There is nothing funny about the O.J. Simpson saga.
The native San Franciscan turned Professional Football star, who murdered his ex-wife and her boyfriend on June 17, 1994.
The tawdry violent saga riveted the world. I felt O.J. was Guilty of murder when I read the first hard news story in The San Francisco Chronicle.
Thereafter I paid scant attention to the arrest and subsequent Trial in which O.J.’s “Dream Team” secured an innocent verdict on October 3, 1995. A verdict which shocked the World with it’s most memorable line by O.J.’s attorney Johnny Cochran, “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.”
“If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.”
Which is exactly what the star struck Jury did.
Now we fast forward 27 years to New York Magazine which draws some apt comparisons between O.J. and Donald Trump
Excerpted from New York Magazine – Margaret Hartman – 8.13.2022
This is what it was like to live through the O.J. Simpson story.
Americans talked about little else from June 17, 1994, when O.J.’s Bronco chase riveted us to our grainy 4:3 television sets, to October 3, 1995, when the nation was so stunned by Simpson’s acquittal that not a single Domino’s pizza was ordered for five minutes.
There are actually a lot of similarities between the Trump-raid story and the Simpson “Trial of the Century.” If you’re looking for a hit of nostalgia, this is your big chance to obsessively follow and mock a serious crime story, then feel weird about it decades later. There’s really nothing more ’90s than that.
Attorney Alan Dershowitz was part of Simpson’s “Dream Team,” and he defended Trump in his first impeachment trial. Simpson was known as a Heisman Trophy winner and record-setting pro-football player prior to the murders. The FBI was reportedly looking for documents on nuclear weapons in Trump’s home, and … the bag containing the codes to launch a nuclear strike is known as a football?
Okay, I’ll admit those are all just red herrings. But the overlapping terms do give the two sagas similar vibes, and I hear we’re now all about vibes
Are you so sick of hearing about Trump that you’re having a hard time forcing yourself to care about this absolutely wild moment in American history? Is everyone you know divided into two camps: one that believes a certain celebrity is getting away with brazen crimes and another that thinks he’s being unfairly persecuted?
It is impossible to truly replicate the Simpson trial’s media dominance since we had only a limited number of live-TV-viewing options rather than an endless supply of fresh streaming content. Although I was only in elementary school at the time, I consumed an appalling amount of information about the double-murder trial; I even had an O.J. Simpson Pog slammer.
We can all draw our own conclusions about the two stars’ relationship with the truth. But regardless of whether we believe them, both men insist they’ve been unjustly targeted by law enforcement — and at times they’ve backed each other up on this point.
Simpson and Trump were once close enough friends that the football star attended the mogul’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples. This was about six months before Simpson was charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 but found liable for their deaths in a 1997 civil suit.
F. Lee Bailey, O.J. and Johnny Cochran react as the Innocent Verdict is announced in a Los Angeles courtroom – October 3, 1995
Similarly, just this week, Simpson urged people not to jump to conclusions about his former pal. In this Mar-a-Lago-raid commentary nobody asked for, he recalled that the FBI raided his Florida home, too, saying, “My point is the FBI can be wrong, even though it’s hard to believe that Merrick Garland and some federal judge signed off on this.”
August 5, 2021 was 10 months before the Coup d’etat which ousted Progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Lee’s Perspective with a nod to Tim Redmond, publisher of 48 Hills, sounded The Warning. Mayor Breed was the moving force behind the Recall effort. A warning shot about the culpability of Mayor London Breed in the Recall campaign. A warning which was ignored with dire results for Progressives in particular and San Francisco in general.
It is a shameful and sad time for San Francisco, a so called “Progressive” bastion in America, when duplicitous members in the Democratic party are lining up to support the attempted ouster of District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
Mayor London Breed is a behind-the-scenes advocate in the attempted Recall of democratically elected “progressive” District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Mayor Breed, a political moderate herself and soulmate of the traditional Democratic party establishment, is tacitly by her silence supporting the Recall attempt.
The attempted Recall, circulating by a group of “moderate Democrats”, is being led by Mary Jung, former head of the local Democratic County Central Committee. Ms. Jung has plenty of well connected fellow enablers.
One person leading the campaign is Andrea Shorter who actively worked on Ms. Breed’s candidacy for Mayor in 2018.
Nancy Tung is a Recall supporter. She ran for DA against Chesa Boudin…
There’s a tried and true axiom in politics. “Follow the money.”
