Mendocino County Today: Wednesday, July 20, 2016

• Facility Costs
• Highway Fatality
• Mr Jerko
• Tripping
• Trespassing
• Protesting
• Convention Coverage
• Anarchy Reference
• Recent Catches
• Lincoln's Card
• Melania's Speech
• Socialist Vote
• Teen Lock-in
• Job Fair
• Police Interaction
• Economic Insecurity
• Leslie Dream

“BASED ON THE ANALYSIS provided by Mendocino County HHSA, the projected annual cost for staffing and operating a 16-bed psychiatric facility in Mendocino County would be $6,703,095…”

SO BEGINS the fiscal analysis done by County CEO Carmel Angelo’s chief budget staffer Alan ‘The Kid’ Flora who was asked to do the analysis in preparation for a 500 word ballot statement to accompany Sheriff Tom Allman’s Mental Health Facilties measure which will be on the November ballot. Flora did a fairly detailed analysis of revenues and estimated expenditures and concluded that the facility would cost almost $5 million more than current revenues would cover. This conclusion prompted a lengthy but fundamentally misplaced follow-up discussion which saw Sheriff Allman describe Flora’s analysis as “a good 50% analysis,” and as a “worst case scenario.”

ALLMAN was probably referring to the revenue side (50%) of Flora’s analysis which correctly and usefully summed up the County’s existing revenue streams which are mostly aimed at mental health services.

BUT FLORA AND ANGELO’S expense side of the analysis, the other 50% that Allman was presumably talking about, was in a word, preposterous:

“As described in the methodology section above, this projection is based upon the following: 1) required staffing for such facilities (type of personnel and number) under state regulation; use of county personnel; average statewide cost of such personnel in California; and, the standard Mendocino County overhead rate. Because the facility is a 24-hour facility, the projection must include staffing for a 24-hour period. This calls for a total of 33 required staff to operate the facility, which includes one (1) Physician/Psychiatrist, and one (1) on-call Psychiatrist; one (1) Psychologist; one (1) Clinical Social Worker; ten (10) Registered Nurses; ten (10) Mental Health Clinicians; ten (10) Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN); and, three administrative staff. For comparison, the Humboldt County Department of Health Services reported estimated actual operating costs for Humboldt County’s 16-bed acute inpatient psychiatric facility, Sempervirons, were $6.2 million in FY 2015-16.”

FLORA & THE CEO tossed in a fig leaf by adding a bit of positive spin:

“…funding such as Senate Bill (SB) 82 for mental health services, California’s Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver for substance abuse and alcohol and other drug funding, and other state and federal dollars may address rates and programming needs. The Executive Office hopes that these partnerships, funding streams via SB 82 or the 1115 waiver, and the strength of this community will make this Initiative fiscally possible.”

SHERIFF ALLMAN tried to explain that there was no reason to project that the facility would have 16 beds and multi-million dollar deficits for staffing the facility. He said the Supes might instead ask: How could we spend the  $27 million the County now spends on mental health with this new facility in the mix? “This measure will not cause a deficit,” insisted Allman, “the commission [the one proposed to oversee the project if approved at the ballot] will figure this out. We will tailor the project to the existing funds.”

TAMMY MOSS-CHANDLER, the County’s newly hired HHSA director cagily avoided taking a position on the issue but did point out that the $27 million includes almost $10 million of children’s mental health services expended separately from Allman’s initiative and means that the correct annual mental health budget at issue is more like $17 million (and a lot of that is spent on administration).

ALLMAN PUT THE BOARD on the defensive by adding that it seemed to him that “The purpose of this presentation is to generate a negative perception of project like this.”

BUT IN FACT it was more about assuming staffing levels that will simply never happen. Where is the County going to find ten Registered Nurses; ten Mental Health Clinicians; and ten Licensed Vocational Nurses? They can’t fill their few existing mental health positions, so why base projected staffing on such fantasies and some arbitrary mathematical adherence to their interpretation of how many beds are required and what state law requires?

ALLMAN told the Board that the County had made three big mistakes in the last few decades: Giving away most of the Lake Mendocino water to Sonoma County (Major Scaramella’s Uncle Joe Scaramella was the only Supervisor at the time to vote against that short-sighed decision); the selling of the Talmage State Hospital to the Buddhists for around $250k (another one that Joe Scaramella adamantly opposed, although at the time he was a retired Supervisor), and the closing of the Psychiatric Hospital Facility (PHF/”Puff”) unit in 1999. “We can’t correct #1 or #2,” said Allman, “but we can fix the PHF error.”

