Monday, September 28, 2026

Superstar 24/7/365

Please know that if you have problems in your life, they're my problems, too. That may sound like a cliche, or grandstanding, but it's not. I'm here to help shoulder any burden you have, in any way you need me to. I don't want you to ever feel alone in any situation in your life, because you once stood up for me in difficult times, and who better to understand anything you may be dealing with? I know the real You, and I want you to be your true self all the time. Nothing can hold you back. No problem is insurmountable because you are a superstar in the most powerful sense of that word.   

In 2010, in 2014, you stood up for me (and perhaps at other times I'm unaware of).

You once told me that you wanted to be part of my life. You knew you belonged with me (and that I belonged to you), and when I told you how weird my life was, you knew you could handle it. You told me so with confidence.

Now, you may have circumstances of your own, given your abilities and who you are, and perhaps also because you've known me.

I hope to talk to you, as soon as possible, to ask about things, and I'm not only a good listener...I understand you as no one else can.

Anyhow...just sayin'.

Please keep me in mind. You once did, and as you know, no one had a first meeting like ours.

So, yeah: I am not only your rock (currently in the spiritual/psychic sense) (meaning that I think about you all the time and send you love and want to be with you), but I am also your rock in anything you may be going through and can help in a practical way (if requested). 

You know there's no one like me, and you know you can trust me.

And I know there's no one like you.

I love you and I am by your side. Nothing can touch you if you believe these things.

You are your True Self. I am here to help you live that way permanently. 24/7/365. 

Huge love at all times. Looking forward to October. 💗💗

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

We Had A Blast at Disneyland

We went to Disneyland on Monday. My sister suggested it a couple months back because it was a trifecta of opportunity: 1) she had the day off. 2) it was a Tier Zero ticket day, the cheapest at $104, and 3) best of all, it was Halloweentime, which had started about a week earlier. 

I'm a little kid where Disneyland is concerned. I can't sleep the night before, so it turns into a marathon for me. I get there as early as I can and stay until after the rides close. This time, I tossed and turned from 11:30 Sunday night until about 5am on Monday morning. Then, I said "the heck with it" and got out of bed. I got ready, then backed out of my parking space at 5:55am. Still dark out. No traffic til the Santa Ana I-5 interchange (medium bad), then back up to speed until four exits from Disneyland Drive. Then it came (almost) to a dead stop and ended up costing us a half hour. I had hoped to make it in time for the Rope Drop, which I've never done (have you?), but even with all the last-minute traffic, we still managed to walk through the magic archway at 8:07am, seven minutes after the park opened and the earliest I've ever been there.

Main Street was already filling up.

Why do I say "we"? Because I had already decided that You were coming with me, and I had you in mind from the start.

That's right. You were in the passenger seat of my car (sorry about the traffic). I told you we were gonna have a blast and we did. You rode with me on every ride (in spirit, which was especially cool on The Haunted Mansion), and we stayed until almost midnight.

I hope you didn't mind the (almost) 16-hour day.

What's your favorite ride at Disneyland? I'm guessing the Mansion, which was of course decked out as The Nightmare Before Christmas for Halloweentime. But what's your favorite ride besides that?

I'm not sure I can pick one (many people would say "Pirates"), but my favorite Land is Fantasyland for sure. Always has been, ever since I was a kid, and I always make sure to hit every ride. The lines weren't too bad this time, all throughout the park (average wait: 20 minutes, longest wait: 45, some rides we just walked right into).

If people saw a guy in black clothes, flourescent green shoes and an orange cap walking around mumbling and thought he was weird, that's because they couldn't see you walking with me.

We did other stuff, too: watched the Disneyland Band for a while (playing jazz and John Philip Sousa); we saw a Halloween Parade led by Cruella DeVille and including Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland, and the Wicked Stepsisters from Cinderella.

We went on the Storybook Land Canal Boats, one of my very favorite rides (how about you?)

Only one coaster-ride this time: The Matterhorn. Thunder Mountain was closed and we didn't wanna wait an hour for Space Mountain. We went on Tiana's Bayou twice and got soaked both times (I ain't wearin' no plastic poncho!)

