. Specifically, he thought something was wrong with his head; and he also feared that he was sterile.
1
Those suspicions seemed to torture his mind, but there exists no evidence of his wanting professional help. Instead, he chose to wallow in self-doubt and personal dissatisfaction. For all his talk about the need for others to achieve and get ahead and in spite of his harsh words for his brother Patrick's refusal to get help for his problems, Charlie Whitman stalled himself by his own inability to deal with self-inflicted problems. Other sources of stress would result in a complete surrender to his frustrations and angerand in tragedy.
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The grades Charlie earned in his courses during the spring and fall of 1965 were significantly improved from his earlier matriculation at the University of Texas. In the spring he made three Cs, one B, and one A. During the fall, after his summer at NASA, he earned three As and one B, but had to drop calculus. Charlie had, at last, become an honor student.
2
He had learned hard lessons and paid for his foolishness, and he now had Kathy. For some time she had been universally lauded by Lanier students, fellow teachers, school administrators, and Southwestern Bell Telephone operators and supervisors. Her loyalty and determination to make her marriage work and her emotional support for Charlie were extraordinary.
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In Lake Worth, Florida, a different Whitman wife had given up. After enduring more than twenty-five years of a difficult marriage, Margaret decided she could take no more. On 2 March 1966 at 9:30
P.M.
someone called the Lake Worth Police Department reporting a disturbance at 820 South L Street. "They are going to kill each other" the complainant said. But by the time officers arrived all was quiet. Less than two hours later, at 11:20
P.M.
, LWPD received another call, but this time the caller identified himself as Charles J. Whitman of 1001 Shelley Avenue, Austin, Texas. According to the police report, Charlie informed the dispatcher that "Mr. Charles A. Whitman of 820 South L Street had threatened to do bodily harm to his mother. He advises that he is enroute to this city at this time
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