ALLMAN also said it was unfair to assume that the staff would all be county employees with all their perks, noting that local hospitals and non-profits don’t do it like that. And, Allman noted, the “analysis” didn’t factor in how many beds could be rented out to neighboring counties like Lake County.

ALLMAN insisted that the Flora/CEO analysis was deeply flawed because it didn’t make any attempt to figure out a way to staff the facility with existing funds. “The assumptions made are not true,” said Allman. “I’ve been working with the CEO on this, but our disagreements are based on some board members who have philosophical differences with this. We cannot be comfortable with what we have. None of you have a better solution, but you say this is wrong. You better rethink this. People want this, but three Supervisors have supported [don't] this” — a reference to Supervisors Hamburg, McCowen and Gjerde who refused to sign the petition that Allman and his group circulated to get the measure on the ballot, citing their worry about how much it would cost the County’s general fund.

THE BOARD and the CEO conceded that there may be “alternative models” which might be less expensive but, conveniently, those “alternative models” were not described, much less costed out. So the Board and the CEO stood behind their totally unrealistic gold-plated staffing model which makes the Sheriff’s initiative look like a budget buster. Then they charged staff with coming up with a way to say it was a budget buster in 500 words that could be put on the ballot.

REMEMBER, the Sheriff’s initiative says nothing about how many beds or staffing — the County’s assumptions of size and staffing levels and skill requirements are not achievable under any “alternate model” and the reference to the cost of the $6.2 million Humboldt County 16-bed facility does not say how the Humboldt facility is staffed nor if Mendocino County even needs a 16 bed facility staffed 24 hours a day with 36 expensive professional County employee staffers.

THE SHERIFF’S DESCRIPTION of this County projection of what the staffing and its cost might look like for Mendocino County's own psychiatric facility was that it is a "worst case scenario." That's one way of putting it. Another way is to say it's preposterous. The criminally insane ward at Napa State Hospital doesn't have the staff ratio the County projects. Ten registered psychiatric nurses in Mendocino County? Good luck finding them.

ANOTHER MYSTERY is why the two Supervisors who did sign Allman’s petition — Tom Woodhouse and Carre Brown — didn’t defend Allman’s initiative to point out the impracticality of the County’s analysis.

THE FACILITY as proposed by the Sheriff is, as we understand it at this preliminary stage, is much more modest; he has not said how many beds or what kind of staffing, just that it should be done within existing funding (or with any additional funding that they can find, exclusing the General Fund). And, given our rural status, lots of state requirements can be waived, especially if our hard hitting state legislators run interference for us. It seems clear the County is making it seem like a big fiscal loser when, objectively, with commonsense and a reasonable amount of good will, it can work, and actually save money.

DEATH ON 101 TUESDAY MORNING NEAR HOPLAND

A man died Tuesday morning in a single vehicle crash on Highway 101 south of Ukiah, according to the CHP.

The man was driving north near Henry Station Road when he drove into the oncoming traffic lane to pass a box truck, the CHP said.

After passing the truck, as he was returning to the northbound lane, the man lost control of the vehicle for unknown reasons, the CHP said. The vehicle rolled, killing the man and blocking the two-lane highway.

The man’s name is not being released until his family is notified, the CHP said.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Highway traffic is limited to one-lane during the investigation, the CHP said.

The errant vehicle was traveling northbound U.S. 101 south of Henry Station Road, in the #1 lane. The solo male driver was passing a box truck which was in the #2 lane. The male driver turned the vehicle into the #2 lane after passing the box truck and for unknown reasons lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled over and came to rest within the traffic lanes. The male driver and solo occupant of the car succumbed to his injuries at the collision scene. This collision is still under investigation and it is unknown at this time whether drugs or alcohol are a factor in this collision. US-101 will be one-way traffic control as CHP Officers investigate this collision. This will cause traffic delays for both northbound and southbound traffic. Expect delays. CHP is not releasing the drivers name at this time until the proper notifications have been made. More updates to follow as I get the info.

PS. The vehicle involved in the fatal collision on US-101 south of Henry Station Road is a 1991 Honda Civic Red in color.