Puppet DA Brooke Jenkins assertion that she was simply a “Volunteer” in the Coup d’etat against her former boss, DA Chesa Boudin is a flat out lie.
The disclosure of Jenkins being paid over $100,000 to promote the Recall of her former boss ads fuel to the fire surrounding the chief law enforcement officer in San Francisco.
Queen of the Puppet DAs – Artwork by Liz Heidhues
When Jenkins was a City employee she lived in Union City. After she quit her job and became a “Volunteer” Jenkins moved into a $6,000 a month Condo in San Francisco.
If this assertion is true the question is “How could a “Volunteer” afford such a pricey rent?”
This is just another of the questions swirling around Brooke Jenkins. Her record of prosecutorial misconduct as an Assistant District Attorney is a matter of public record.
The San Francisco Chronicle took a dive into the available public records. Jenkins quit her job as an Assistant District Attorney last October. Shortly thereafter Jenkins went to work on the campaign to oust Chesa Boudin.
Her salary as a City employee was approximately $170,000 yearly.
According to the public records Jenkins was paid approximately $115,000 between October 2021 and June 2022. That comes out to approximately $15,000 monthly. The same amount she made as an Assistant District Attorney.
None of this was reported in the months before the June 7 Recall vote.
Was “Volunteer” Jenkins promised financial compensation in return for working on the Recall before she quit her job with DA Chesa Boudin?
“Volunteer” Brooke Jenkins. Lead spokesperson in The Recall
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 8.12.2022
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is under scrutiny after disclosing she was paid more than $100,000 by a nonprofit organization linked to the recall campaign of her predecessor and former boss, Chesa Boudin — a campaign for which she was the most prominent spokesperson.
Her critics say this characterization, and her prior failure to disclose the payment, amounts to a misrepresentation of her role in the recall.
This information was listed in a routine public document known as a Form 700 that Jenkins filed after her appointment by Mayor London Breed. That appointment, and Jenkins’ pledge to increase punishments for criminal defendants, has pleased many recall backers while infuriating many progressives who favored Boudin’s push to decrease reliance on incarceration.
Prominent city employees, including most elected officials, are required to file Form 700s, also known as Statements of Economic Interest, with the San Francisco Ethics Commission. The form contains multiple “schedules,” or sections, that cover the official’s personal investments (like stocks), investments or income from their businesses or trusts, real estate holdings, personal income and loans, gifts and travel payments and reimbursements.
Mercenary signature gatherer. The Recall campaign spent $1.4MM to qualify for the Ballot
The organization that attracted the most controversy for Jenkins was the third nonprofit, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, from which she reported more than $100,000 in income.
Neighbors for a Better San Francisco is a 501c-3 organization advocating for good governance and improved public safety. It’s related to but distinct from the similarly named Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy, a political action committee that spent millions on the Boudin recall effort. Jenkins was a key part of this effort, regularly appearing in advertisements and messaging campaigns and media statements.
The two groups were formed on the same day, share the same address in San Rafael, and are supported by the right-of-center San Francisco billionaire William Oberndorf, who is on the board of each group.
He was registered as a Republican as recently as 2017 but has since registered without party party preference. Voter records from 2019 show he was registered with the the American Independent Party, a far-right political group that many people mistakenly select when trying to register as political independents.
(The American Independent Party was formed in California in 1968 by supporters of Racist Reactionary Alabama Governor George Wallace in support of his presidential campaign).
Representatives for Oberndorf initially declined to comment or did not respond to calls for this story, but his assistant, Kathy Daly, contacted The Chronicle after this story was first published and provided a record showing he is registered without party preference. She said he was never registered with the American Independent Party.
After maintaining a diplomatic silence for two months following the political coup d’etat which ousted him from office as San Francisco’s Progressive District Attorney, Chesa Boudin has had enough.
News that former staff member Jenkins quit, spent eight months attacking him and was named Puppet DA by Mayor London Breed earned over $100,000, despite calling herself a “Volunteer”, compelled Chesa Boudin to speak out.
News of Jenkins well paid “Volunteer” chores on behalf of the Recall comes at the same time The San Francisco Chronicle has a piece on the Reactionary MAGA money behind the Recall. Too bad The Chron didn’t publish four months ago what…
Everyone fighting the vicious Recall knew to be Fact. (see attached link).