24 rides in all (a few twice). We hung out on Main Street until apprx 11:45, said "thanks" to Walt Disney in his apartment above the Fire Station, then took the tram back to the Mickey & Friends parking garage and temporarily got lost because we forgot we were in the Pixar Pals section. But there was no traffic on the way home. We got back in a hour.

Thanks for coming with me. I love you.  💗

Sunday, September 20, 2026

Happy Fall

I hope you had a good week. Yesterday marked five years since Pearl died, so its been an introspective time for me, but in a good way because I still feel her presence. I've been listening to a lot of the music I used to play for her in her later years, including Canterbury rock, of all things: groups like Caravan, Egg and Steve Hillage, all of which got her tapping her feet in the mornings as opposed to the classical stuff on KUSC (I love classical but it made Pearl sleepy). I've also been remembering the Halloweens I spent with her at her house, ten in all, and the first seven with Kobi, her dog (and my pal), who would dress up in his Pumpkin Poncho and spangled collar. Kobi in costume was a magnet for trick or treaters. Pearl and I had a blast handing out candy, and carving jack o' lanterns beforehand. We always had horror movies running all day long on TCM. My years as her caregiver were some of the best of my life, and it's amazing to know that you were part of those years. Imagine me seeing you in church, in 2016 perhaps, and having no idea that I knew you. Now, I wanna know all about what we did together, how many personal encounters we had -  everything!

I know I wasn't with you all the time, or even on a regular basis, but however many times we were together, they were meaningful and important enough that it has resulted in what I'm feeling now, and what I hope you're feeling. To me, the persistence of these feelings is astounding because they were buried in me - I wasn't aware I knew you - and yet they came to life all these years later. 

I'm a little concerned about stresses you may be dealing with (and if you aren't please disregard this), but I want you to hang in there because "We've got this", and I'll tell you right now - no one can stop us. No one can prevent us from being together, provided it's what you want. 

The bottom line is that we live not far apart, and I am going to be in church before the end of the year. I'll be there on Christmas Eve for sure, and if it's sooner, I will post it here to give you advance notice. Or, if you are planning to attend a service, just give me a hint when, and I'll be there. Then we'd actually be in the same room.

Let me know as much as you can, if you can, and if you want to.

I love you and am with you all the way. 💗

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Halloween Queen

I loved today's pictures! You look so perfect in that dress and (and gorgeous, too). No one does Halloween like you -  it's not even close, and the person in second place would be miles behind you.

Man...I would love to go with you to one of these events. There seems to be a lot of them now. In the old days, there were the theme park Halloween makeovers (Knotts, Universal, Disneyland) and a few Haunted Hayrides. There was also the legendary Factory of Nightmares, which for a few years was held right here in Northridge at Devonshire Downs. I went to the very first Factory in San Fernando in October 1975 where Alice Cooper appeared to promote his first solo album. But there were about ten thousand people ahead of us in line and he left before we got in.

Getting back to the recent past, consider that you and I have actually done a Halloween together. Mostly in a car (and also at two houses), but still, we must ask: was it amazing?

I say yes.

In fact, it was an All Time Halloween.

It would be off the charts to do another one, but this time in the classic sense, or maybe the supernatural.

Do you like ghostly things? Walks and such. Observations of shadowy places?

You and me could do the All Time Halloween Walk.

I'm already "in the season" too (I kind of always am), and I just finished reading Paul Tremblay's "Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep", then immediately began "Halloweenland" by Al Sarratonio, a writer who specializes in the holiday. I also started re-watching the original "Dark Shadows" series (1966 -1971). 

I like to look for Halloween in the ordinary places, too, like the crook of a tree or a chipped-up empty parking lot, when the light changes as Summer meets Fall. Halloween can be seen in the drapery of a stifling room... and of course in backlit spider webs, of which I am the photographic King. 

Is there any chance we could do another Halloween together?

