[Editor’s note: Pages xx-2 – xx-17 are undoubtedly entries from Paula Adams’ diary, but the handwriting is dramatically different. Whether Paula wrote in a different style, or whether the entries were recopied by someone else is unknown. The facts that the memo to Carolyn Layton is written in the different hand, and that the dates on the entries are within a month before the deaths in Jonestown – when there were other more immediate tasks than copying diary entries – suggest that the handwriting is Paula’s.]
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Harriet – all this is from Paula. It was totally unstapled at first – I tried to find the right [illegible word] – basically this is about Bonny [Laurence Mann]
October 20, 1978
– This was my first day here which is always insecurity day for him. This is where he tells me all day that he doesn’t really believe I love him and I am telling him all day that I do.
– He said he really liked Marceline a lot. He thought she was “without a doubt one of the sweetest people he had ever met.” He talks about her a lot and always with respect and in glowing terms.
– I met some of his friends last night: Clarence Ellis, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Guyana in Georgetown. I have answered the phone on several occasions in G’tn when he called. I very briefly got into the project but invited him up when he asked for instructions on how to get a trip like that approved or cleared with the proper authorities. I told him anyone could come and we would like to have our Guyanese friends from G’tn visit. He was friendly but obviously heard negative stuff. I only had 10 minutes to talk to him so I dwelled on the positive rather than take a lot of time on the defensive. Someone should talk to him in G’tn or I will make a point of it myself, when I get there.
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Some notes I made Oct. 22.
– He is planning to come to Jonestown to spend a few days in January. He is bringing a US couple with him. They are not married, but living together. Both are systems analysts and work with computers. He is white, she is black. He is a liberal and she is streetwise from the DC ghetto.
– He said he hopes Jonestown makes it, but he doesn’t see how it is possible to make money farming. He thinks in 2 or 3 years we will have a lot of trouble supporting ourselves. He again suggested getting wood lathes to make cigar and tobacco humidors and ashtrays out of natural woods because they are in great demand in the Caribbean islands.
– He was very impressed at us having Dick Gregory co-emcee our dinner with Assemblyman Willie Brown. I told him we would love to have him attend as an honored guest. Later I asked him if he would endorse the dinner so that we could include his name on the invitation along with Dick Gregory, Lt. Gov. [Mervyn] Dymally, Mark Lane, etc. He said personally I would love to but I would have to
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get my minister’s approval. He said to write him a letter outlining it and he would discuss it with Rashleigh Jackson while he is here. Because of the other supporters I think he will do it, but it needs to be a little more than please endorse our dinner so I wanted to give the information to you so the contents of the letter could be discussed.
– He hasn’t brought up our press conference again to me. His Deputy Ambassador Peter Halder did. I gave him background about us which he wasn’t aware of. He was very receptive and he has read Mark Lane’s books.
– He is refusing to pay my fare to see him. He claims I would not have stayed in Calif. so long if I had come to see him. I explained about my parents but his answer was, then why were you always at the Temple when I called. (He called daily).
Oct. 23
– He says he has fallen so deeply in love with me that he is going to find out every detail of my life from the time I was born.