"Prince Andy Gets Randy"
"The Prince and his Blonde Beauty"
"A Match Made in America"

Oh, what the headlines could have read about Prince Andrew and the beauty beside him during his tours of Cape Canaveral. One of his U.S. military bodyguards just happened to look more like Miss USA then a certified sharpshooter. The decorated Naval Intelligence Officer could have won that crown if, besides beauty and brains, the qualifications included being an Uzi-handling Special Agent who went by the nickname Bootsie.

Bootsie’s mom was in a Mississippi hospital watching live coverage of that royal visit. She was not at all surprised to see her daughter standing guard next to the Prince. What did surprise her, though, were the comments made by the media, speculating who the blonde might be.

“That blonde,” Bootsie’s mom smiled, “is my baby girl.”

A lot of laughter followed Bootsie and her two sisters, Binky and Snooker, as they grew up. And not just because of their nicknames. They were known in their neighborhood as "Binky, Bootsie, and Snooker - the Three Sisters." Their parents called them by their real names only when the girls were in big trouble. Of course, that trouble was generally for nothing more than prank phone calls, playing in the street, or pestering their brothers.

Bootsie’s military father was a Naval Pilot, a World War Two veteran, and served on the staff at the Pentagon. That’s where he met her mother, a secretary for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bootsie wanted to make her parents proud. An honors student, she believed in God, country, and family.

As determined and iron-willed as her father, and as gentle and kind as her mother, she demanded nothing less than perfection. That rigid self-discipline helped her earn a prestigious career, but it may have kept her from accepting help when she needed it the most.

In the months before Bootsie’s death, she became very depressed. She would only get out of bed to go to the bathroom. She wouldn’t speak to anyone, not her husband, her two children, or her sisters. She had been suicidal for months, delusional and paranoid, so her mother-in-law moved in and her husband took a leave of absence. Although her psychiatrist had her on a new medication, Bootsie was still under a 24/7 suicide watch.

But one morning Bootsie thrilled her mother-in-law and husband by getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, and coming downstairs. She hadn’t done those things in months. She told them she felt better and was going to get a massage since she was stiff from lying around so much. Happy to see her acting more normal, they waved as she drove away, thinking the new medication was working.

Bootsie returned home quickly, claiming the masseuse was booked. She told her husband she had stopped for gas and accidentally left the gas cap at the station. So he loaded their children and his mother into the car to go get it.

When they got home he ran upstairs to check on Bootsie. Then he realized she hadn’t tried to get a massage. She had actually driven to a nearby town for a gun and some bullets.

No one knows why Bootsie ended her life. There was no note, so all their questions go unanswered. All her husband is sure of is that the God-fearing, military-minded, sweet-loving woman he fell in love with was his princess on the day they married. She will be his queen until the day he dies.

Diana “Bootsie” Lynn Santee Benson
Forty-three Years Old

Dear Bootsie,

I was out watering the yard early this morning before work. The sky was so blue it didn't look real. The sun warmed my face. The birds were singing and chirping, and the breeze was refreshing on my toes in the cool grass. I was smiling, just happy to be alive. How you could leave this? Look at what you're missing!

You were so excited when you were pregnant with your first child. Do you remember how you played the sonogram video over and over, trying to show me why you knew the baby was a boy? And when he was born you made endless phone calls so I could hear him make all his baby noises. You had great pride in your son. How could you leave him? And your second child, your beautiful, gentle daughter had your eyes. Your babies were everything to you. You loved them without reservation. How could you leave them?

How surprised I was the day I told you that you were my role model and that I admired you and wished I was like you. You admitted that I was your role model, whom you admired and wanted to be like. We both had such a laugh!

I always thought we would grow old together and be the "little old ladies up the street.” I welcomed you into this world and thought I would be the one to welcome you to heaven. You told me one time that I reminded you of a little bird. I don't know why, but that has stuck in my mind all these years.

The hardest thing, Bootsie, is the "never again" part. I will never again hear your laugh or see that special mischief in your eyes that always reminded me of Dad. We will never again go to the mall, or giggle and be silly. The world is such a beautiful, miraculous place. How could you leave all this?

I miss you, Bootsie. I really wish you were here. You will always be my little Sunshine Girl.

Love, Snooker