(gigantic love and xoxoxoxo) 💓

Monday, September 14, 2026

Hope All Is Well

Just popping in to say I hope everything is okay. If not, let me know, and if you ever need me for any reason, I'm not far away. As I've said, I wish we could communicate more directly, but that would be up to you (and I understand if it's not possible at the moment). Having said that, I've assumed two things, which is why I write to you here at the blog in the first place:

Firstly, I've assumed you were the second writer on my birthday card. The chain of events involving that card is uncanny. As I think I mentioned, it took me until early June to notice the two types of handwriting, but after I noticed it - wow. Shortly thereafter, I had two dreams involving you, and at the time of those dreams, I only knew you as a church member. Within a week after that, I remembered January 17, 2010, and discovered that I'd not only met you, but that we knew each other... 

The second thing I've assumed is that you read this blog. I base that on intuition, and on recent evidence involving a response I asked for and received. I could be wrong about your readership, and if you don't read, that means you aren't aware of any of the things I've recently written, and what I know about you and me, which is now extensive.

But my intuition errs on the side that you do know (whether you read or not). You know how I feel about you, at the very least.

This Summer has been a life-changer for me - because of you, and because of the things I've remembered.

You have changed my life (no exaggeration). You and I have different abilities in the extra-ordinary sense, but we are very closely matched in many ways. I think we belong together, though again, all of this is new to me. You are much more attuned to the situation than I am.

But I am right here, I am at your service, and I'll stand by (unobtrusively) because I love you and hope you feel the same. Since you came back into my life, through our combined remarkable talents, I've been thinking about you constantly, hoping that you've been aware of my newfound knowledge. If you need me, let me know. I believe something wonderful could happen soon. xoxoxoxo

Friday, September 11, 2026

2014 (Part Two)

 Returning to our story of the CSUN Media Building Incident, which occurred at around 9pm on Saturday, August 30, 2014, we left off with my confusion at the sudden arrival of three specific people at that location, and David Friedman's apathetic admission that he'd lured me - not only to go on this walk, but into what seemed to be a trap at the building. See the last blog for details. After noticing the two men and one woman standing at evenly-spaced distances from me (apprx 30 to 40 feet per person), the next thing I remember is standing directly in front of the Media Building's front door, the same one I entered, every Thursday for nine years while school was in session, to attend the CSUN Cinematheque. The theater is just beyond that glass front door.

On this occasion, I was standing there with Friedman and his daughter. I have a vivid recollection of saying "I feel dizzy", and his daughter saying, "Dad, I don't like this. I want to leave."

My dizziness was the result of being triangulated (i.e "scanned") by the bad guys who surrounded me. See previous blogs for details about the electronic devices used in hypnotic "scanning" (and keep in mind that not all hypnotic states are deep and zombie-like. In a light hypnotic state, you are fully alert, though malleable). Friedman, a sociopath if there ever was one, had lured me into a trap - with his 12 year old daughter present - in which I was surrounded in the midst of what I thought was an ordinary CSUN walk. Two of the three people who surrounded me were a brother and sister (very close friends of Friedman's).

The third person who surrounded me (from behind, see last blog) was John "Shecky" Mallis, the drummer from my band Disturbing the Peace. I knew Shecky from 1983 until 1996, when he supposedly moved back to his hometown of Chicago. But here he was in Northridge, at CSUN, in 2014. What was going on?

I knew since the 1980s that Shecky was a drug dealer who grew pot in large quantities. He had the balls to raise an entire backyard of high-grade, strongly scented marijuana plants that could be smelled from the street. When our band was using his garage to rehearse, I asked him about this because being in that proximity made me nervous. He told me there was nothing to worry about, that he'd paid a "fee" (which I believe was 10k?) to become what he called "a gardener". 

At the door of the Media Building, I again stated feeling dizzy. This was likely due to vertigo, a by-product of the scanning. I watched the male of the brother/sister team produce a key, with which he attempted to unlock the glass front door. As this happened, Friedman's daughter repeated her unease. "Dad, he says he's dizzy. I don't want to be here. I'm going back to the car."

The female of the brother/sister team apparently didn't want to stick around either. She said something about "why did I agree to do this?" (or "I only agreed to do this because...") and then offered to walk Friedman's daughter back to their car, which would also give her an excuse to leave. Friedman sloughed her off with a disgruntled "go, then!", and the two females departed.

