Weird, Right?

 

"Don't think of it as dying, said Death.

 Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush."

~Terry Pratchett

Weird, right? It wasn't on my bingo card, but okay. I guess more details will come to light in the next few days, but for right now, 1:51 am PST, weird, right?

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #74

 

“Enchantment and fulfillment were on the gold and garnet horizon - autumn's breath, a dormant dream reawakened, a yearning nearly satiated, a tender thank you with a brush of the lips, and a connection as fingers touch and go hand in hand.”

 
~Donna Lynn Hope 

 

 

Okay, Here Goes... Part One: Autumn Friends

 "Death ends a life, not a relationship"

 

~Mitch Albom

Tuesday's with Morrie

 

I said I have two things to share. One will obviously be about the second indictment and subsequent arrest of Donald Trump. That took place on Tuesday, June 13th, but something happened before we all got there. On Monday, June 12th, Treat Williams passed away. It broke my heart into tiny pieces. It was sudden. An accident that never should have happened, but happen it did all the same. A motorist turned into his path, and Treat never had a chance to stop. He was on his motorcycle, and the wearing of a helmet did not prevent other injuries from happening. I thought I would be seeing a tweet from him about the arrest of Trump, but no, he was just gone in the early evening of June 12th. As I sit here writing this it still seems really odd, and surreal that someone so in touch with the joys of life, who still marveled at so much, and who got so much out of the smallest of things, and simplest of moments, is no longer here. 

 

I had followed him on, Twitter, for the better part of a decade. He made me laugh. He made me reconsider my opinions from time to time. I enjoyed seeing his photos from various sets he was on. Movies and tv shows alike. The man never sat down when it came to his craft. I loved seeing his home and family. His property in Vermont was nothing short of paradise. And the trips he took with his various airplanes took my breath away, especially his flights over Vermont during the autumn. From the sky you could get lost in every single color you could imagine, demonstrating autumn wasn't always about earth tones, autumn was vibrant and joyful and beautiful. It was all... so damn amazing, so much so, that the thought of that amazing life being gone so fast, was never in my mind. Why would it be? He was one of the few, if not the only one at times, that didn't dwell on the negativity of life, but rather how to handle it by searching for the light and the joy.

 

That's not to say that he didn't have his moments. Trump could have gotten to Gandhi. One such moment, I don't even know exactly why he tweeted it, but suddenly Treat tweeted, "Shut up and do your job, you big fat baby!" which I have to say, delighted me to no end! I laughed and laughed and used about 200 laughing emojis in the reply form. Sheesh. Maybe my reaction was a little too much, but I felt that way all the same. He had just expressed, what I had always wanted to say, except it was now coming from one of the nicest folks around, which in my mind made it fabulous. It was funny, and appreciated. Then one day, sometime later, I left a comment about one of his autumn flights over Vermont, and something kinda nice happened, if not downright magical, he answered me! A great big movie star answered me, and I blushed, I really did. Treat said he was, "proud to know me". Wait... we know each other?

 

It took me a little while to consider that. It never dawned on me that he knew I was even there, let alone... gulp... know me. Or... yikes... was "proud to know me." Now what? Are we pals? Are we friends? How did he come to that assessment? Was it the things I said in my rambling comments? It's not like one could ask, that would be rude! Imagine this... "Hey buddy... whats that nice comment all about?" Twitter can be a strange place sometimes. Friendships are made fairly easily, and then just as easily folks can disappear from your timeline, for all kinds of reasons, it's never really been something I take too seriously. Life just happens, and it happens on social media too, only with walls that are invisible, but that are as strong as any wall can be. I like walls when it comes to celebrities. On my best day, as a fangirl of 61, I can sound like a nutty stalker, or a childish girl of 16, amazed at the talents of Shawn Cassidy. Who I also follow by the way.

 

So he answered me a few more times, and wished me a "back at you" at Christmas one year, and sweetly sang for us during Covid-19, at my request, although I think he had thought of it first, and was merely,  again, taking the time to answer me. But it was nice. It was always nice. He made folks feel at ease. He made me feel at ease. He felt like a friend. I guess that's okay, right? Do a few interactions over Twitter make you a friend or does the word "hello" followed by a lifetime of happy lunches and intimate sharing of ideas? Things can get fairly deep and philosophical on Twitter, so I know enough to believe we were of like minds, so maybe that is enough, to consider him my friend in the most basic sense of the word. I looked forward to his silly tweets and his opinions. I had respect for him and maybe that is enough.

 

In any case, I know I will miss him forever, he was my friend. He has left a hole in me. No one fills the holes left inside our hearts when loved ones pass, it's the part of us that belonged to someone special. To fill that hole is too much like replacing them. Some folks are irreplaceable. Treat was a part of me, but I will always have the movie, Hair, to watch in the moments when I am feeling blue about things. As scary as things ever got with the world, he had a way of looking at it and reminding us, we could make it through, and we were all connected as part of the tribe. I was so very lucky to connect with such a good person. And how lucky I was that an extraordinary man was proud to know me. I sure hope I made him smile once in a while, because I was so proud to know him too.