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins doesn’t appear to have broken any laws by netting more than $100,000 from a nonprofit closely tied to the recall effort against her former boss Chesa Boudin.
Boudin issued a terse Twitter comment that went as far as to accuse Jenkins of “lying” in a social media post, saying “integrity is central to the job ofDistrict Attorney.”
“If jurors can’t trust your word, they won’t convict,” Boudin wrote. “The relationships with judges and defense counsel and victims are all built on integrity. Lying to get ahead destroys the trust we need to make SF safer.”
But her previously undisclosed six-figure salary, accrued while the recall campaign touted Jenkins as an unpaid volunteer, could raise issues of public perception for the district attorney as her political viability is put to the test in November when Jenkins will run for election for the first time.
As The Standard first reported Tuesday, Jenkins made upward of $100,000 as a consultant for the nonprofit Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, an organization that appears to be the nonpartisan counterpart of another nonprofit that was largely behind the Boudin recall.
The revelation, which the top prosecutor disclosed this week on a statement of economic interests after Mayor London Breed appointed her to office July 8, has prompted allegations that Jenkins misrepresented herself as a volunteer for the recall.
The Real District Attorney Chesa Boudin in San Francisco Superior Court
Matt Gonzalez, a top attorney with the Public Defender’s Office and leading figure in the local progressive faction, said the situation looks “terrible” for Jenkins from a political perspective because of the “exorbitant” amount of money she earned and the fact that her pay was only now disclosed.
Chief Trial Attorney Matt Gonzalez at City Hall Memorial service for the late Public Defender Jeff Adachi – 2019
“She’s basically trying to say, ‘I’m a Good Samaritan volunteer over here, out of the goodness of my heart trying to alert you to problems with the Boudin administration,’” Gonzalez said. “But then you learn that she’s being paid for it. … That gives me a lot of concern.”
Gonzalez said Jenkins could face a tough race in the coming months if a progressive-backed candidate jumps into the race. Boudin has bowed out of running against Jenkins in the coming election. Friday is the deadline for any other contenders to formally enter the contest.
“She’s never held elective office, she’s never run a campaign and she had never been under personal scrutiny,” Gonzalez said. “She’s been in office a very short amount of time and has attracted probably more negative press than Boudin did in the same amount of time.”
It’s bad enough that Puppet DA stabbed The Real District Attorney Chesa Boudin in the back politically.
The Real DA Chesa Boudin being sworn into office by Mayor London Breed as his partner Dr. Valerie Block looks on – January 8, 2020
It now turns out, that after calling herself a “Volunteer” in the vicious lie filled 7.2MM Recall of Chesa Boudin, The Puppet DA pocketed some of that MAGA money.
Brooke Jenkins described herself as a “volunteer” for eight months, destroyed her former boss and was selected as the Mayor’s enforcer, then forced by San Francisco law to disclose the fact she was paid $115,000 for her treachery.
The Puppet DA needs to resign immediately to save whatever credibility she may have. And, trust me, The Puppet DA has none.
Excerpted from San Francisco Standard 8.9.2022
Brooke Jenkins didn’t just quit her job as a local prosecutor to volunteer for the recall against her former boss Chesa Boudin.
Newly filed ethics records show she also raked in more than $100,000 as a consultant for Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, a nonprofit that shares an address and virtually the same name as the organization behind the district attorney’s recall but is legally a separate entity. A board member for both groups was also one of the biggest funders supporting the recall.
Though legally separate, the nonprofits are both registered at the same address belonging to a law firm in San Rafael, according to IRS records.
The Neighbors advocacy nonprofit is listed as the sponsor for the big spending political action committee by the same name that raised some $4.8 million of the $7.1 million contributed to oust Boudin from office.
The committee, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy PAC, is known for supporting moderates and bankrolling campaigns opposing candidates from the progressive faction of city politics.
Records show the PAC received hundreds of thousands in the months leading up to the Boudin recall from wealthy donors including billionaire investor William Oberndorf as well as Shorenstein Realty and Kilroy Realty. (Disclosure: Michael Moritz, venture capitalist and initial investor in the The Standard, also contributed to the committee in September 2020, nearly two years before the Boudin recall.)
Oberndorf also served as a board member for both of the Neighbors nonprofits.
On its website, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco describes itself as a “civic-minded group of San Franciscans committed to improving public safety, public education, and quality of life for our city.”
Representatives for the Neighbors nonprofits and PAC did not return requests for comment via phone and email.