At the door, the woman's brother was fumbling with his key, trying to put it in the lock. Even in my dizzy state, it occurred to me that this guy should have no reason to have a key to a CSUN building. Yet he did, or seemed to. I still don't recall if his key worked, or if he had to call someone inside the building to let us in, but either way, we were soon inside.

I didn't see the Key Man after that. He must've high-tailed it. John "Shecky" Mallis was no longer present, either, having left the scene after I was triangulated when the incident began. That left Friedman and me in the lobby of the building, where the Armer Theater is located. Friedman was ultra-nervous. "Wait here," he told me. I was now relatively docile from being scanned, therefore I followed his instructions. Still, I wasn't a pushover. "Why are we here?" I asked him.

"Because someone wants to see you," he replied.

Friedman walked away, entered the Armer Theater, then emerged a minute later with two brothers in tow. Both are close friends not only with Friedman, but also with a relative of mine. The older of the two brothers is a screenwriter who, at the time, had just signed a contract with director Paul Verhoeven. The writer and his younger brother were attending a mini-celebration in his honor; They and a few other people were having a small party in the theater. I think they were screening a film.

The brothers saw me and vice-versa. I acknowledged them and again asked, "What's going on?" adding, "Friedman says someone wants to see me. Is it you guys?" The writer said, "No, it's not us." I said, "Well, who is it, then?" He said, "Here, follow me. You'll find out who it is in a minute."

Friedman decided that the situation was getting too hot for him. "I'm gonna go. My daughter is waiting at my car." With that, he was gone. I followed the two brothers around the corner from the lobby and into a short hallway that had classrooms and offices on either side. The three of us entered an office.

"I'll ask again," I said. "Who are we waiting for?" I'd been on a walk with Friedman. I had no idea we were coming here. The writer said, "Yeah...um...sorry about all of this. It wasn't my idea."

"So who are we waiting for? I'll wait about two more minutes and then I'm leaving."

"I'd advise you to wait," he replied.

"What is it, a surprise?"

"No, but someone wants to talk to you. Wait here and I'll see if he's coming."

I stood there with the writer's younger brother, mumbling variations of "what the hell...?"

About five minutes after he left, the writer returned, followed by a tall man with dark hair, dressed in casual business mode. He wore glasses. You might say he looked like a college professor.

And in fact, he was. 

Folks, to my utter stupefaction, I was looking at my kidnapper, the guy who abducted and tortured me in his house on September 2, 1989. I won't mention his name this time around. Instead, we are calling him The Greaseball. As we know, he is Dean of the CSUN Cinema Department. And, he is also a friend of the sceenwriter, who - on a side note - was inside his house while I was being held there (in Sept. 1989) - and therefore knew I was his captive. He was in cahoots with The Greaseball. This screenwriter is a profoundly bad guy. He got very nervous when he saw my reaction to The Greaseball in the office. "Is it okay if I go back to the theater?" 

"I'd rather you wait in the hall, in case I need you. You, too," said The Greaseball to the brother. "I'm just gonna talk to Adam for a minute, but..." - and he shrugged, as if to say "you never know."

Here is what I remember. After the two brothers left the room, I was incredulous. "Sit down," said The Greaseball. I did so, in a chair at the front of a desk, which he now sat behind. I was livid. In my normal state, I would've gotten up and left. I was scared of this guy, from a retrospective standpoint, but I was also unafraid. It's hard to describe what a light hypnosis feels like. You feel very "in the moment". You deal with what's right in front you and you take the situation "literally", as if you can't back out of it (which you would if you weren't hypnotised).

He tried some "light-hearted humor", something like "so, we meet again" or "Happy Labor Day. What is it now, about 25 years later?" In fact, it was. Monday September 1st (two days after this) would be Labor Day 2014. The day after that would be the 25th "anniversary" of when he abducted me.

I remember saying something like "why aren't you in prison?" or "You should be in prison".

"Now, now, Adam. Let's not start off on the wrong foot. I'm being cordial with you; you can be cordial to me." This is all paraphrased, but close. I couldn't believe I was sitting across a desk from this s.o.b. "What do you f-ing want, and why should I talk to you?" He tried one more attempt at humor. "What? Are you still mad? Here, wait a sec...I've got a baseball bat around here somewhere. Let me find it, you can hit me with it if you want."