(CHP Press Release)

YESTERDAY, we posted this item:

“A reliable source comments on our item about the $50,000 pay off to Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequiera: ‘You have it about right. The whole thing was a comedy of errors with the county doing everything they could to pay Sequeira as much as they could, even coming up with a bullshit interpretation that he was hired as “extra help” instead of for a regular permanent position. I don't know what went down between he and Eyster, but when Sequeira decided to bail he blindsided the county claiming he was owed an extra $20,000 a year retroactive to when he started. As an attorney, he should know there are strict limits on paying out public money retroactively. The county agreed to pay the $50,000, not because Mr. Jerko had a strong case, but because it would have cost that much or more to defend it, especially with the DA siding with Sequeira. The blowback between the DA, County Counsel and the CEO is interesting, with everyone pointing the finger at someone else. Meanwhile, the taxpayer is getting the finger and is stuck paying the bill’."

DA SPOKESMAN MIKE GENIELLA responded today:

This “reliable source” version of events is laughable. "Blindsided" the county? C'mon, the squabble over his pay, clearly set out in the contract that was never formalized, dragged on for four-plus years. No surprises. The salary agreement was always in place. Never officially acted upon, and that was the issue. In the final year, before his acceptance of the Solano County job, Sequeira warned county administrators that he would file a claim for back pay if they didn't finally act. They didn't, and when he decided to leave, the claim was then filed.

Sequeira is not "Mr. Jerko" in this. If he's guilty of anything, it is not pressing the issue forcefully during his tenure. He was reluctant to create a flap over pay during his old friend Eyster's first term in office. His successor, without a blink, is being paid the original agreed upon annual salary, and a benefits package that Sequeira had waived because of his retirement from Contra Costa County after 28 years.

The county has lost one of the best prosecutors in the state because in part it did not honor the original agreement.

"Mr. Jerko" is not the bad guy in this scenario, which “reliable source,” if reliable, ought to know.

NAVARRO STORE FAN NOTE: The good people are everywhere, and everywhere is here! The Navarro Grocery Store is an imaginary mind set which transforms you into a picnic aficionado; the quality of their in house freshly prepared sandwiches would make Alice in Wonderland extremely happy! 
Your 420 munchies await you; there is even the most reasonable gas pump for Regular. 
Check this out: bring or buy a bottle of local wine, cheeses, breads, or freshly prepared sandwiches (of course, veggies are awesome here) and occupy one of the tables in the non Magic Mushroom setting with carved objects to delight your senses. 
After vaping or doing your fun edibles, commence imaginary play in the Garden of Delights picnics.
 Are you diggin' that sound?
 Are you feeling the colors?
 Are you hedonistic?
 Are you happier than the Queen of Hearts? 
Shhhhhhhhhhh — that is the pure sound of the carved guitarist rockin' to his groove… I know you can hear him! Get closer… Yeah! You hear him tooooo! Pass the doobie, please?

GAME CAMERA CATCHES TRESPASSER

A man living north of Laytonville warns locals to be on the lookout for the subject shown in these photos. “I’ve got game cameras watching certain areas of my land,” the man who wants to remain anonymous explained. When he checked the cameras on Sunday, he discovered that man had gone by on Saturday about 4:55 p.m. towards a neighbor’s property and returned back the same trail towards Hwy 101 about 5 p.m.

“There was a man on my property with a gun,” he said referring to the item at the trespasser’s waist. The resident has reported the incident to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office but he wants people to be alert to the possible danger.

If you have information, you can contact the Willits Sheriff’s Substation at (707) 459-6111.

Note: The date and times on the camera aren’t set correctly but the camera owner said, “I went to the camera this afternoon and snapped a photo of myself…Then easily calculated the correct times.”

ODD SIGHT this morning in front of the Toyota agency on deep North State Street, Ukiah. From a distance, I thought it was a homeless camp on the move, but drawing near I saw it was a gray band of aged demonstrators holding up signs critical of Mendocino Redwood Company's hack and squirt policies. But why there? I think MRC has an office somewhere in the area (a couple of miles north, if memory serves) but passersby must have been absolutely mystified because the haggle scraggled ancient ones were smack in front of Toyota, far from any logical demo venue like, for instance, the County Courthouse in the middle of town.