 

Goodnight, Treat

God's speed.

 

 

How Did We Get Here?

"Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break."

- William Shakespeare

It's winter. And for some reason winter seems to bring the blues, even if the sun is shining everyday. I have been a little blue lately, even as we have been experiencing the record setting warmth here in the Bay Area. Why? Good question. I am not sure why. I have some a couple ideas though. It could be that Inauguration Day can't come soon enough for me. I am still going to sleep every night grinding my teeth in anger at what Bush has done to America, and the insidious way he is trying to rewrite history. But that isn't the only thing on my mind, and this entry isn't about him.

Something happened here in the Bay Area a couple weeks ago, that I am not sure has gotten the nationwide attention it probably should have. I touched on it a few entries back. A young man named, Oscar Grant, was on his way home from San Francisco in the wee hours of January 1st, when a fight broke out between two groups of young men while riding BART. The fight was responded to by BART police, who broke up the fighting, then proceeded to arrest the men accordingly. The next events are somewhat mysterious and tragic. During the process of arrest, Oscar Grant was shot in the back, and killed, by a BART police officer, Johannes Mehserle.

There have been many, many amateur videos of the shooting playing on every news channel since the beginning of January. Taken, of course, from different perspectives around the BART station where the incident occurred. They show what happened from different angles, and different time frames. Oscar Grant was laying face down on the platform, with his hands behind his back, and another BART police officer bending down next to him. He was well restrained and not resisting arrest. But in one of the clearest videos, you could see clearly that Officer Mehserle pulled out his gun, pointed it at Oscar Grant, and pulled the trigger. Oscar Grant died a few hours later.

What happened? Why did Officer Mehserle pull the trigger? Did he snap? Did he make a mistake? Or was it a case of cold blooded murder? The videos don't tell you his side of the story. But make no mistake. There was one. We just have to get to it. The video is strong evidence against him. It was unthinkable. After I viewed it I immediately felt angry and sick that something like that had happened. I was just as outraged as everyone else in the Bay Area as the investigation seemed to drag along, with very few answers being offered. BART did not handle things well. Not well at all. And the family and friends have had to endure the pain of losing a son, boyfriend, friend, father, at the age of 22. What a way to begin 2009!

Mr. Mesherle was arrested a couple days ago in Zephyr Cove Nevada. The police knew where to find him, and there is no indication he tried to run. In fact, he went with the arresting officers peacefully. The evening news showed a clip the his extradition hearing, and I had expected to see a monster walk into the courtroom, based on what I had seen for myself through the videos on the news, but the young man who walked into that courtroom was anything but a monster. He was shackled, and visibly shaken. He stood tall, but had a child like innocence to him. He had a look on his face, which I believe was genuine. It seemed to say, how did I get here? What happened? I don't understand. Mr. Mesherle is just 27, making him just 5 years older then the man he shot.

No one understands the death of a 22 year old. No matter how it happens. No one understands the cowardly act of shooting a person in the back. No matter why. No one understands murder. Justice is very often misunderstood. How to give it and how to achieve it. Mr. Mesherle will be in an Oakland courtroom later today to face charges of murder. Time will tell to what degree of murder it will be. Some things are certain at this point. An unlawful killing took place at the hands of Mr. Mesherle. Two tragedies took place that night. Two families have lost a son in their 20's and every ones life is a little different right now. How this will play out is anybodies guess, because so far only one side of the story is apparent. I want to know more.

Why did he pull his weapon on an unarmed, restrained man? There is an answer to that question, but for the life of me I can't think of what it might be. In the meantime there is grief all around. Two peaceful protests regarding this case, have been turned upside down by rioting, resulting in multiple businesses being vandalized by splinter groups of the original peaceful protest planners. How damaging businesses that have nothing to do with the case completely escapes me. But there are opportunists everywhere I suppose. All I know is that the actions of those involved in the rioting amounts to an injustice, which is strange, because isn't that what the peaceful protest is pleading for? Justice? But I wonder, considering what's happened, can there be justice at this point?

Oscar Grant's life is over. Mr. Mesherle is facing years, maybe more like decades in prison if convicted. Can he get a fair trial under the circumstances? Are there 12 people out there right now who haven't seen the video for themselves? What happened? Why? My heart goes out to the family of Oscar Grant, and to the parents of Mr. Mesherle, who woke up this morning to a bomb threat. Why hurt his parents because of his actions? It is all so sad. No matter what, life will be forced to go on, and we may never know what happened, or why Oscar Grant had to die.

:( {{{WEEP}}}

ABC 7 Video Page (Several videos of different aspects of the case are available)

-Carly
"In Janaury"
San Francisco, California