I grimaced. "Tell me what you want or I'm leaving."

Now, he turned serious. "I, um, may be in some trouble because of you. I have a potential problem here at the University." He explained that my blogs, which were then on MySpace and which he was aware of, could be found in a Google search. "Okay. I know that," I told him. I didn't say, but suspected he knew, that a majority of those blogs were about The 1989 Event, and a lot of them were specifically about him and what he did to me. "My students can find those blogs, just by Googling my name", he said.

I wanted to say, "serves you right!" Perhaps I did.

"Some of them have read what you wrote. It got back to the University President, and I'm facing a suspension. I could lose my tenure because of you." I felt like saying, "You're lucky you aren't in prison!" I know I said, "You kidnapped and tortured me." In other words: tough shit. "It's not my problem if the University fires you." He insinuated that it was my problem. "Don't threaten me," I said. 

"Okay, okay, Adam. Let's be cordial again. Can we do that?"

"What is it that you want? Why was I brought here tonight?"

"Because of those blogs. After I was told about them, I tried finding them on MySpace. But I couldn't, and I..."

"The blogs are gone now," I interrupted. "MySpace changed their site. It's music-oriented now. They don't have blogs anymore. They took all the old ones down." In fact, this had happened very recently. I initially converted to Blogger (this website) for that reason.

"Well," he said, growing angry, "Someone must've archived them, because several of my students have found them. Tell me where they are! What's the url? I have to know what you wrote about me!"

"I have no idea how your students found them," I said.

"Did you save them? In a zip file or anything like that?" I told him the truth. You tend to be literal under hypnosis.

"In fact, I did. I have every blog I ever wrote on a thumb drive."

"Ahh...now we're getting somewhere. Can I see that thumb drive?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. Look, Adam, I need you to bring me that thumb drive so I can see what you wrote."

"No effing way."

"Cordial, remember? I'll tell you what - we can make a deal. I've got connections in Hollywood. You bring me the thumb drive, let me keep it for a few days. I'll read all the blogs then return it to you, and we can write a script together. Make some money out of this whole thing."

That is paraphrased, but he actually made such a proposal.

"Go eff yourself!" I told him. "I wouldn't give you that thumb drive in a million years!"

His face flashed from disappointment (he actually thought he'd convinced me) to determination:

"Okay, Adam. I'll tell you what. I'll give you three days to think about it. After that, I'm done being cordial. Three days, got it? School will be in session. The semester starts Tuesday. You can bring me the thumb drive right here in my office."

"No chance. I don't need three days. I'm telling you right now I'm not giving you that thumb drive."

"Three days", he repeated. "I'm advising you to bring it to me."

"I'm leaving," I said, and got up to show myself out.

He followed me into the hallway, where the screenwriter and his brother were still waiting. They asked to talk to me, so I walked with them back to the lobby, where three other men were now milling. From their looks, they ranged in age from mid-50s (like me), to a decade older (like The Greaseball). All were casually dressed. One wore a Porkpie hat. They apparently had been part of the screenwriter's contract celebration in the theater. As I waited for him to tell me whatever he wanted to tell me, The Greaseball asked for a picture to be taken of him with his BoHo friends. The four of them stood side by side. The picture was taken by the screenwriter's brother.

Folks, I found this photo online. It may still be available. If you know The Greaseball's name, use it as a search term along with "Armer Theater" and "CSUN Cinema Department". Try different combinations, and if that doesn't work, get creative. And remember the one guy's Porkpie hat. I was standing there when that picture was taken.

The screenwriter never did tell me whatever he claimed to want to tell me. Along with being a profoundly bad guy (which is a whole 'nuther story), he is a distracted sort. You could say he has smog for brains. I was so pissed off at this point (hypnosis or no hypnosis) that I just wanted out of there. I don't know if I attempted to leave by the main front doors (where we entered when this incident began), but I know for certain that I did exit by a door at the south end of the hall where The Greaseball's office was located.

He followed me, angry again after the photo was taken of him and his collegiate buddies.