I DON'T THINK we have the quality novelists anymore who could do justice to the Republican National Convention. Among contemporary journalists, the only one I can think of who might be capable of capturing this batshit crazy event whole is Matt Taibbi. It reminds me, so far, of Nathaniel West's great novel, Day of the Locust, but our times, and this lunatic affair, would test even West's abilities.

SHERIFF ALLMAN'S anarchy reference yesterday as he lamented the recent shootings of police officers in Baton Rouge doesn't seem inflated to me. I think we're pretty much there, that it's all coming apart much faster than even us doomers could have predicted.

CATCH OF THE DAY, July 18-19

JASON BACCHI, San Mateo/Ukiah. ID theft, probation revocation.

CACIDY BAILEY, Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale.

DRU BAILEY, Pueblo/Laytonville.. Pot cultivation and sale, ex-felon with firearm.

ERIC BAILEY, Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale.

JULIE BAILEY, Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale.

JAMES BUTLER-OCONNOR, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. Pot cultivation and sale.

STEVEN COLUMBO, Fort Bragg/Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale.

MARINA CONNELL, Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale.

MIKAEL CRIDER, Fort Bragg. Domestic assault.

EDWARD ELLIS, Hopland. Domestic battery, probation revocation.

MICHAEL FREEMAN, Covelo. Vandalism, failure to appear.

GUADALUPE GARCIA, Ukiah. Touching another’s intimate parts against their will.

OTONEIL GODINEZ, Ukiah. Domestic assault.

JULIAN GONZALEZ-RAMIREZ, Ukiah. False ID, failure to appear, probation revocation.

ADRIAN GUYETTE, Covelo. Domestic assault.

SEAN HAGEN, McKinleyville/Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale, resisting, conspiracy.

PETER KIPKE, Ukiah. Domestic assault.

STEVEN KITCHENS, Fort Bragg. Drunk in public.

JONATHAN MARKER, Loveland, Colorado/Laytonville. Pot cultivation and sale.

WANA MATTHIAS, Ukiah. Under influence.

WILMA MCCRACKEN, Fort Bragg. Domestic assault.

FRANCISCO MENDOZA, Willits. Domestic assault, assault with deadly weapon not a gun, criminal threats.

JAMES MILES, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

DAKOTA POLITO, Ukiah. Pot cultivation and sale.

KIERA SHED, Willits. Failure to appear.

ABE LINCOLN CORRECTION

Fred Gardner's recent AVA piece, “Honest Abe Didn't Smoke Hemp” was read by me with great interest, as the person who wrote the text of the Cannabis Card with the Lincoln quote in question, "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp and playing my Hohner harmonica." Artist Fred Sternkopf penned the graphic of Lincoln toking on a corned cob pipe. It is true I could find no evidence. I asked Michael Aldrich, noted scholar & librarian of all things hash & hemp; he said, "the jury is out". We talked about how Hohner Harmonica denying they had any such letter was not necessarily the truth, since truth is routinely suppressed to avoid 'reefer madness' association. Fred loaned me his four volume book of Lincoln by Sanders which I checked thoroughly for any reference, to no avail. One thing I have learned is the quickest way to get an answer is to say something wrong. My cohort & good friend Fred Gardner has proven that adage once again. I appreciate being corrected. I've spent years tearing down marijuana myths & litigating bad laws; the last thing I want to do is perpetuate myths out of ignorance. Fred's arguments are persuasive. It is hard to hide the aroma of "sweet hemp"; it is likely someone would have seen the President & reported on such a practice as toking up, if it happened (farmers Washington & Jefferson openly cultivated, even in their diaries). So there is no affirmative corroboration of the "apocryphal" quote, as Sidney Blumenthal puts it from researching his new 4 vol biography of Lincoln. What is corroborated from the *Cannabis Card* is Lincoln's family farm grew hemp. They wove the hemp pants Abe wore as he stepped into the Illinois Legislature & used hemp oil as the light to read by. But on the other hand, let's delete the 'sweet hemp' & harmonica thing, unless proven otherwise.

Pebbles Trippet, Elk

LATE NIGHT THOUGHTS ON MELANIA TRUMP'S SPEECH

by Jeffrey St. Clair

(*) Melania is such a relief after Giuliani, who was doing the Full Mussolini tonight. His hyperbolic gesticulations alone would make a darkly comic silent film. Though give Rudy credit, he did plug Diana Johnstone’s book by suggesting HRC was the Queen of Chaos.