Mercenary Signature gatherer at San Francisco Andronico’s in The Outer Richmond District – June 2021
The organization appears to be the nonpartisan counterpart of the group behind the recall, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy, which as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit can legally get involved in political campaigns and causes.
Attempts to reach representatives for both Neighbors for a Better San Francisco and Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy—the latter of which supported the recall—to clarify their relationship to one another and connections to the campaign to oust Boudin were not successful.
Jenkins earned the six-figure salary in the roughly six months before Mayor London Breed appointed her district attorney on July 8, according to a spokesperson for the DA and a form she filed this week reporting her economic interests. During that period, Jenkins was volunteering as a spokesperson on the recall campaign.
This marks the first time Jenkins publicly disclosed the earnings from Neighbors for a Better San Francisco.
The revelation comes a day after Jenkins officially declared her candidacy in the November election to complete the term Boudin did not finish. While other candidates are in the running, Boudin has decided not to challenge her.
Jenkins came into the public spotlight last fall after resigning from office to become a spokesperson for the recall, slamming Boudin in the press and accusing him of prioritizing criminal justice reform over public safety.
Team Chesa will always stand by its Man
Her appointment last month came as a surprise since Jenkins was a political newcomer compared to other potential Boudin replacements. She has since positioned herself as a crime fighter who will tackle drug dealing as her main issue.
Neighbors for a Better San Francisco is among several nonprofits Jenkins disclosed working for in the 12 months preceding her appointment. She also reported earning between $10,000 and $100,000 from the nonprofit GlobalSF and also from Sister’s Circle Women Support Network.
While the exact dollar amounts are unclear because the form only asked for a range, a spokesperson for Jenkins said she took home about $115,000 from all the nonprofits after taxes between December 2021 and this July.
Disgraced ex-President Donald Trump’s abortive Coup d’etat on January 6, 2021 was one of the most radical actions in American history.
A day which will live in Infamy – January 6, 2021
The wheels of Justice grind slowly and exceedingly fine. Trump’s criminal violation of the American Constitution in trying to overturn the will of the American voters deserves the harshest Judicial scrutiny.
This Fascist (and that is what he is) needs to be dragged into Federal Court and made to answer for his crimes. He is a Clear and Present Danger.
Deutsche Welle 8.8.2022
Former US President Donald Trump said on Monday the FBI conducted a surprise raid at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Monday’s raid comes after the US National Archives and Records Administration in February notified Congress that it had reclaimed around 15 boxes of White House documents from Mar-a-Lago, some of which contained classified materials.
Donald Trump’s America
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump also said that FBI agents had forced open a safe as part of the raid.
In recent months, Trump has been giving strong hints over another bid for president. Meanwhile, the US Justice Department has been investigating allegations that classified records were taken to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency.
Radical Trump inspired insurrectionists storm the US Capitol – January 6, 2021
A federal law called the US Presidential Records Act requires the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties.
Trump crashing on the shoals of January 6, 2021
And Monday’s raid appeared to concern boxes of documents that Trump brought with him from the White House to his luxury Florida home, the New York Times reported, citing two unnamed people familiar with the probe.
And separately, investigations in the January 6 siege of the US Capitol have been intensifying.
The FBI did not respond to requests for information, and it was unclear whether the reported raid was connected to either investigation.
Disgusting is the fact that many of American basketball star Brittney Griner’s fellow citizens, egged on by American fascist Donald Trump, are proclaiming on social media she deserves her nine year Russian prison punishment. For what? Carrying a negligible amount of marijuana oil. I read it on Social Media and I am ashamed to call myself an American.
Brittney Griner shackled and marched into a Kangaroo Russian Court for her sentencing.
The American basketball star, 31, detained in Moscow since two days before Vladimir Putin’s criminal invasion of The Ukraine has become a cynical pawn in international politics.
After a sham Russian court sentenced Ms. Griner, she is looking at 9 years hard time In a Russian Gulag.
Unless America and Russia, can cut a deal to secure her release.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 8.4.2022
A Russian court sentenced American basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for drug charges on Thursday.
Judge Anna Sotnikova found that Griner had committed the crime “deliberately,” and the sentence is close to the 10-year maximum penalty.
The 31-year-old athlete was found guilty of drug possession and smuggling vape cartridges with cannabis oil into the country.
Griner pleaded guilty in July to carrying the cartridges but said she had no intention of breaking the law.