"You'd better bring me that thumb drive!" he called as I neared the door. I don't know if I answered or kept walking. His friend with the hat was in the hallway now, and wondered what was going on. He said something like "why are you hassling that dude?"

The next paraphrase is how he got his nickname. The Hat Guy said something like, "I don't want to know what' going on with you, Jerry, but I'm thinking I should keep my distance. Aren't you getting too old for this shit? Look at you, man - you're melting. What are they gonna do, keep recharging your batteries till you turn into a puddle of grease?"

That is why I call him The Greaseball. For the record, he is not Italian.

I left the Media Building by the middle set of glass doors at the building's south end. I was beyond upset by this point. Jerry the Greaseball continued to threaten me about the thumb drive until the doors closed, upon which I found myself facing  a guy we'll call "D". In years past, I'd have named him, but I am warier now, or maybe just exhausted, having gotten no results or acknowledgement from 33 years of talking about this stuff. So, let's call him "D". That's his first initial. I've known him since 1971, when he lived across the street and we went to the same Junior High. Until February 1982, I thought he was my friend. Then he orchestrated the Zilch burglary, which set the stage for all that followed. Read previous blogs about that crime, if interested.

This guy has been a drug dealer since at least 1983. Now, here he was, at the rear of the CSUN Media Building, waiting for me when I came out. The fact that he was there, for this incident, shows his connection to Jerry the Greaseball. Jerry is not someone that any normal person would have anything to do with.

But "D" was there, right when I left the building, and he, too, berated me. I don't recall exactly why, but I'm sure it had something to do with the following things:

1989. "D"'s association with Jerry, and with the screenwriter (and drugs and pornography).

These are some evil people, folks. "You have no idea".  Thank you, Jeremy Irons.

Evil. Not just "bad guys" (though they are that at a basic level).

John "Shecky" Mallis was back, standing to the left side of the exit. He must've waited outside while the incident occurred in the building. Sheck saw how agitated "D" was, and how I was not taking any of his shit, and he tried to de-escalate the situation. "C'mon, D...chill out." Except he used "D's" full name.

I walked past both of them now, down the cement path leading south to the Drama Building.

"Where's Friedman?" I said to myself and to no one. "He brought me here, didn't he?"

I then saw a figure on the lawn about twenty yards down. "Where's Friedman?!" I repeated.

"Hey, Adam. It's me, Pat."

I approached and saw that it was indeed Pat Forducci, who had not been present until now. I don't know exactly why he was there. Maybe to monitor the other guys. "C'mon, I'll walk you home", he said. He mentioned something about vertigo, and that "D" was an a-hole. He said I probably wouldn't remember anything about this night, and he was correct. I didn't remember it until Fall 2025 - 11 years later.

Pat was caught up in the same cult, and its secrets, that entrapped and compromised David Friedman, which led "Freedy" to use me as a chess piece. Some friend, eh?

Pat was severely compromised, also. Caught up in a bad and secret lifestyle. Both Friedman and Pat died before their time.

This incident was followed by another serious criminal event two days later.

See the next blog for details.

 

   

Monday, September 7, 2026

2014 (Part One)

I don't currently have another memory to report (nothing new has come up), but I do have some investigative context for what we've already compiled. I'm interested in what we'll call the Halloween Event from 2014 because it is the first time I can recall being with you in a non-church setting, other than our introduction at Pearl's house in January 2010. To me, this indicates that our encounters happened in two phases:

The first, from January 2010 through (I'm guessing) 2011/2012 included our introduction (which happened before I became Pearl's caregiver) and the parking lot/classroom incidents at the church which I've recently written about.

The second phase seems to begin in October 2014, with the Halloween Event, then our secret meeting in the Fireside Room on December 28th of that year, assisted by your friend (who was also with us on Halloween). These late-2014 events carry over into what feels like a lot of activity in 2015. My most prominent memory from that year is the Good Friday Event on April 3, but I have others that potentially occurred (or originated at) your house, like the trip to Dollar Tree, and some vague glimpses of other meetings at Pearl's house. All of this happened in 2015.

I have another picture of us riding in your Mom's car. It might've been on the same trip to Dollar Tree. I clearly recall you saying that it would be the last time we would see each other for a while because you were going (to Hawaii?) to be a summer camp counselor.