(*) Melania’s speech was so ecumenical it sounded as if could have been delivered at the plenary session of the United Nations. Yet, the Tea Partiers cheered wildly! (Note to self: Check the color of Trump helicopters. Black?)

(*) All Melania really had to say was: “Who do you want to redecorate the White House…me or Bill?”

(*) I hope no animals are harmed during Joni Ernst’s speech. (I was relieved that she didn’t bring hothead-loving David Cameron on stage with her for a demonstration of her mastery of porcine anatomy.) Wake me when’s over. I can’t bear to watch.

(*) What’s all this about plagiarism? I’m with Melania. Can you really plagiarize platitudes and clichés? Dime’s worth of difference between the Obamas and Trumps?

(*) Black woman and white woman speak the very same words. The black woman speaks them first and is vilified for being a dangerous radical who has a secret plot to steal all of our glutens. White woman cribs the black woman’s words and is praised as a sultry paragon of family values. How much greater could America really get?

(*) The Situationists would love the spectacle of Republican Ultras praising Melania’s recitation of the words of Michele Obama’s speechwriter and the Democrats who ridiculed the speech dull and banal. It’s the Daily Double!!

(*) How are we now to take Melania’s claims that she does her own hair?

(*) Maybe Joe Biden (aka, Neil Kinnock) wrote Michele’s speech?

(*) Some say Michele’s delivery of her speech in 2008 was more emotive and convincing than Melania’s. But what would Michele have sounded like if she’d recited her ghost-written and probably plagiarized speech in tricky cadences of Slovene…(Is that what they speak in Slovenia or is it Serbo-Croatian?)

(Jeffrey St. Clair is editor of CounterPunch. His new book is Killing Trayvons: an Anthology of American Violence (with JoAnn Wypijewski and Kevin Alexander Gray). He can be reached at: sitka@comcast.net. Courtesy, CounterPunch.org)

TEEN LOCK-IN on Friday, July 29th 6 pm-Midnight

District Teens at Ukiah Library presents:

National Teen Library Lock-In!

Friday, July 29th 6pm - Midnight

Teens entering 7th-12th grades are welcome to attend our Teen Lock-In at the Library, an after-hours event to take place on National Teen Lock-In Day, July 29th from 6pm-midnight. Teens in libraries nationwide are participating in this event. With games & activities like Minute *to-Win-It, Super Smash Bros, life-size Hungry Hungry Hippos, & Chocolate Olympics, fun & adventure are guaranteed. Pizza, snacks, refreshments & materials will be provided. Registration and parent/guardian permission are required for teens to attend. This event can be counted toward the summer reading raffle for teens. To obtain a permission slip or for more information * please contact Melissa at the Ukiah Library: 467-6434 or carrm@co.mendocino.ca.us. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ukiah Valley Library.

COUNTY JOB FAIR EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

In order to promote County jobs and work toward filling the many existing vacancies, the County of Mendocino Human Resources Department hosted the first ever County Job Fair on July 15, 2016. The free event was held at the County Administration building in Ukiah and was attended by more than 300 job seekers. Most every County department participated and had staff available to talk with job seekers and provide information about the variety of positions in their departments.

According to Human Resources Director, Heidi Dunham, the event was attended by more than 300 job seekers and it was a huge success. “We had both local and out of the area attendees, with individuals looking for positions as social workers, road workers, probation officers, and customer service representatives.” One couple she spoke to are planning to relocate to Mendocino County and traveled to Ukiah from Berkeley to speak with representatives of the Sheriff’s Department about their job openings. Carmel Angelo, Mendocino County Chief Executive Officer, said regarding the success of the event, “The interest in our County jobs was very diverse. It was very exciting to see the amount of talent and experience walking through our doors in people who want to come to work for our County.”

During the event, Human Resources staff worked with applicants in the County’s IT training room to allow public access to computers and facilitate real time applications. 110 job applications were submitted during the Job Fair, and another 71 applications have been received as of Tuesday morning. “Our staff will be very busy over the next few weeks as we review and screen applications, schedule interviews, and work with departments to fill as many of their openings as possible” Dunham said.

Community partners, North Coast Opportunities, MPIC, Mendocino College, and Marymount University were on-site to provide information about their programs and assist attendees with job search related needs.