Brittney Griner from International basketball star to Criminal Putin hostage.
“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” the three-time WNBA league champion and seven-time All-Star said before sentencing on Thursday.
“I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home,” she added, her voice cracking.
Griner was also fined 1 million rubles ($16,000, €15,650).
Kansas, home of The Wizard of Oz. The voters have spoken loud and clear to uphold a woman’s right to control her body.
This is a good omen for the Choice movement which is shaken, stunned, angered and spurred to action by the Reactionary US Supreme Court ruling destroying the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The Kansas vote sends a clear message to the Reactionaries. Their patriarchal take down of a basic woman’s right was a call to battle.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Kansas voters resoundingly decided against removing the right to abortion from the State Constitution, according to The Associated Press, a major victory for the abortion rights movement in one of America’s reliably conservative states.
The defeat of the ballot referendum was the most tangible demonstration yet of a political backlash against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that had protected abortion rights throughout the country.
The decisive margin came as a surprise, and after frenzied campaigns with both sides pouring millions into advertising and knocking on doors throughout a sweltering final campaign stretch.
“The voters in Kansas have spoken loud and clear: We will not tolerate extreme bans on abortion,” said Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, which led the effort to defeat the amendment.told supporters that a willingness to work across partisan lines and ideological differences helped their side win.“The voters in Kansas have spoken loud and clear: We will not tolerate extreme bans on abortion,” Ms. Sweet said.
At a campaign watch party in suburban Overland Park, abortion rights supporters yelled with joy when MSNBC showed their side with a commanding lead.
“We’re watching the votes come in, we’re seeing the changes of some of the counties where Donald Trump had a huge percentage of the vote, and we’re seeing that just decimated,” said Jo Dee Adelung, 63, a Democrat from Merriam, Kan., who knocked on doors and called voters in recent weeks.
She said she hoped the result sent a message that voters are “really taking a look at all of the issues and doing what’s right for Kansas and not just going down party lines.”
The vote in Kansas, three months before the midterm elections, was the first time American voters weighed in directly on the issue of abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer.
The referendum, watched closely by national figures on both sides of the abortion debate, took on added importance because of Kansas’ location, abutting states where abortion is already banned in nearly all cases. More than $12 million has been spent on advertising, split about evenly between the two camps. The amendment, had it passed, would have removed abortion protections from the State Constitution and paved the way for legislators to ban or restrict abortions.
Kansas voters Just Say Yes to a Woman’s Right to Choose.
“We’ve been saying that after a decision is made in Washington, that the spotlight would shift to Kansas,” said David Langford, a retired engineer from Leawood, Kan., who wants the amendment to pass, and who reached out to Protestant pastors to rally support.
The push for an amendment was rooted in a 2019 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that struck down some abortion restrictions and found that the right to an abortion was guaranteed by the State Constitution. That decision infuriated Republicans, who had spent years passing abortion restrictions and campaigning on the issue. They used their super majorities in the Legislature last year to place the issue on the 2022 ballot.
Top photo: Margaret Hamilton and Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’, 1939.
I saw Jack’s Native Spirit in the Coyote with whom I crossed paths earlier today on The Coastal Trail as the Native inhabitant casts a glance my way.
It was one week ago that Jack made his final escape to escape the ravages of Metastatic Lung Cancer at the age of 14 and 271 days.
Liz and I have now returned to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) Coastal Trail where we have taken our five dogs on their daily walks during the nearly 37 years they were part of our family. Lucky January 1986 – April 1999 Simba April 1999 – December 2009 Rainbow March 2000 – July 2010 Luke July 2010 – July 2020 Jack December 2011 – July 2022
During the past seven days Liz and I have once again enjoyed the Coastal Trail on the Northwest corner of San Francisco which provided five canine companions, Liz and me with joy, adventure, thrills, anguish, excitement and peace.
Liz with Luke and Jack – September 2019
A scenic and quiet spotA view of the historic Golden Gate BridgeTrees dominate the Coastal Trail hillsideMonday afternoon on The Upper Coastal TrailLooking North from the Northwest corner of San FranciscoLiz Rocks as she creates a sculpture at Mile Rock Beach tailed by LukeWith the waves crashing just feet behind him a nervousJack checks out Luke, a gentle dog who was always ready for a photo shoot – Mile Rock Beach, December 2018Seabirds fly over the Coastal TrailRosalie and Liz revisit the spot of many dog walksJack’s Native Spirit looks on
WRITTEN BY LIZ HEIDHUES WHILE LEE GRIEVED OVER THE LOSS OF HIS BELOVED DOG, JACK – 7.25.2022
IN MEMORY OF AND IN TRIBUTE TO
JACK A.K.A HOUDINI HEIDHUES WHO MADE HIS FINAL ESCAPE THE MORNING OF JULY 25, 2022.