So, those seem to be the two phases of our personal encounters, get-togethers, meetings, etc:

January 2010 thru perhaps 2011/2012 (a guess on my part), and then 2014/2015 (for certain).

Question: why was there a break of two years or longer? And why did things resume when they did? What led you guys to come to Pearl's house on Halloween Night 2014, the first incident I remember from the second phase?

Now, I'll add the context I mentioned. This comes strictly from my end of things. As you know, I've had an unusual life, that - in places - has unfortunately included a lot of unwanted and unwarranted interaction with criminals. Put simply, I've been a victim of violence, some of it extreme. Many if not most of the people I knew were bad guys, though I wasn't aware of this when we were younger. I thought they were my friends.

You may or may not know about The 1989 Event. It included, as a participant, my next-door neighbor at the time - a CSUN Professor of Cinema - who was, and will always be, one of the worst people in the entire world (no exaggeration). As everyone knows, he abducted me from my house on the night of September 2, 1989. That story has been told a million times (one day it will hopefully be acknowledged). He got away with what he did, which would've put most people in prison for decades if not life. He wasn't even fired from CSUN, even though the University was absolutely aware of his actions. Instead, he gradually got promoted, and is now Dean of the Cinema Dept. Imagine that.

This lowlife (we'll call him The Greaseball) is now 76 years old. He's been teaching at CSUN since 1988; 38 years, which must make him one of the longest-tenured professors at the University.

Which brings us back to 2014. On Saturday August 30 of that year, after my dinner shift at Pearl's, I drove back to my apartment and walked up to the Northridge Little League baseball field (on Devonshire Street west of Reseda Bl.), where a Beatles tribute band was playing. They're called "Ticket to Ride". I've seen 'em a bunch of times, they're great. When their set ended at around 8pm or slightly later, I headed back to my apartment. But on my way down Reseda Boulevard, I got a call from the late David Friedman. He said he was in Northridge, with his daughter. "Wanna go for a CSUN walk with us?" I was planning to go home, having already gotten most of my daily miles on the walk to and from the concert. Also, Friedman could be a major-league complainer, always bitching about his job or domestic situation in Woe Is Me mode. Thus, I didn't look forward to hanging out with him. But he had his tween-age daughter with him, a good kid who provided a buffer for his kvetching. I agreed to meet them at the corner of Reseda and Superior Street, from where we strolled the short distance to the CSUN campus. By now, the time was around 8:30. We walked south on Etiwanda, past Plummer, but instead of going diagonally through the Business complex (as we usually did), we maintained course on Etiwanda, heading toward the south border of CSUN on Nordhoff Street. The subject had somehow turned to movies. I must've been telling them about the school's fabulous Cinematheque series, which I attended regularly from 2009 onwards.

Friedman asked me what building it was in. "The Media Building," I answered. It's also known as Manzanita Hall. The architechture is distinctive. He asked me to walk them past it. We turned east, on a walkway that lines up laterally with Dearborn Street.

About 50 yards from the building, Friedman stopped and began fiddling with his phone. I probably kept talking about movies with his daughter. Perhaps 30 seconds later, still waiting for Friedman, I noticed a figure walking south on the path next to Sierra Hall, which ends at the front door of the Media Building. The figure appeared to be a woman. As she approached, I thought I recognized her.

Almost simultaneously, I was alerted by a noise behind me. I turned around to see a man standing about thirty feet away. He had something in his hand about the size of a phone or a tv remote. I recognized him for certain, and something was wrong because he shouldn't have been there. He'd moved to Chicago in 1996, eighteen years earlier. "Shecky?", I said, mildly incredulous. He didn't respond. Friedman looked up from his phone. The woman had now closed the distance to where I could see who she was; a close friend of David Friedman's.

Then another figure caught my eye to the north, on the steps above Sierra Hall South. It was the brother of the woman who was now standing by the door of the Media Building. I was getting a funny feeling.

"What's going on?" I asked Friedman.

"I tricked you," he said. "Sorry."

(to be continued soon)

I love you and trust you can feel it. 💗