“This event was a big success. We will definitely be doing it again” Dunham said.

Carmel J. Angelo, Chief Executive Officer

I UNDERSTAND that there has been the recent study suggesting that given an interaction with a police officer occurs, then the police officer is no more likely to use a gun with a black person than with a white person. However, given that many black men have a much higher rate of interaction with police (such as, anecdotally, Philando Castile, with 52 traffic stops), then is it not fair to say that black men are disproportionately killed by cops? The point is that there is no evidence of individual racism in these police encounters, despite the impression from many chilling phone videos. The structural bias still exists as a whole, as I said, but the narrative about cops being more likely to kill a black member of the public when encountering him is false.

— Andrew Sullivan

WHY HAS THE MEDIA’S REPUDIATION OF TRUMP only increased his popularity and strengthened the resolve of his supporters? Has the media lost its power to influence or is something else going on?

The media hasn’t lost its power, it’s just that personal experience is more powerful than propaganda.

What personal experience are we talking about?

Economic insecurity. Brexit was about economic insecurity. The Trump phenom is about economic insecurity. The rise of left and right-wing groups across Europe and the US is about economic insecurity. This isn’t about ideology, it’s about reality; the reality of not knowing if you’re ever going to be able to retire or put your kids through school or make your house payment or scrape by until payday. The reality of muddling by in an economy where the prospects for survival look worse with every passing day. That’s the reality that made Trump possible, and that’s what this election is about, economic insecurity.

— Mike Whitney

PROSE POEM: LESLIE MULLIGAN

It's said that our bodies tell us everything we need to know...how we "feel" about a person, place, or thing should be what guides us...that our bodies hold all the intuitive wisdom that we'll ever need to make any important decision.

Indeed, you're feral that way, Leslie, like an animal, highly instinctual -- I envy you. You run when your body tells you to run. You stand your ground and fight when your body tells you to fight. You listen to your body.

Stated another way, in 1991, you quit your job as a promising intelligence officer at NORAD -- and your USAF career -- for the simple reason that when you ended a shift and exited Cheyenne Mountain, looked up at the stars, and took a long gulp of clean, cold air, you suddenly realized that the continually recycled air that you had been breathing for the last 36 hours was too stale.

Really -- I think it was that simple.

A feeling. You quit your job over a mere feeling, an unhealthy feeling -- and to think you had just been awarded at Joint Services Commendation Medal for picking up the infrared bloom of Saddam Hussein's first Scud missile launch at Tel Aviv. You were also in line for a promotion to the rank of major.

Something else, too -- you had already been selected for NORAD's RAPIER Node. Your team could have survived World War III. They were already preparing for World War IV. Air Combat Command in Langley figured out how to outsmart the electromagnetic pulses from nukes -- the bogeyman of command, control, and communications designers. You could have survived a limited nuclear war -- just think of it!

But you gave it all up for a feeling.

You are so very much in tune with your body, Leslie. Maybe it's a "woman" thing -- I don't know.

Here's my problem: I often feel like a stranger in my own body.

I can go further.

I often feel trapped in an unfamiliar mind without its biological counterparts; gasping without lungs, crying without tears, loving without a heart.

I often feel I am standing in the light of a sun that will never warm me.

* * *

Changing the subject, I dreamed about you again last night.

In my dream, you were married to a sculptor.

He made these modern garden sculptures out of what looked like very white concrete.

Concrete -- something whiter in color and softer in the Mohs Hardness Scale than a typical sculpture material, like marble, granite, or alabaster.

His sculptures were oval-shaped (sort of) and stood waist-high in what seemed like a museum's outdoor sculpture garden. Your husband's pieces resembled much smaller versions of Henry Moore's large forms -- not Moore's reclining figures and other human forms, but his other abstract forms.

Your husband's sculptures were about three-feet or four-feet high, and again, they were very white. Most of the sculptures were painted on top. One of them had been painted with what looked like abstract lemons.

That was my dream -- touching this particular sculpture. I was pretending the piece was you. I remember touching the reflective white, touching the lemon yellow. I felt only pure pleasure.

I was happy.

I "felt" that I was connecting with you through your husband's work.

Weird.

This dream makes no sense -- I know, Leslie. But it was a dream.

–John Sakowicz, Ukiah