HE ESCAPED METASTATIC LUNG CANCER.
Jack says Goodbye – 7.25.2022
JACK HAD BEEN FEELING POORLY, COUGHING AND DISINTERESTED IN FOOD, NORMALLY RELISHED WITH GUSTO.
JACK WAS SEEN BY HIS VET JULY 19.
WE RETURNED TO HIS VET JULY 22 AS HIS COUGH AND APPETITE LOSS WORSENED.
X-RAYS WERE TAKEN TO SEE IF JACK HAD A PROBLEM WITH HIS ESPHOPHAGUS.
JACK’S VET INFORMED US AFTER LOOKING AT HIS X-RAYS THAT HIS LUNGS WERE RIDDLED WITH METASTATIC CANCER.
Lee and Jack
WE TOOK JACK HOME AND PONDERED HIS PROGNOSIS.
OVER THE WEEKEND, JACK GREW WEAKER AND COUGHED MORE FREQUENTLY.
HE REFUSED TO BUDGE FROM HIS DOG BED IN OUR KITCHEN.
JACK WAS TELLING US IT WAS TIME FOR HIS FINAL ESCAPE.
JACK LOVED OUR KITCHEN AND SLEPT IN HIS BED NEXT TO OUR STOVE WHENEVER HE WAS HOME.
HE SAVORED THE INVITING AROMAS OF HIS MISTRESS LIZ ENDLESS COOKING.
Jack in Liz’ kitchen
LIZ ROASTED CHICKEN AND SIMMERED RICE FOR JACK TO SUSTAIN JACK INTO ADVANCED DOGGIE LONGEVITY.
14 YEARS AND 271 DAYS.
JACK AND OUR KITCHEN WERE INSEPERABLE.
SO MUCH SO THAT – WHEN JACK WAS BOARDED AT A DOG BOARDER’S HOUSE IN THE WESTMOOR AREA BELOW DALY CITY IN SEPTEMBER 2019 — JACK DECIDED HE HAD TO ESCAPE AND RETURN TO THE KITCHEN HE LOVED SO MUCH.
WHEN THE DOG BOARDER REALIZED JACK HAD ESCAPED OUT OF HER DOUBLE FRONT DOOR, SHE IMMEDIATELY WENT OUT TO HUNT FOR HIM.
THE DOG BOARDER AND THE COUNTY DOG CATCHER SPIED JACK IN SCRUBBY UNDERBRUSH SURROUNDING THE AREA HE HAD VANISHED INTO. WHEN THE DOG CATCHER GRABBED JACK’S COLLAR TO TRY AND SEIZE HIM, JACK SLIPPED OUT OF HIS COLLAR AND VANISHED PERMANENTLY.
WE DID NOT KNOW JACK HAD ESCAPED FROM THE DOG BOARDER’S.
WE WERE VISITING LIZ’S SISTER IN MISSOULA, MONTANA.
WE WERE ENJOYING THE LAID-BACK HIP SCENE OF THE BIG SKY COUNTRY WHEN LEE GOT THE FRANTIC CALL FROM OUR DOG BOARDER.
Jack eagerly waits for Lee at the neighborhood library
SHE HAD BEEN SEARCHING ALL DAY AND OVERNIGHT FOR JACK.
JACK WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.
Jack, Liz and her Magnavox boom box – Jack loved listening to ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ by Stan Getz and Joáo Gilberto during his daily walk.
JACK HAD STARTED THE FIRST LEG OF WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE A FIVE-DAY JOURNEY WALKING HOME FROM THE AREA NEAR MUSSEL ROCK STATE BEACH.
AS JACK WALKED, THE DOG BOARDER BEGAN A MASSIVE CAMPAIGN PUBLICIZING HIS ESCAPE FROM HER HOUSE, 10 MILES AWAY FROM HIS BELOVED KITCHEN.
THE DOG BOARDER CONTACTED HER EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF DOG BOARDERS, WALKERS, GROOMERS, LOST DOG FINDERS, AND NEIGHBORS TO SCOUR THE SCRUB BRUSH SURROUNDING THE SPOT JACK WAS LAST SEEN AT AND TO FAN ALL THE WAY OUT TO NEARBY THORNTON STATE BEACH.
Jack rolls on the lawn outside the Legion of Honor
THE DOG BOARDER POSTED HUNDREDS OF FLIERS.
BACK IN MISSOULA, MONTANA, LEE WAS HAVING A MELTDOWN.
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, LEE METHODICALLY WORKED HIS CELL PHONE TRYING TO GET A FLIGHT OUT OF MISSOULA AND BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO ASAP. HE SUCCEEDED IN GETTING US BOOKED ON AN SFO FLIGHT THE FOLLOWING MORNING, FRIDAY THE 13TH.
As our neighbors learn of Jack’s death we are receiving condolences from many folks who came to know and love Jack. Our neighbor Colleen gave us this special floral ensemble which now sits where Jack spent so much time enjoying Liz’ kitchen.
A HARBINGER OF BAD LUCK, FRIDAY THE 13TH TURNED OUT TO BE THE SUPERSTITION THAT ALWAYS WAS. THE PLANE WE WERE BOOKED TO FLY OUT ON WAS DISCOVERED AT THE LAST MINUTE TO HAVE A MALFUNCTIONING ENGINE. THE MISSOULA AIRPORT WENT TO WORK DRUMMING UP AN EMPTY AIRCRAFT.
EVERYONE WHO HAD BEEN QUEUING UP TO BOARD A COMPLETELY BOOKED FLIGHT WOULD NOW HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER HOUR FOR A REPLACEMENT FLIGHT. THE HOUR LENGTHENED INTO HOURS. AS THE AIRPORT ANNOUNCED OVER THE PA VARIOUS FLIGHTS THE PASSENGERS COULD SUBSTITUTE FOR THE SFO-DESTINED FLIGHT, WE WATCHED AS LUCKIER PASSENGERS RAN BY WITH THEIR CARRY-ON LUGGAGE TO SNAG FLIGHTS.
Jack and Lee on Blade Runner skies day – 9.9.2020
WE WERE SFO BOUND. STUCK AT A VERY SMALL AIRPORT.
LIZ MADE LAPS AROUND THE TINY SECURITY AREA THAT WOULD BE OUR BORING LOUNGE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.
FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS AN OUTDOORS DECK. LEE VENTURED OUT INTO THE HOT AND HUMID MISSOULA WEATHER FREQUENTLY.
A FUNCTIONING PLANE FINALLY TAXIED UP.
AS WE SOARED OVER THE GUSTY MISSOULA AIRPORT, LIZ BEGAN TO CHANNEL JACK. SHE KEPT REPEATING IN HER MIND, OVER AND OVER, “JACK, KEEP GOING NORTH. DON’T REVERSE COURSE. WE’RE ON OUR WAY HOME TO FIND YOU.”
WE RETURNED HOME TO SAN FRANCISCO TOO LATE FOR LEE TO START TRACKING DOWN JACK.
BUT THE NEXT MORNING, SATURDAY, LEE HIT THE ROAD, TAKING MUNI AND BART TO MEET WITH THE DOG-BOARDER IN WESTMOOR.
Jack Heidhues – 10.27.2007 – 7.25.2022 RIP
LEE PICKED UP A HUGE STACK OF FLIERS TO POST AROUND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
ATTENTION-GRABBING FLIERS.
LOST DOG. HIS NAME IS JACK. REWARD FOR FOUND DOG. WITH JACK’S PHOTO.
FLIERS WERE NOW CIRCULATING UP AND DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST, FROM DALY CITY TO SAN FRANCISCO’S SUNSET DISTRICT AND ENDING IN SAN FRANCISCO’S OUTER RICHMOND DISTRICT. A RADIUS SPANNING 15 MILES.
JACK ALSO MADE HEADLINES ON “NEXT-DOOR”.
LEE POSTED ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM THAT JACK HAD GONE MISSING. JACK WAS WELL-KNOWN AT SUTRO PARK, THE GO-TO PLACE FOR DOGS IN OUR OUTER RICHMOND DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD.
EVERYONE WAS SEARCHING FOR JACK. JACK WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.
Jack and Liz with his dear companion Luke at Ocean Beach who passed away in July 2020 – 6.19.2019
LEE MET OUR NEIGHBORS SEARCHING AT THORNTON STATE BEACH. THEY HAD DRIVEN THERE SATURDAY AFTER HEARING JACK WENT MISSING.
WE WERE FACING THE AWFUL POSSIBILITY THAT JACK WOULD NEVER BE FOUND.
JACK HAD SEVERAL DANGEROUS HIGHWAYS TO CROSS ON HIS JOURNEY HOME.
HE HAD TO AVOID OTHER DOGS WHO MIGHT BE AGGRESSIVE, COYOTES WHO MIGHT ATTACK HIM, STRANGERS WHO MIGHT MAKE HIM THEIR CAPTIVE, OR MOTORISTS WHO MIGHT RUN HIM OVER.
LIZ WENT TO CHURCH AS USUAL ON SUNDAY.
SHE WAS SITTING IN A PEW WHEN A PERSON SURPRISED HER, SITTING DOWN NEXT TO HER AND PASSING HER A NOTE.
Jack loved being vacuumed
THAT PERSON WAS LEE. ON THE NOTE WAS SCRIBBLED THE MESSAGE: JACK WAS FOUND.
AS LIZ READ THE NOTE, LEE’S EMOTIONS OVERCAME HIM. HE STARTED TO CRY FROM RELIEF AND JOY.
LEE MADE A HASTY EXIT TO GO HOME AND WAIT FOR THE DOG BOARDER TO BRING JACK BACK.
A KIND STRANGER IN THE SUNSET DISTRICT HAD SEEN THE FLIER ABOUT JACK AND HAD RECOGNIZED THE DOG HE FOUND WALKING ALONG JUDAH STREET WHERE IT INTERSECTED 44TH AVENUE.
Jack stays warm under the blanket knitted by our neighbor Colleen
HE HAD FOUND JACK ON THE WAY TO THE DOGGIE BATH O’MAT ON JUDAH STREET, WHERE JACK HAD BEEN BATHED AND GROOMED FOR YEARS.
JACK HAD TURNED ONTO JUDAH STREET AFTER WALKING ALONG OCEAN BEACH FOR MILES.
HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA BECAUSE WE HAD ALWAYS WALKED DOWN JUDAH TO OCEAN BEACH AFTER PICKING HIM UP FROM HIS BATH. ONCE HE GOT HIS BEARINGS, JACK FIGURED OUT HOW HE COULD GET HOME. WE HAVE NEVER OWNED A CAR. OUR NOT DRIVING JACK AROUND IN A CAR HAD MADE JACK SMART ABOUT WHAT DIRECTION HE SHOULD BE HEADING.
THE STRANGER REFUSED THE REWARD OFFERED BY THE DOG BOARDER WHEN SHE PICKED JACK UP.
JACK’S PAWS WERE RAW FROM HIS FIVE-DAY JOURNEY. HE WAS THIN, DIRTY, AND EXHAUSTED.
An exhausted and relieved Jack after his five day walk home – 9.15.2019
BUT JACK WAS HAPPY TO BE BACK IN LIZ’S KITCHEN WHICH HE LOVED SO MUCH.
HE IMMEDIATELY CRASHED IN HIS BED NEXT TO THE STOVE AND SLEPT FOR TWO DAYS.
JACK ALSO MANAGED TO ESCAPE FROM BALBOA PET HOSPITAL WHEN WE BOARDED HIM THERE THREE WEEKS AFTER HIS EPIC JOURNEY HOME.
Jack dressed up for Luke’s birthday party
HE SLIPPED OUT OF HIS HARNESS AND RAN OUT THE FRONT DOOR TO WALK HOME. WE NEVER BOARDED JACK AGAIN.
THE NOTORIOUS ESCAPE ARTIST MADE HIS FINAL ESCAPE THIS MORNING. HE ESCAPED WITH DIGNITY FROM INEVITABLE SUFFERING THAT IS THE OUTCOME OF A TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS.
JACK WALKED AWAY FROM LIFE ON HIS OWN TERMS.
JACK. THE NOTORIOUS ESCAPE ARTIST. A GENTLEMAN AMBASSADOR OF OUR OUTER RICHMOND NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE HE TOOK DAILY WALKS FOR ALMOST 12 YEARS.
Jack with his playmate Luke. Named in memory of Luke Heidhues who passed away 7.21.2020
Lee's Perspective 